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My Father was an excellent woodworker , but as I remember I was in the first stages of puberty when he was trying to pass his skills and knowledge of his woodwork craft onto me , the least of my concerns was working under his guidance learning how to manipulate wood , besides that I knew all about wood, cutting wood , piling wood splitting wood and carrying wood to the house for the stove , like I was so close to wood , I had to get checked by the dog for ticks before going to bed. The dog and I would rassel for a few minutes , any ticks on me would wind up on the dog where I would yank them off the dog where I could get my hands on them, you see those west coast wood ticks actually prefer a dog or animal to a person but then again they are not fussy, I can hear it now “ Ya Right” Hey , I would’nt lie to you , trust me.
There’s my old dawg now, sucker had fleas too , that was the tradeoff , dog got the ticks, I got the fleas , helluva deal !
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Like about 35 years later on in life.
I started to get interested in the finer arts , like woodworking , had a few well worn wrenches , not to much stuff for wood other then an old halfsheet sander that was mainly used for bodywork on cars, couple of chisels that were used to open paint cans , a skill saw and a chainsaw , It was a horrible start, and I knew down deep I was going to have to upgrade my tools.
Picked up a few of the basics at garage sales , like 8” table saw , still using it today , was given a old dremmel scroll saw , all tin construction , had to beef up springs with automobile brake springs so I could cut through more than 1/8 veneer, a real jewel has a 3” blade , try to get one, still using it also.
I have tryed working with many kinds of woods and I finally really got hung up on butternut , it is a semi-hardwood very lightweight, good looking grain , readily adapts to stains and natural finishes , seems to have a natural lubricity to it which is very easy on saw blades , router bits and drill bits.
I seldom use ready made plans as I find them intimidating particularly after reading the parts list and the tools I don’t have which are required.
I am a great believer in dowels as most of my projects are usually taken apart 3 or 4 times for adjustments , they also allow me to finish parts individually inside and out before glueing up and clamping of the finished product. I do a lot of joining narrow widths for wide panels , as butternut is hard to find in wide widths , random small pieces or ends are a lot cheaper then fixed lengths and widths and the waste factor is greatly reduced.
My woodworking is rather versatile , I have a 1946 Cederstrip boat which requires TLC to keep it afloat , so on those warm sunny days I emerge from the basement to tend to more important things with the sun beating down on me , also have and old 75 GM motorhome which I have refinished in Pine the cupboards , table and counter.
With this other stuff to take care of , all those “Honey DUE” projects and the normal Christmas wish list are on hold from May through October , always remember , you have to pace yourself or face burnout , god forbid and you don,t want to wear them tools out , do you.
The following page will give you a look at the diversity in my scheme of things , the photos will give you an idea of what can be accomplished , with not a whole bunch of money , lots of time , thought, cigarettes “`if you don’t smoke don’t start “ coffee remember no booze when working with tools , hand or power , they don’t know the difference between body parts (yours) and wood , you gotta have a clear head.
Have fun and enjoy. The Ole Woodbutcher
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