The State of Woodworking - My Opinion

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been out of woodworking for about 5 years, until recently. It is really interesting to see how much and, at the same time, how little, things have changed in the woodworking world in that period of time.

Woodworking, like many hobbies or professions, is full of people who all think they know the right way to do something; that has not changed one bit in the last 5 years. In fact, in some ways, it is worse because of the anonymity of the Internet and Social Media. Ask someone, "what the best way to sharpen a chisel?", than grab your popcorn and watch everyone go at it. "What is the best way to cut a tenon?" Watch out. Oh, and what about "Grizzly versus Powermatic?" Oh boy! Is there a right way to do things? Sure, but there are many "right ways", one just may seem better to one person than another. Or, one method may work better for someone, or be a more appealing way to do it, but is it "the wrong way"? Surely not. The question isn't how you sharpen something, such as a chisel, it is the fact that you should sharpen them. How you do it and how sharp you get them is up to you. And, not how you make a mortise and tenon joint, but is that the appropriate joint to use in that given situation? The fact that everyone has an opinion, and is willing to share it, whether you want it or not, is not lost on me; it's in the tile of my post for crying out loud. However, the manner in which people treat others in some situations is astounding, but not surprising in the Internet age; which leads me to my next point, which fascinates me.

When I was last doing woodworking, Facebook was still pretty new, Twitter was new and Instagram didn't exist. Heck, when I started woodworking 12+ years ago, none of that existed. When I was at the height of my woodworking, you had a very small set of woodworking video bloggers (vloggers). The ones I watched were The Wood Whisperer (Marc Spagnuolo) and Rough Cut (Tommy MacDonald), back before he even had his own show. I remember watching these guys, putting themselves out there, giving tons of information away for free and yet people would blast them for one reason or another; they don't like Marc's jokes, can't stand Tommy's accent, etc. I just kept thinking "jeesh, people pay good money for this kind of access, we should be thanking them!"

So, when I recently got back into woodworking, I was pretty surprised by the sheer numbers of vloggers out there now, it blows me away! Marc is still killing it, Tommy has a show now, than there is April Wilkerson, The Samurai Carpenter, Paul Sellers and many, many more. I am amazed at their confidence and courage to film themselves and just put it out there for everyone because, as we all know, the Internet can be a nasty place.

What I like most about all of these different people is that they each have their own way at doing something, none of them are wrong, they all get to the same place in the end, but the point is, they are just showing you a way to do something, not the way. I like to watch them all and take bits of information from each and than come to my own way of doing something as well. What this blog is, is the result of watching, listening and learning from others, and coming up with my own way of doing something and I only hope that someone finds it useful as well.

As long as all these people are willing to continue to put themselves out there, and as more and more people do, I think the woodworking community is in a better place than maybe it ever has been.

Who are some of your favorite woodworking bloggers and vloggers? Let me know in the comments and I'll look forward to checking them out!

Where have you been all this time?!

Wow, it has been a long time! It is hard to believe that my last post was January of 2011. A lot has changed for me since then, which is why I haven't been posting in a while. The biggest reason is because we have moved...twice and as a result, all of my woodworking equipment had been in storage. However, part of all these moves and changes is the fact that I have had the opportunity to build myself a standalone "dream shop"! So, my power tools have been rescued and are now in their new home. So, let's start there, the new shop...

I have been blessed with the opportunity to build myself a free-standing wood shop, a blank slate, to turn into my dream shop. So, I built a 32'x24' shop with 10' ceilings. Here is a shot of it being built.

As you can see, it has two garage doors on the front, a side entrance and it also have two windows on each end. I also installed two, powered, attic exhaust fans in the roof that I can control with a switch. I did this in order to circulate hot air out, but to also exhaust any fumes when doing finish work.

Working with a blank slate is a dream, but in some ways, also a bit of a nightmare; where do I put things? Where will lumber go? Where do I put this piece of equipment and that piece? Etc, etc. It is fun though and, let's be honest, a shop is never truly "done" is it? In designing my shop, I knew I wanted a few things for certain. First, I knew I wanted the outlet boxes to be cabinet height, that way, any cabinets or equipment that I put against a wall will not block any outlets. Second, I wanted lots of 110V and 220V outlets scattered throughout. Next, I wanted all 110V outlets to be quad outlets. I knew I wanted the walls to be covered with wood paneling and not drywall. Next, as much as possible, everything should be mobile (with a couple exceptions). Lastly, I knew I wanted everything that goes on the wall to use a French cleat system, that way I can move anything anywhere as my needs change over time.

So, what did I come up with? Well, here are a few shots of my shop as it is so far (subject to change without notice of course). This first shot is the right hand wall as you enter the shop. This is where all the lumber comes in, gets stored and broken down for projects.

I have my miter saw down here, along with a circular saw, jig saw and track saw, which are stored in the same mobile cabinet that my miter saw is on. This means that most, of not everything, I need to break down everything from rough lumber to sheet goods is all in one place. Now, I chose to store my lumber vertically for a couple of reasons. In my last shop, I stored it horizontally, and it took, basically an entire wall. It was also really hard to sort through the lumber in a meaningful way like that. By storing vertically, I can store a lot more lumber in a smaller area and it makes it so much easier to sort through. Here is a link to a more detailed picture of the lumber storage, but it is basically black pipe flanges and 12" pipe bolted to the wall. The wood also sits on a wooden "step" on the floor.

As we move from right to left, we begin to see how wood also moves through the process as you now run into the jointers (I have a 6" and 8") and planer.

So, after I break down the pieces, I can simply turn around and than begin to mill the pieces. Once they are milled, you move to my workbench and table saw; the heart of the shop. 

There is a lot going on in this shot, and some I may need to explain in another post, but the point is, after pieces are milled, I can cut to width and length at the table saw and also begin joinery layout at the workbench. I also have clamps near the bench, you can see my Rigid sander near the bench as well; this also holds all of my power sanders and sandpaper. Because I also use a good bit of hand tools, they are stored under the bench in drawers and I have a sanding station right next to the bench as well. 

So, as you can see, the shop is not done yet, but I don't think they ever are. I still have a good bit of insulation to get installed, wall board to be hung, extension table for the table saw, etc, etc. The good news is though, it is a functional shop that I can start building projects in right now, and I already have two in the works! 

I am so thrilled to be back woodworking again and, boy, has the woodworking world changed in the last 4+ years or what?! More on that in another post maybe, but in the meantime, I am glad to be back!

Thank you all!