***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Rob in Peoria

>I work with computers and drawings and abstract engineering concepts all day - how many cars can get through this intersection? how much water is coming off this field? Even when I'm out observing construction I'm just standing there watching. Most of us have this drive to do something productive with our hands - it probably goes all the way back to the garden when the Lord said "by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread."

Well, I don't sweat much moving the mouse in the office, but I've worked up a good bit pushing a jack plane across a rough board. Not only am I using my hands to create something of value, but I'm making a connection to the wood, which is a second reason I like to work wood.

Wood is one of the most wonderful, magical materials on Earth. It grows all on it's own, and we can harvest it, shape it as we will (in harmony with it's "will" if we're smart) and with some simple applications of basic finishing products, result in one of the most beautiful surfaces known to man. I like the connection to the magic.

Lastly, my wood shop is a sanctuary. It is the one room in the house that is totally MINE. I enter the small basement room and can literally feel the stress shed off my shoulders. It doesn't matter if I'm working on my tool cabinet, making a new handle for a backsaw, or a lateral file cabinet for LOML's office - it's all the same to me.

So, working with my hands, connection to the wood, and stress relief in my own personal sanctuary. How do you like that?

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Jay St. Peter

>I like to see my own designs and concepts come to reality. I'm also an obsessive DIY'er. In an ideal world, I'd build my own house, make my own furniture for it, and build my own car. Unfortunately, the real world requires money for all these things.

In my job as an engineer, I design things that are built. But, these are a team effort and often have compromises (or just plain bad designs) that I'm unhappy with. But, with woodworking, I do everything. Nobody to blame (or praise) but myself. I also get to be a little more artistic than just the "form follows function" that budget constraints at work allow.

I have thought about changing professions, but I think that building things for others that I don't actually WANT to build would quickly grow tiresome.

Jay St. Peter

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Dave Anderson Chester, NH

>I enjoy the challenges which are both skill and mentally based. It also gives me great pleasure to be able to use some of the family heirloom hand tools that I've inherited. There is something about using a saw or a hand plane that is 125-150 years old and is engraved or stamped with a family members name that gives a continuity with the past and a oneness with departed family members. My wife and I like 18th century furniture, but few choices are available in quality reproductions and antiques of good quality are priced beyond reach. The solution of making your own is fun, relatively inexpensive, and your choices expand to almost anytrhing you can find a photograph of. My toolmaking for sale is also enjoyable and helps to defray the costs of my woodworking habit while providing a service to the greater community. In fact most of the time it's hard to view it as work. People are paying me to have fun in my shop, what a righteous concept!!

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Steve Kubien

>I like the stress relief that comes from woodworking. Deadlines and honey-do's add a different kind of stress to be sure but there is something magical about using a sharp plane/chisel/handsaw. I enjoy creating things. Some items are for the home, some as gifts, some for the shop. My shop is my sanctuary. One more big reason for me is the sense of belonging to a fairly unique group (handtool users). It is a good feeling to do something different, at least for me.

Steve Kubien

Ajax, Ontario

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Mike Real from Pittsburgh

>Ah, my sanctuary, my escape from the 21st century. Each project is a voyage of discovery for me, learning how to use the tools, listening to the lessons they are teaching me. My dream shop is something along the line of the Williamsburg woodshop, electrons need not apply.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Bob Fawcett

>I do it to maintain my sanity.

In my job, I am network engineer. I work with bits fleeting down a wire or fiber. The equipment I work with is tangible, but the results of my work are not.

I don't make a living at woodworking, but I can say yes to all the other questions Ellis used to start this thread.

I love the look in the eyes of the person getting a completed project. My grandaughter, when I finished her rocking horse, my wife when I completed the computer desk and sometimes its my own satisfaction if its a shop addition.

Rob said it so well above. My shop is my sanctuary. It keeps the frustrations of work from interfering at home.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>In a way that's hard to explain, I just feel driven to it. Simply in my nature to build things.

Best, Ted

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Kevin French, Antrim NH

>It started about 20 yrs ago when I bought a 100 yr old money pit that the previous owner had slapped repaired. It looked good but was only skin deep. As I worked on it I wanted to add more to every project.

Combined that with a tool fetish, especially old tools, add the need for a sanctuary, stress relief, problem solving, etc, etc... There aren't many hobbies that offer such a wide range of reliefs as WW'n.

Add all this to, I like to learn new things and WW'n has it all.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Larry Clinton - Frankfort, Indiana

>I guess I really hadn't thought of all the reasons I am so attracted to woodworking. I have been an Engineer for 38 years, working on and with equipment and products. I have designed machines, tools and aided in designing products. While some of these tasks have been enjoyable, they were always influenced by others. None of the equipment or products will be around or admired 20 years after I retire.

I have always enjoyed working with wood, building my first "furniture", a cedar book shelf in 1957, while in high school woodshop.

I had built birdhouses, shelves, rough cabinets and other items as a teenager. Did a lot of scroll saw work.

After I married, I built one house and rebuilt another, but never had time or the proper equipment or shop to build the kind of furniture I loved to make.

I really enjoy all aspects of woodworking, picking the rough lumber, designing the piece, milling and assembling, even scraping, sanding and finishing. I have a sense of awe when it all turns out great, seldom as that is.

I have now built my dream shop, with plenty of room 30' X 30' with an upstairs room for storage. The shop is heated and air conditioned. I have most of the equipment I want. Finding and purchasing that is also enjoyable.

The shop is my refuge from work & life stresses, and building a piece of furniture or even a jig gives me a satisfaction not equaled by any of my accomplishments at work. I can build what I want, at the pace I wish and work on the piece until I am satisfied.

I plan to retire in about 13 months. My goal, if God gives me the time, is to build at least one "heirloom" piece for each of my children's families. Hopefully they will pass them on to their decedents.

I have never found a place other than my shop where I can completely relax. Nor any activity that provides as much satisfaction as woodworking. It requires so much attention, you have no time or thoughts of any other problems. The object of my labor is usually highly admired by my friends and family. They (at least appear) to really enjoy and appreciate the items I produce.

I hope I never have to use the shop to produce income, as I believe it would detract from my enjoyment and I might lose the satisfaction it now gives me.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Not for a living. I'd starve to death. I worked briefly in the trades, but I'm neither fast enough nor sufficiently willing to cram the work out the door.

It's funny - my dad was always working on the house when I was little, when he wasn't working on cars. I held the other end of boards, or flashlights so he could see what he was doing, for more boring hours than I can count, and I'm not bad with math.

Oddly enough, it was owning a motorcycle that led to WW. I got interested in tool use (there's lots of chances to hone that particular interest with motorcycles). This led to VWs (when I met LOML, she had a VW bus) and other cars, then expanded. I'm a child of the 1960's, and we got interested in back to the land stuff, which led logically to WW.

I define woodworking for me as making attractive things of wood on a scale smaller than an outbuilding. I don't consider carpentry woodworking, except perhaps for trim work, and not even that really because the joints tend to be made with nails.

Over the course of a year on the weekends (day job is as a bureaucrat), I do (in no particular order here, and to varying degrees) carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, auto repair, other mechanical repair, roofing, sheet metal work, and (FAR too little for my taste) woodworking. I do the first seven competently; the last one is what I'd prefer to do with my time. I don't visit any fora for the first seven (well, occasionally auto repair, but only because I need to figure out a problem); I visit this forum daily.

So, why? And why hand tools in particular?

1. I appreciate the intimate involvement with the wood, which has the same character as other animate things, like say cats: individual personalities that respond well to stroking tghe right way and that communicate to you in subtle or not so subtle ways how they want to be stroked.

2. I like the sounds, feeling, and smells, and the quiet.

3. I enjoy the sense of accomplishment when I make something nice.

4. I enjoy the design and problem solving.

5. When I'm done, I've got something.

6. Unlike most of the first seven things, I don't get greasy, cold, wet, or (too often) scared.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Ed Snow

>I was drawn to wood working by experiencing it through my father and grandfathers. Initially, it was just a hobby but I took the next big step and have been working my way towards making it my career, hopefully through teaching. I think it was inevitable that I would end up here, I have always been very creative and very concrete. As an engineering major I was able to creatively solve problems but it was not tangible. It is also a necesity for me, I enjoy having many nice things and often I can't find them so I resort to making them.

As I have matured as a woodworker and a designer I get the most from the crafting and the immediacy of the act. Taking some raw materials and some time I can create about anything I would want to make. The fact that in an afternoon I can create a beautiful container using simple tools amazes me everytime I do it.

About half of my income (that which I actually earn) comes from woodworking, working for others builders or commissioned pieces, the other half from bar tending. A big portion of that income is put to the purchase of tools, or materials to make tools. Often the money is spent on acquiring new skills by taking more courses.

I think the reason I love this activity so much is that it is the thing that I am the very best at and everyday I have to oppurtunity to share my knowledge and my joy in it with others. 9 times out of 10 if I am missing start looking in the shop, I find myself there more and more everyday. Yes, it is my job but this is my work as well. I am very fortunate.

A (tangible) sense of accomplishment

Mark Harrison -- in Sydney, Australia

>My particular profession (computer software) is probably the most dynamic (as in changable)industry on the planet. It seems that I need to retrain every four to five years and dump everything I did before. I certainly don't know of any other profession where everything changes so much.

So many projects are never completed and even when they are, they don't last all that long. Moreover, these things are not tangible. You can't drive down the street and see the thing you made.

The things I make are for my house and family but using that as an excuse is a bit like saying you bought a boat to catch fish for your family! So I fess up: For me it's about the sense of accomplishment and to have a tangible reward.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Ernie Miller Topeka

>I enjoy woodworking. I do it for my self first it is a way to decompress after a day of work. most of my projects are for me visions in my head that must be expressed some are given away to friends or family after they are created others just sit in the shop collecting tools or dust. I am about a 4th generation woodworker my dad and his fathers had to do it to support there familys. I do it for me. I doubt that any of my stuff will become family hairloms, most will be carted off to the dump or auctioned off. I build because I like the smell of the wood the feal of the finish. The tast of the bugs as they fly off the lathe NOT! THe shop is a place I go at the end of the day to do what I want to do. make somthing make nothing just be me.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Ron in Kokomo

>Hard to describe why I do it, but there is something so completely soul satisfying about taking something that the Lord has given us ( beautiful wood) and shaping it to enhance its form for useful purposes and to display the beauty that lies in the tree. I know that sounds "60's fuzzy headed" but that's really it.

The chance to learn a new technique to overcome a challenge is also a plus, and the ability to take a tool or three and make a chair the way they were made several hundred years ago is also a very satisfying piece of the puzzle as well.

A side benefit is all the wonderful relationships that have come out of learning the craft. Woodworkers are among the most giving people I have ever met

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I have always liked doing things with my hands.I tried auto mechanics when I was younger but got tired of the wear and tear on my body.Once I started doing carpentry I found my niche.I love working with wood and creating things.I do carpentry to pay the bills but what I really enjoy is shaping wood.I like the way it looks,feels and smells. The feeling I get from a complete project is one of the pleasures of life for me.I also like problem solving.I love a challenge.I also have a short attention span but so far woodworking hasn't lost my attention.I keep finding new things to learn.The field appears limitless.---Jack

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Skip in Falls Church

>It's fun, challenging and interesting, and I sort of think it's in the blood. My dad taught me a bit when I was I kid, mostly with hand tools because that's what he could afford at the time. As time went on he got more into power tools and then into turning. He's in his 70's now and he turns almost exclusively. I retained an interest in woodworking when I left home - but never seemed to have the time or space to really do much of anything.

When I moved to Virginia about 8 years ago, I finally found a little time and a little (very little - half of a townhouse utility room) space to get started. I started with a couple of power tools - a small drill press and cheap table saw. Oddly enough, I found the table saw a bit limiting. I work shift work and, by nature, I'm a night person. Living in a townhouse where there's someone sleeping on the other side of a wall limited when I could use the table saw. (I don't care how thick the walls are, firing up a table saw a few feet from where someone else is sleeping can't result in anything good.) So, I got more into hand tools. They're a lot quieter, create a lot less dust, let me work whenever I feel like it and are a lot more satisfying to me. I started with older eBay planes and found that very satisfying too. Taking a really crappy plane (or any other tool) and turning it into something that really works well is fun for me.

It is obvious, looking back, that my dad had been taught by someone who knew what they were doing. I also knew that his father had been involved in logging. My dad grew up in the Puget Sound area but left home early and ended up in Texas when he was around 20 so I never really knew his father. I've found out since that carpenters run all the way up my dad's side of the family from his father back with the occasional blacksmith very early on. And there's a carpenter or two on my mom's side too - not to mention a saddlemaker. So while I enjoy working with the wood and old tools, I also think it might just be in the blood too.

Skip

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Paul M. in San Diego

>Short answer: I bought a sofa. ;-)

Long answer: The sofa I bought is constructed as a maple bench with cushions. We got it from Ethan Allen. The back is made of broad spindles in an arch-topped pattern. The bottom of the bench has lots of turned posts and rungs and it is truly a work of beauty.

I wanted to be able to make something that beautiful myself. This got me into playing around with tools, and eventually taking classes at the local community college. I've never made a copy of this sofa, as I really don't need another one. But it feels good to be able to look at it now with the knowledge that I could build one like it if the need arose.

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Ellis and friends

For me, woodworking is an emotional, physical and cerebral activity.

The short reply is that it provides a stress release from the pressures of the intense days I work in paediatric clinical psychology.

The shorter answer is that I build furniture.

But these are oversimplifications. Working with handtools, in particular planing and chiseling, provides a connectedness that is a zen experience.

It seems that others are discovering this too, and that there has been an increase in interest in handtools in recent years. As this happens, so my involvement becomes increasingly intellectual as well. Not only in the development of skills with handtools, building, restoring and collecting handtools, but also an increasing awareness as to their design, history, and social significance.

Being able to share this fascination (or "obsession", my wife would say!) with others, such as all of you on this forum, is yet another great pleasure.

It seems that there is no end to the pleasures of woodworking.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: ***SURVEY: THE IDES OF MARCH***

Kudzu

>Because it is so much fun!

I am not patient but I can spend an hour with a hand plane fitting something perfectly together. Or surfacing a board to smooth finish.

Then I get to stand back and admire what I did!