Idle Hands?

[Tom Bender]

At first I used my hands on things mechanical, bicycles, go karts, lawn mowers, cars.

But in time these things demanded less attention.

I bought a house. It and the yard welcomed me.

Winters made me dedicate my efforts to woodworking.

No looking back now.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It's important to keep busy! I pretty much followed the lines your write about but as much out of financial necessity as anything else.

[Jim Matthews]

It's important to keep busy! I pretty much followed the lines your write about but as much out of financial necessity as anything else.

I started making furniture because what I could afford fell apart and what I wanted was too expensive.

[Lee Schierer]

I started making furniture because what I could afford fell apart and what I wanted was too expensive.

That's pretty much how I started. As I went to more complex projects, I purchased tools and material for what I would have paid for the finished product from a furniture store.

[Bruce King]

I was always frustrated when I was 10 building treehouses when the nails split the wood. Then I ended up with a circular saw, drill and jig saw. Still frustrated but loved the smell of pine. Then I saw an ad for a used table saw, I was not ready yet at 35 because woodworking was going to be my retirement hobby but I figured I should start acquiring tools. I was dropping off a blade to be sharpened and an old guy told me I could build an entertainment center with that tablesaw and a router. This got me started but more frustration when my mahogany plywood started delaminating 10 hours into the project. The dealer sent me more and all was good from there on out.

[Jim Becker]

Having been involved with multiple creative pursuits since I was a kid (music, art, theater, etc.) and also engaged with home improvement in the 1990s, it was almost "logical" to fall into the woodworking thing from there. It checks a lot of boxes, honestly. And now over 24 years later, it's been a very enjoyable and rewarding avocation as well as a part time professional pastime post-retirement. It's important enough that should we do the downsizing thing in the next few years, provisions for my shop will be a very important part of the decision making process, even if it reverts back to strictly hobby.

[Charles Taylor]

...I purchased tools and material for what I would have paid for the finished product from a furniture store.

One of my early woodworking goals was a wine cabinet. I think I saved the cost of a store-bought cabinet with about three times the expenditures on machines, tools, and materials. Then again, most of the machines and tools are still helping me make furniture.