# What else attracts you to woodworking



## CanadaJeff (Jul 8, 2008)

I was just working on a project and while using a smoothing plane, when I realized that one of the nicest experiences in woodworking is the sound and feel of taking a thin shaving using a smoothing plane.

I find it kind of weird, we talk about, skills, techniques, tools, finishing and all the rest of what is necessary for learning and accomplishing a project, but we seldom recognize the other more subtle things that make woodworking so enjoyable. So I would like to pose the question, what else about woodworking attracts you to the hobby?


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## FirehouseWoodworking (Jun 9, 2009)

The memeories of those who taught me and nurtured the love of woodworking. My father, my grandfather, my mentor Bob.

But every time I pick up a hand plane, I think back to my woodworking teacher from the 4th through 8th grades, Mr. Haas. An older gentleman, very formal and proper, but somehow, he could reach into our souls.

And he was never one to allow us to rest a plane on its sole for fear of knicking the blade. To this day (I'm 52), I ALWAYS lay my planes down on their sides.

And every time I pick up a plane, I feel the comfort of Mr. Haas' knowing gaze and kind smile!


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## Innovator (Jan 20, 2009)

For me is a a huge stress releiver. Getting into the shop and closing the door is like I stepped into a fairy tale. All of the problems of the world are locked outside and I dont even think of them.

The long and short of it, "My shop is my escape"


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

I enjoy antique collecting, and woodworking helps me to recreate replica colonial pieces that I love so much.


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

The workshop Is my domain. I go there and escape the bullsh*t of my regular job.
I love the feel of the timber. The smell of wood being milled. The fact that I can take a bit of rough stock and in a few short hours there is a thing of beauty that I have had a part in making…..The final step.. adding an oil finish and watching the color and grain POP.
The biggest thrill you can get as a woodworker is the look of surprise and delight on the face of a client when you deliver the piece and they say.. I didn't know what I wanted until you built it.. that is exactly what I wanted!!


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

The shop. I set it up. I rearrange things to make it more usable. I use the jigs I made and produce something. It's my place.

The plane shaving is a satisfying experience to me also. Seeing the even shaving come off and hearing the shoosh of each stroke.


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## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

That great feeling of crafting something with my hands….I have always enjoyed that feeling…Coming up with the design….solving the problems…watching the project come to life out of the wood….having the grain light up when I put on the finish….and like degoose said…the face of someone when you show them the project. Especially if I made it for them.

Like they said in the Blues Brothers…. No chemical product can match the rush when the band hits the grove and people are swaying and clapping (I'm not sure that is the exact quote…but close enough) Thats what this hobby does for me - and it recharges me….

Plus, what else has this great bunch of folks sharing this same passion…It crosses generations, gender, race religion.. You don't hear whether this LJ or that is a muslim…etc etc….It's just something we can all share…..

Soapbox over….thanks for the thread…


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

I agree with the plane noise… the clean swish… s w i s h …

I like the FEEL of a good piece of wood… so nice & square, etc.

... and once in awhile, you get a really good smell out of it too!

Popping the grain when the first part of Finishing is done… Just awesome!

... then being able to SEE the project put to good use, as designed…

Comparing Store prices to the cost of making it yourself… and knowing the quality difference! Y E S !!


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

It's the chicks. The screaming, half-naked groupies throwing themselves at my feet.


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## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

I have been blessed by being a furniture/cabinet designer and builder for over 35 years. Now that I have retired I have been setting up my new shop and building what I want - when I want. No more deadlines! I enjoyed my work but now love builidng things for my love ones. If I elect to build something for someone else I can but don't have to. I to have a space I call my own, my shop.

God Bless
tom


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## mattd (Aug 8, 2007)

I like the benefit of just being able to think about a project when I can.. especially during a long drive.. solving problems and making decisions.. having something else to look forward to all the time. Not as good as actual shop time, with the groupies and all that, but it's a big part of it to me.


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## Russel (Aug 13, 2007)

Apparently, Charlie's woodworking is a lot different than what I do.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

I have to agree with Russel. I have a nephew who lives in Baton Rouge. I may have to arrange a visit and "swing" by Charlie's place.

But, as for woodworking, I really can't identify a casual element that got me into it. As mentioned by others I just enjoy the stress relief- whether it be from daily activities or from my wife's yelling . Not that working wood, itself, is free from stress (especially when I have put a dado on the wrong side of panel).


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## Broda (Oct 7, 2008)

2 things come to mind

watching the long winds of shavings fly all over the shop when turning a green peice of wood with a freshly sharpened bowl gouge

that few seconds when you (with one hand) squeeze the tommy bars in your lathe chuck and with your other hold you competed bowl/plate and it just pops off the lathe into you hands


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## cranbrook2 (May 28, 2006)

I,m with Charlie on this one !


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## MikeGager (Jun 15, 2009)

i personally like the design aspect the best


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## paulglen (Mar 30, 2008)

Hi Jeff, 
One thing I like about this hobby is the interesting people who are woodwork hobbyists.
Have a good one.
Paul


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## littlecope (Oct 23, 2008)

It's Creation! Taking some vague itch of an idea and "birthing" it into the world. And everybody's "vision" is entirely unique and singular, NEVER to be repeated anywhere or at anytime exactly the same by anyone.
It might sound pompous or over glorified, but it's like controlling a small portion of destiny and we humans hunger to leave some sort of mark in the world! Something that says "I WAS HERE!" after we are not…


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## kjwoodworking (Oct 4, 2007)

I read where people work from home on the computer in their robes or what not.

Well since my woodworking shop is about ten steps from my back door I have been trying something new and relaxing.

I love the cool morning air, the aroma of freshly cut wood, how I feel at one with my woodworking tools as I plane rough cut lumber on my power planer in nothing more than tighty whities, safety glasses, and ear muffs. Hey, safety first.

I did try it in the buff once, but some areas are definitely supposed to stay splinter free!

For some reason I'm not seeing the women Charlie M speaks of????

All joking aside, I still think my profile page here at Lumberjocks still sums it up for me.

Oh yea, I apologize if I have now ruined woodworking for anyone with any visuals they may have gotten from the above.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

All kidding aside, this is a great topic because I agree with everyone. Every response I read, I'm thinking "Yeah…that's it!" And then I read the next response and think, "Oh, yeah! That too!"

Oh, and Kirk…. go put some pants on, man.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

all exelent explanations and feelings !
after the time of designing and planing ,
and visualizing other alternate possabilitys .
the chalenge of the unknown ,
the long search thru the scraps
for that one special piece .
the joy of finding and bringing all
the parts together .
and finally the moment of truth….....
the prayer …..
the cut …....
the antisipation …..
and the pride …...

it works !!!!!

then the reviews …..

gee dear , should'nt that table have 4 legs ?


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## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

I agree with what all of you have said but, there is something else, something there is no words for that draws me to the wood. Sitting at the foot of a Giant Redwood or staring at the Bristlecone Pine and knowing that they are thousands of years old… there is something else and words may never be there for it.


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## Derrek (May 19, 2009)

For me its about giving. I can't count the times that someone gave me money for a birthday or Christmas or other occasion. However the gifts that are prominently displayed for all the world to see are the ones that we make with love. My Mom could never tell you the location of all the money people have given her, but if you ask her where the wooden Santa Claus is that I made her in the 4th grade, she can pluck it off her bookshelf in her bedroom. Giving.

Derrek


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## teenagewoodworker (Jan 31, 2008)

for me its just the joy of taking that rough sawn board and making something beautiful out of it. i really enjoy the hand aspects and finishing as well as every part of the building process. and the final result it what makes it all worth it.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

There's a hole with no bottom trying to answer that question…
I will list the tops of my list as it were.

#!. I was an art Major in college for good reason. Woodworking is just another outlet for the creative juices.
#2. I LOVE a challenge.
#3. Stress relief. 
#4. Fond memories of my dad, my grandpa, my great uncles, my uncles etc… Deep family history with woodworking.
#5. Absolutely disgusted with what comes out of the furniture stores. 
#6. I can only play my bass so loud, but LOML doesn't fuss if I am in the garage running power tools.

I guess woodworking is for me, merely a facet, albeit a rather large one, of a deep running creative streak in me. I also play bass, brew my own beer, am on competition BBQ team and chili team, paint, and draw. And they all do the same thing for me. Take me to that happy place as it were…

I must admit though, when starting with a rough chunk of wood that might as well go in the smoker, and I end up with a beautiful finished piece, or at least I sometimes do, I just LOVE that feeling…


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## CanadaJeff (Jul 8, 2008)

Yah there are many answers here that have made me realize other things that make woodworking so great.
In reflecting back on the list, i must say the appreciation and response of people when they recieve a one of a kind gift is definately up there. I was thinking back to the projects I have made and am realizing that I actually have only kept one othe them (http://lumberjocks.com/projects/8675) for myself. The others are either going to end up with friends and family or already have.

As for the chicks and half naked groupies that Charlie gets. Hmmm…. If I name my mitre saw "Mavis" and take off the safety guards, would that count!


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## jeffl (May 3, 2009)

I like the smell of the wood , making things , fixing things, and in recent years I've found that all the "stars" you see in the magazines are very appoachable.


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

I like to make things that have value and will be there…long after I die.


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## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

solitude


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

I've got to go visit Charlie. I guess it's the relaxation I get for molding and shaping the wood. Turning some rough looking wood into something of beauty.

And making someone else happy.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

I like sharp things.


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## Michael121 (Jun 30, 2008)

I found a piece of Teak about 1/2 inch thick shaped like a vase. 7 inches at the bottom, 12 at the top and about 18 inches long. Can't bring myself to do nothing more than wax and display it.

Now I was thinking of building a table, need a new coffee table, and mortising that little slab of teak right in the center. It is just the grain pattern is so cool.

It is that feeling, the beauty in the medium in which we work.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

"What else attracts you to woodworking?"

The wood, the smells, the sounds, the designs, the finished pieces, the tools, the tool subgroups (blades, planes, etc.), planning my next upgrade, planning how to finance the next upgrade without using grocery money, the puzzle of the shop layout, time in the shop, learning new techniques, catalogs, mags, forums, NYWS, the reactions when you make something for someone, the healthy outlet for an obsession. Overall…just about everything, but notice that I didn't mentioned any "finishing" steps except actually finishing.


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## robbi (Jul 28, 2007)

I agree with all of these comments, except Charlie. Personally, it's kind of cool being a girl in a mostly hot guy kind of hobby. I also love the look on a guys face when he walks into my garage and sees my tools. Some of you might remember my racoon problem, well, Mr. Rescue was also a woodworker and he was trying to explain to me how to replace my vents on the outside of my house and we got to talking a little and when he realized I had done all the remodel on my bathrooms and built some of the things in my house he was completely surprised (and a little embarassed that he went into such detail on how to screw a vent in). I love it when I mention I do a little woodworking as a hobby and they nod their head and I know they are thinking…"sure honey, I'd love to see that 3 legged table you built"...and then they see my stuff and they are shocked. Not that I am that great, but when you are expecting to see crap, anything looks pretty good!


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## Tearen (Aug 2, 2007)

I use woodworking as way to reduce my stress. I work in the automotive industry and deal with sh!t everyday. When I am in my shop I am at peace. It is my place of Zen.

When I look at a piece of wood I can "see" all the things it wants to become. I take great delight out of helping it turn into something new. That and hearing things such as…. "Wow, you made that yourself" ... "That is exactly what I wanted!".... etc…etc..


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

I like the ability to look at a plan and adapt it. There is something satisfying about knowing that I have added my creativity to a project. I just love spending the day (while I am also doing other things!) thinking about the best way to plan and execute a project. Just producing a quality piece of woodworking it so satisfying. I also find woodworking so relaxing and stimulating at the same time. It keeps my mind active (gotta keep those brain cells moving!) and I can build at a pace the suits my "relaxation" mode. I love the sound of the bandsaw as it cuts effortlessly through the wood. I love the feel of fine wood. I guess I just love the idea of creating something out of wood! I have never sold anything I made…but I have given away countless cutting boards, boxes, candle holders, etc. There is sheer joy in seeing someone appreciate something I made out of a piece of wood. And, as someone else said, no one ever forgets where it came from! I also love checking out the LJ site to see what ideas you can provide!
Ellen


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## Ottis (Apr 17, 2009)

Read all the response's…and agree with all except one….I think I will have nightmares after visualizing *kjwoodworking* standing at his bench in his "tighty whities"...UGH !!!! lol

But seriously it is everything everyone has said and more….but I guess one of the things I love is the "Unknown"...as in what will happen to this piece….will it be in the clients next garage sale…or become a treasured family heirloom that will be passed down from generation to generation long after I am gone.


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