Work or Hobby?

I feel the same way man accept I get the pleasure of making both cabinets and studio furniture. I work out in my shop for 10-12 hours everyday and when I’m not out there I’m reading about it of doing woodworking online. As if I didn’t have enough wood on the brain my dad and i just bought a protable bandsaw mill and we do custom on-site cutting. I wouldn’t have it any other way I love the life and hobby just isn’t enough wood for me!

-- Rogue

Strictly a hobby for me. I am an electrical engineer (hence the moniker) and most of what I do for a living ends up on a circuit board no one ever sees or as small amounts of charge in a chip (firmware) that no one can ever see. When I finish something in wood, though, it leaves something tangible and beautiful.

That’s not to say it is not financially rewarding, though. I built the deck on the back of my house, all the cabinets in my kitchen when I refinished it and I have built a thousand little wall-mounted shelves, standing bookshelves and miscellaneous pieces of furniture for far less than I would have paid. But, basically, its a hobby; no deadlines, full freedom in the shop (how many times have I shelved a current project to work on a better tool/fixture just because I wanted to?) and there just seems to be something therapeutic about snorting fresh sawdust.

-- "Find out what you cannot do and then go do it!"

Mine is mostly a hobby, but occasionally I do make some decent money at it. My “real” job is as a chef, but even as such I get plenty of time to do my hobby and look at the piles of wood in the shop and wonder what they want to be made in to. I spend lots more time designing projects than actually doing them though. Maybe in an attempt to be organized somewhat when it’s time for the wood to talk to me. Hoping it will want to be something that I’ve already designed.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

Hobby for me. If it was work it would spoil it.

-- Scott - Chico California http://chicowoodnut.home.comcast.net

Its my living and my hobby and I enjoy both very much!

-- Les, Wichita, Ks. (I'd rather be covered in saw dust!)

Today I was thinking how much I just miss puttering around the shop. With dead lines all the time, and that tunnel vision I get when working on a project, I forget to just putter. Put things away, rearrange, actually throw something away (Ya right!). My puttering is now done on the computer!

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Totally hobby and retired. I spend more hours a day in the shop now than I did at my paying job. I may work four hours in a row. Sometimes I will work continuously for 15 minutes. I just do what I want (hope she doesn’t see this).

-- Bill - If I knew GRANDKIDS were so much fun I would have had them first.

And the Shoemaker’s children go barefoot….;-)

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

my hobbies are a big part of my life. I work full time and my hobbies are my play time. I like to play allot….

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

Just a hobby for me, I work as a machinist working on metal. Funny now that I think about it everything I do turns to chips.

-- Gary, Missouri

By day a carpenter. By night a woodworker. Sawdust and splinters are my thing man!

-- christopheralan http://www.projectwoodworks.com http://www.ProjectWoodworks.etsy.com My Stuff for Sale! http://www.zazzle.com/christopheralan PWW Shirts and Gear!

Just a hobby for me.I love making houses and feeders for the birds and some lawn ornaments.Nothing amazing but I have fun.

-- Dustygirl..Hastings,Ontario.. How much wood can 1 gal chuck if 1 gal can't cut wood?

It’s work, but when I have time for hobbies, I’m usually right back in the shop! It can be hard to go out there to play and see the work to be done. I figure the cabinets feed my mouth and the other projects feed my soul.

Dennis, I’m with you – I miss just hanging out in the shop. One of these days, I’ll drive down there (now that gas is almost affordable) and hang out in your shop, and distract you from working so you can just hang out too!

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

For me it is just a hobby until my wife tells me she wants something: then it becomes work.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

Business Hobby. I “retired” from my boring day job and now run the household and do this as a for-profit hobby, as now I need to pay for the exotic woods I’ve stashed in the basement. I get to play in the basement workshop after major chores and errands are done which sometimes isn’t as much time as I wish, but I can stay up late, as my commute is ideal. My CFO encourages me to keep designing new ideas and is one of my best critics. I’m always on the look out for new techniques and designs so I can change my direction as I go. Commission work keeps me in tune to what the cane user really needs. I’m building my inventory for a craft show, as each new design is a prototype and takes longer to fabricate. Every piece is a learning experience. I am frequently accused of “Having way too much fun.”

I still have much to learn about the tools and techniques and it sure beats watching soaps and eating bon-bons. http://www.gallerymh.com

-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe

Just a hobby for me.

If I had to do it to make a living it would take all the fun out of it.

Then you HAVE to do it.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

My skill level keeps it a hobby, though someday I’d like for it to contribute to it’s upkeep. But I figure it’s a lot like kids; you put money out, hoping for some return, but knowing better.

-- When you give someone a chance it may well be their last.

I am a remodeling contractor that pushes for the custom work as much as I can. That way I can hire out the framing, sheetrock, and roofing – that leaves the sweet part of the work for me.

I love designing, it does not matter if it is a bathroom, kitchen, a fitted or freestanding furnishing. Good design is good design.

OK – I admit that I do like the shop projects the most. I have found that the best way to sell them is to include them as part of a larger job.

I am drawn to the shop like a moth to a light. I can’t help myself. I can have a stressful deadline project in the shop and I can push it aside to work on a “fun” project and suddenly relax. Like most of the others here at LJ, this is my obsession.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Hobby for me with an occasional commissioned piece . I tried working in a custom millwork and cabinet shop for a few months , but all they cared about was pumping out the products , not the quality….AND not my idea of craftsmanship…...everything was cut out with a CNC machine and pocket screwed together . Woodworking is the best hobby I’ve ever had : )

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Hobby… passion.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

A hobby for me as well. As do most of the members here I love making sawdust but I doubt seriously that I could make a living doing this because I am simply too slow. We recently remodeled the kitchen and I seriously wanted to make the cabinetry but was vetoed on this because my wife felt that she “would be in her grave” before I got them completed. :)

As it is I am currently working on a laundry cabinet and between the design and build I have about 40 hours into the project and have an unfinished upper cabinet without doors on it at this stage. But I am having fun so maybe it is a good thing that I don’t need the income from my woodworking to pursue this passion.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I left my day job for a couple of years to run my sawmill full time. I found that it turned in to work, so I returned to a day job, and play with wood when I can – which makes it that more satisfying.

For me the stress of dealing with business and customer needs took away from the pleasures of working with wood.

I admire those that can make a full time living from wood and still retain their love for it.

-- Fred, Georgia

Self supporting hobby…

I take on paid projects on a one-off basis, if I’m interested and can complete them in a timely manner. I get goofball referrals from several local pros. I refer most of my inquires to them. It all started with large scale radio control model aircraft, and moved into small add-on and repair jobs of panels, fixtures for retail, cabinetry, and furniture.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

An expensive hobby, I work a day job to pay for it.

-- Ron Central, CA

It’s my living & my hobby. I love both of them. Also my new passion is I’m writing a how to book on Stilish boxes, with carving and marquetry. In my woodworking library I have over 1200 books and magazines.

You do some beautiful woodworking!!! Thanks for posting.

-- Dennis Zongker

Woodworking was a full time job for me until a injury ., Now it is a passion , obsession , necessity and also therapeutic.
If it ever begins to feel like work then i will move onto something else .

-- John in Belgrave ,(Slideshow http://cid-69bce320c6d8b119.spaces.live.com/ (Website) http://www.extremebirdhouse.com

I am retired and right now it is mostly a hobby, but I am trying to make it a part time home business.
Just kind of getting started and building a little inventory. I will try some shows next spring/summer and also hope by then I can get a web site built.
I am going to try my best to keep it a “pleasure and a joy” rathern than “work”............ I hope I can control it.

-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/

Out of control passion/hobby. Although I occasionally sell something, it’s generally a hugely expensive hobby.
Of the other expensive “hobbies” I’ve had, at least I have something to show for my time and dollars. And no regrets, either.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I would have to say big time Hobby. Almost to the point of not being healthy…LOL>>>>>

-- Davesfunwoodworking

Long time hobby that may yet turn into a business. Gotta get faster if I’m going to make a living at it.

-- Always do the Right Thing the Right Way the First Time - if you can figure out what that is! Ken, Spring Branch, TX

I fall into the into the business/hobby category. Working wood twenty plus years making a living for me and my family,we get by.And I still can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday than in the shop. This last 6-8 weeks have been especially tough for me, people just are not willing to spend with the uncertainty of the future. Things will get better, they always do, just have to ride it out.

-- Chips and Shavings/ see you at WWW.underconstructionlive.com

hobby and occasionally for profit(pay for tools and wood), But when I retire hopefully woodworking full time

-- rob, ont,canada

Well Today its a hobby, tomorrow maybe not
I have always wanted a work shop
today i got one not big but i got room to grow
I work in Florida so my shop is a open air shop.
but it works and i love it.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking

I do it to keep myself from watching television and keep me out of the house for a little while anyway I make things for my sons and family and also cost me much much more than I produce would never make anything to order or for money.I also have a fully stockedwith machinery machinery shop which I alternate between the both great fune.love to all my friends Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease