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I'm new to woodworking, I'm a girl, AND I'm blonde!!

5K views 86 replies 58 participants last post by  Dudley 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey all,

Cheryl here from "The Master's" country, Augusta, GA. I just bought a house in the country and it has a detached garage. The guy who built the house (and garage) is an electrician and he used the garage as a workshop. There are 15 outlets in the garage! I have always wanted to get into woodworking as I have done quite a bit of refinishing of old furniture, antiques, etc. and I'm good with sanding, painting, staining and minor repairs (replacing hinges, that sorta thing). I am what you might say, mechanically inclined. I watch alot of Norm Abram (I think that's his name) This Old House. But that is waaaaaayyy over my head. So, I got a gift card to Lowe's for Christmas and this is what I bought: circular saw, sander, jigsaw, cordless drill (all Dewault), block plane, drill bits, 3 chisels, miter box and saw, ext. cords, saw horses, safety goggles (which SUCK by the way, they fog up and oh my gawd I'm going to cut my arm off if I wear these), The Complete Book of Woodworking, and a butt load of clamps. I have a bunch of 2×4's, 1×6's that the previous owner left, not good quality though, so I'm "practicing" with them. So here's the million dollar question, What now??? Thanks in advance for any advice!!!!!!!!!
 
#52 ·
Welcome, Cheryl. My wife is also blonde and loves beer, but she's not much on ww. good luck and have fun. Its a great getaway from the day job.
I live in Rabun Gap, a few hours north of you near the NC/SC border. Your avatar looks like a peak just across the NC line from my home, about 10 miles, called Pickens Nose. Beautiful place.
 
#58 ·
First of all - will yu marry me? A lady with a house close to Augusta and a wood worker, too - what a catch!

Anyway, welcome Cheryl! Nice to have a fllow golfer in the group.

Get yourself a good T/S - I love my Dewalt with its rack and pinion fence. You can do dados, rabbetts cove cuts, miter cuts and a whole lot more just with the T/S.

Hit 'em hard and find 'em later…
 
#59 · (Edited by Moderator)
My first WW project was refinishing a kids mini-piano. My wife bought it off of e-bay and it was really beat up. I had to pull it apart (it was glued) sand the crap out if it and replace the top and the the bits that curve down by the keys. It was my introduction to routers and cutting out shapes. I then moved on to a twin bed,"her big girl bed," for my daughter, it was very ambitious for me at the time. Norm, my dad, FIL, and magazines have been my main learning instruments.
 
#60 ·
David !! Alrighty then! Let's play golf! Phil M. is my hero because I, too, am left handed and I always get kidded on the course because people are like, "That just looks weird", go figure. and to sIKE - I want a big girl bed too!! And Woodworm - blonde shellac flakes?? Dammit man I knew it. Love this site!!!

P.S. What's a T/S?
 
#63 ·
Hi cheryl
Lots of advice from people about how to spend your money, i say hold on to it until you learn the basics. Just learn how to make dovetails and mortis and tenon joints first, every other joint is just a variation of those. once you can cut a clean straight line you can literaly make anything. Dont get caught up in the power tool merry go round until you can handle the basic stuff first as it is the most important and will serve you well. look for old woodworking texts by charles c hayward or bernard e jones. check out scribd and toolemera. Learn to make a shaving before you make dust.
 
#65 ·
Hey girl! I am also Blonde and well once was a girl, now I'm too old for that title. I'm just learning also. Love the smell of sawdust. I wish I had the workroom you've spoken about! Drool drool. I'm in a crowded one car garage. Some good sites to learn from, "The Wood Whisperer.com, and Matts Basement Workshop.com - they're both knowledgeable genorous and cute! (Married also). An another is Fine Woodworking.com/Start.
 
#67 · (Edited by Moderator)
I married a blonde. She is awsome and can do anything she wants to accomplish. However, she is not slightly interested in wood. But in lots of other things.

Remember, not everything turns our perfect the first time. Maybe not even the second or third time! But success comes with dilligence and practice.

I am not even close to perfect, and I have spent years [no, decades] doing wood things. However, the first major item I made still has a prime place in our home. I made my wife a hutch out of cruley and birdseye maple some 35 yrs ago. It is stellar, and my wife frequenly points it out to her friends and family when they visit.

Some years ago, I was told something I have never forgotten….......Sucess is a journey, not a destination.
Ira
 
#68 ·
My rule of thumb is no more distance between light fixtures than they are long. For example, 4ft fixture, 4 ft apart, 8 ft fixture, 8 ft apart. I have a 24×24 detached garage and I have 12 4ft florescent 2 bulb fixtures in it. a 4 bulb setup, could afford to be spaced further apart. I had a ballast go on the one above my workbench, and you would think with 11 other lights, no big deal. Wrong, it made a my work have shadows it didn't have before. Plenty of light makes working more enjoyable and less tiring.

I am a shop teacher in St Louis. If you are ever up this way shoot me a PM and I can show you my shop, both school and home. Also pm any questions. I do have some videos on youtube and this site about tool safety and operation. They are geared for my students, but anyone can use them.
 
#69 · (Edited by Moderator)
Welcome. I would highly recommend "Building Beautiful Boxes with Your Bandsaw" by Lois Keener Ventura. Even if you don't have a bandsaw (which I highly recommend) this book goes into great detail about planning and organizing a project. She writes as though you were carrying on a conversation with her and the directions are extremely easy to read. I followed her directions and ended up with a great 2 drawer band saw box.

There are 14 designs with full directions. In the sequel book, the focus is more on the designs and less on the theory (1st book covers that). She and her co-authors show designs for about 20 or so more boxes. I think it is called, Sculpting Band Saw Boxes.

I got the first book by Ventura and have been hooked on box-making and woodworking in general ever since.

Get out into the shop!!!
 
#70 ·
Just a thought: realize that woodworking involves building skills. You might be thinking you could never build a chair (clock, drum table, etc), but if you build up your different skills, you eventually will be able to. Start with small things that won't overwhelm you, and interest you, such as a birdhouse, stool or cutting board, and see how you do. I remember on one of my earliest projects, a coffee table, that I had to re-sand and stain it 4 times, because the finish wasn't how I wanted it. Yes, it was a pain, but I learned a lot from it.

You might want to look into a subscription to ShopNotes, or Fine Woodworking magazines. Fine Woodworking is for advanced woodworkers, but there is some stuff I'm sure you can pick up. There are many magazines, such as ShopNotes, Woodworkers Journal, etc, that are aimed at beginner to intermediate levels.

Hey, ask us! All of us were beginners at one time! It's a very good community here, and you have guys that are beginner thru advanced levels.
 
#75 ·
HOW THE HELL DO YOU JUST BUY ALL THOSE TOOLS FIRST??? you're crazy…especially Dewalts! I'm a dewally fan…my shop is all dewalt..most…im just goin nuts wonderin how you buy all those dewalts before you know what you're gonna do…well you got the tools..lol…how well can you draw up a project? and can you draw it to scale with a scale? i was always brought up to design and draw the project in your mind first…put it on paper, write down the material list, get your materials, and get to work…and thats how I became the woodworker I am today.
 
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