# How Did You Learn Woodworking?



## Cricket (Jan 15, 2014)

I am curious how y'all learned woodworking. Is it something you have always done since a woodworking class back in school? Did you have a mentor that helped you learn? Did you take classes? Do you continue to learn online? I would love to hear your story.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Hi Cricket
I first developed an interest in woodworking by watching Norm Abram and Roy Underhill on TV some 30 years ago, after that I subscribed to almost every woodworking magazine available and after that I purchased books on woodworking (I have about 600 books on woodworking now.)after that I came across Charles Neil on You Tube and watched all 40+ videos he had ,I noticed a link on Charles Neils web site to LumberJocks.com a little over five years ago. I have learned much here on LJs and a lot on Charles Neils Videos and on line schools. I learn and offer advise every day on Ljs.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

I began my journey in woodworking when I was 12. A friend of mine named Rafraf from Russia came to me and said " there is a Muslim get together and if we attend, they provide free chocolate milk" I said, lets go. As we were ushered into a room for people our age, I sat down and listened to the mullah whom for 3 hours spoke of Jesus Christ and his miraculous birth by the verging Mary and so on. I rushed home and found a piece of wood and carved it into a cross using a kitchen knife and made a necklace out of it. It all went from there.


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## BJODay (Jan 29, 2013)

My Dad was very handy. He built several houses and helped me build my first home. He was a good rough carpenter. Actually a "Jack of All Trades".

One of my brothers worked part-time for a cabinet shop. He showed me how to make face frame cabinets and I have been doing that ever since, (for personal use).

He also had an old wood lathe that I used to turn some 4×4 oak into coffee table legs. I did it but I cannot understand how I did it without breaking my arm. The speed was limited, the tools were dull and I had no instruction. Just winged it.

I'm trying to expand my skill set. I have found great information and inspiration at LJs.

BJ


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## HillbillyShooter (Feb 15, 2012)

Grew up on a farm (but lived in town), so woodworking and mechanics were a part of my life as far back as I can remember. Although WW is an advocation for me, my learning has progressed by means of books and now the Internet. This site has been one of the most informative and motivational sources I've found. Thanks to all LJs!


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

I was given a set of tools on my sixth birthday (1958) for doing woodworking. I've butchered a board or two since then, and have made many a pretty piece, too. My dad taught me a lot, like build one in pine before you use a more costly wood, long before (like, 20 years) I heard Norm utter those words. I've also been attentive to learning many things besides woodworking; and always striven to be a Renaissance man. I can fix any part of a car or truck, design tools, and can work wood and metal (copper, in particular). I have a degree in physics, and have designed and built equipment for space communications satellites.

BTW, a belated welcome, Cricket! Don't let the old guard here give you any grief! I realize that some woodworkers are a conservative lot and resistant to change.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Took up this sport at age 59 with NO prior experience at all. Bought a Ryobi tablesaw and mitersaw and started reading everything woodworking that I could find. Then I discovered Lumberjocks!

Now I have a BUNCH of toys and I blame it all on this site!


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

I was about 3-4 when I got bit by the bug. My dad was handy around the house and built lots of things.
I had a pretty good teacher. Although like all kids I did it my way.

I built out of need. Things to solve problems , darkroom , boxes for large format cameras, gestner type toolbox 
When I got my house, I got back to building regularly, as I now had a rudimentary shop.
I love videos from either other people (you tube) or the old yankee or david Marks shows. You are never too old or too good to learn. The best videos are Roy Underhill. Learn hand tools first, and you'd be surprised how fast you can build. Roy taught me to use a knife and chisel before using a handsaw. All my problems hand sawing went away. Also how to quickly size things by using a chisel and splitting, or a hatchet.


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## tomd (Jan 29, 2008)

When I first got married we bought an old house, need I say more ?


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## Kryptic (Nov 8, 2013)

Ive been hooked ever since my dad caught me doing bad things in the wood pile : )


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

All male members of our family are tradesman of some sort, i.e. Aircraft mechanics, Auto Mechanics, Train mechanics etc etc. All by some odd quirk are hobbyist woodworkers. I grew up holding this or that, painting, or getting this tool or that tool. Years later I am teaching my son some of the very same things.


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## Cricket (Jan 15, 2014)

I am loving hearing your stories. I wish we had a like button here!


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

When I was in the seventh grade, Dad decided he was going to build a bigger house, the family had outgrown
the first small one he had built. Since it was summer and he had a full time job, I was elected chief helper
and galley slave, from digging the basement with a No 2 idiot stick to framing the house I was taught by 
doing it. Since Dad was a mechanic I was expected to know how to take care of my tools and cars and
forgot to outgrow it. I now have my own woodworking shop which keeps me out of most trouble and
off streetcorners. Roy Underhill, Norm Abram and quite a few others including Lumberjocks have kept 
me going and learning just a little more.


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## lightcs1776 (Nov 14, 2013)

Trial and error and a lot of help from folks here. I'm still pretty new at it. My wife is also learning, much the same way. There is a local woodworking club we are in the process of joining, and I think that will be very helpful.


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## TravisH (Feb 6, 2013)

Growing up most of my wood working was small projects. I needed a box to store baseball cards, ramps for bikes, etc.. As I moved more into my teens I started building larger half pipes for skateboarding, made a snowboard, and a few other items. At the time you could not have paid me to be in wood shop class as it was unfortunately considered a place to hide the troubled and those with dim futures. During college I built utilitarian pieces for my dorm (shelving units and small tables) and did some carving/whittling. These were functional pieces that had to mobile and double as storage bins during moves. Once I got married and we bought a house I bought tools that I considered needed by a homeowner.

I watched a lot of shows growing up and early in woodworking but most just didn't impress me as I felt I could do the same with the arsenal of tools they had. I found Underhill interesting and admired that he had ability to actually do things. It wasn't until I saw David Marks on TV that I was really interested. The craftsman/artistry really drew my attention to woodworking. It was a refreshing eye opener to what woodworking could be as it didn't alienate me the way a thirty minute sales pitch from a plaid shirt focused on reproductions.

I now find woodworking more of a way to get away. The artistry and craftsmanship is what really draws me in and something I want to develop. I don't mind following a cut list and plans but honestly don't find it rewarding as I honestly feel anyone should be able to do it with the right tools.


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## doubleDD (Oct 21, 2012)

I can remember back when I was young, my dad saying you can't get these any more , I'll have to make one. It was a wooden storm window. I helped sweeping sawdust and moving boards around while he did the build. At that time I knew this was something I would like to do, building things. My dad taught me things as well as my uncle. Just kept learning and picking up ideas as I got older. Became a carpenter, the rest is history. In short, I learn from everybody and everything.


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## exelectrician (Oct 3, 2011)

Cricket, To answer your questions, I took up woodworking at the age of 62, no mentor, no classes, just a desire to keep my wife happy, "Make me a raised bed for my garden so my mom can participate so it needs to be 24" high" she said, - My first power tool, a worm drive circ-saw, that was the beginning, constant watching Youtube, LJ's and every website that has anything to offer, I still do that almost every day, it's amazing what you can learn from others.
Now 10 years later I am still learning.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

I have no formal training. I never had shop class. I just decided several years ago that it was something I wanted to do. Lots of reading and studying. I also ask lots of stupid questions.


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## KarenW (May 29, 2012)

Growing up with 5 brothers I often spent time with Dad - it was safer! lol 
That's where I got my love of working with my hands. Having 8 kids meant he did all the repairs and upkeep on the house rather than hiring the work done and I learned a lot being his 'gopher' in my young days. Then in high school I decided I wanted to take wood shop. That took a meeting of the school board and a letter signed by my parents to get me into that class as the first girl to ever do so. Later, as a young married woman I had to find ways to furnish a house on a small budget which usually meant thrift stores or yard sales so I taught myself how to repair furniture. I was good at it and that turned into a (very) small business. I later expanded into other things, always wood related. When I bought my first tablesaw, a Craftsman 7.5" benchtop, my husband wasn't thrilled but didn't say much. Each additional tool purchase added to my arsenal but increased his unthrilled attitude. Eventually I saw the handwriting on the wall, knew I'd have to support myself and started another small business which I worked hard at to expand and it's carried me forward for many years. Some lean years but always self-supporting which was my goal. 
Now, years later, I have two shops - one for furniture finishing and one for everything else. Self-taught on everything with a lot of trial and error, a lot of designer kindling and some downright hits and misses but I wouldn't change what I do for anything. Oh, and a partner who not only appreciates my skills but gladly shares his tablesaw. One thing we never have to dicker about is buying a new tool. 
It's been 33 years since I did my first repair with a whole lot of sawdust between then and now but it's never gotten old, boring or tedious.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

grew up in mexico both parents studying art there
father was a war vet (wwII) he died wanting to sail around the world
left me that dream at 8 years old
step father decided i was a man at 12 - streets - dishwasher/ditchdigger/ no education
at 20 busted for pot federal prison (went voluntarily to straighten up my past after i broke probation)
the first year as a plumber there
finally got into mr morinagas class building trades (with his help)
vocational trainee award/turkey dinner with warden/orca the whale movie for dessert
hired to finish a restaurant in cal
designer sick i became the designer and work boss








went on to recording studio
















and more restaurants
















hired to go to colombia and 'build a house to impress mick jagger'
spent two years there (never did meet him)
lost everything at home
worked 10 years in boats in florida (dads old dream)
decided to much piracy and political unrest around the world
so came back to new mexico
sober by choice 20 years now
2nd 'homestead' (this one mine- no more 'streets')
building a house and new shop alone here for 14 years

















work at my art now as catch can

















traveled 3 summers around the country and met many LJ's
and helped set up their shops or use their tools
found mr morinaga and gave him a thank you gift
for changing my life for the better

















i never ask for what i can do for myself
God takes care of the rest

a little worn around the edges
but still dreaming


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## MyChipCarving (Nov 4, 2009)

My dad was not a handyman, tool guy in any way. He even got on me for spending my money on a new hammer. I returned it. They say it sometimes skips a generation. That's my story. Took shop class as a young boy. Built things around home. Always liked wood. Studied to be a shop teacher and learned how to chip carve after reading an article in Fine Woodworking back in 1985. A VHS tape, a knife, and some wood and the rest is history!


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## MalcolmLaurel (Dec 15, 2013)

My father just naturally built anything and everything he wanted to, renovation of our old summer cabin, making cabinets and such for our house, R/C airplanes, whatever, so of course I learned from him and did the same, it never occurred to me that everybody doesn't do the same thing.

Dad was an electrical engineer by education but never worked in that field; he ran a carpenter contractor company in NYC, high end office remodeling and such. One school vacation he put me in his shop for a couple of weeks to work with and learn from his chief cabinetmaker, I learned a lot then, too.

If I don't know how to do something I just do it anyway and learn from my mistakes. Being an engineer (I don't mean being a trained engineer although I am, just that "engineer" is the kind of person I am, as was my father), I can look at pretty much anything and figure out how it works or how to make it. But rough/rustic, quirky, and functional is my thing. I'll never be a fine cabinetmaker like some of the other guys here, I don't have the patience.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Wow patron,
Amazing story.. Thanks for sharing it. Life sure slaps you around here and there.


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

I never started woodworking until a little over a year ago. I am a music teacher and professional guitarist by trade so when I was in high school I never even thought to take a shop class because I wanted to take every music class I could. I tend to obsess about every little detail of learning about something and tend to completely immerse myself into it wholeheartedly. A little over a year ago my wife and I bought our first house. We needed a bookshelf that was going to be bigger than the usual junk that you could get at walmart, and everything else was way out of our price range. All I had was a circular saw, hammer, nails, some glue, and 4 clamps. So I looked on the internet to figure out how to build a bookcase with those tools. I found how to do it, and took me about 6 weeks of when I could work on it. I did it and then became hooked. Then the tool addiction started….........

Being a guitarist by trade I teach it every day for 6 hours and then I have gigs on weekends and some week nights; I needed to do something else. Many people do music for a hobby, music is my life. I really needed a hobby so woodworking fit the bill nicely.

Patron you have an amazing story! I don't think many of us can stand up to that


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## RickL (Aug 12, 2007)

Self-taught. I never had a chance to take shop class, the all male catholic school I attended (1966)didn't have one. Many years later(1989) my wife showed me a plan for a plywood and Formica sewing table and cutting board., threatened to take it down the street to my neighbor who had a garage shop so off I went with a circular saw, jig saw, sand paper and a sander. Turned out great and it was a slippery slope from there. Though I say self-taught, I will however give credit to Woodsmith Magazine as my " teacher" as well as Norm. The step by step detail of the plans in Woodsmith helped me built many projects that we still have today as well as showing techniques to learn while building. I continue to challenge myself and learn something new it seems with each project I do.


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## Vincent (Mar 10, 2009)

My grandfather and father were both trained as finish carpenters. My grandfather built his home (still standing) in 1912. He worked in that profession his entire working life. My father hated finish carpentry and moved on to other professions early on. When I was young, I would occasionally help my father and grandfather build things, but there was no formal training. About every 2-3 years, my grandfather would disassemble his garage and relocate it to another area of his property. That was always an interesting time. Unfortunately, after they passed, my siblings threw away all of their tools because they were "old and had some rust". I'm going to guess that more than 30 vintage Stanley planes and other hand tools got tossed.

Fast forward to 1980, I needed a bed for my first apartment and I cobbled together a platform bed frame using hand tools. A few years later (1985), after buying my first house, I was building a bathroom vanity with hand tools and I thought that it would be much faster with a router and jigsaw. Well, it goes on from there.

I am pretty much self taught. I learn by watching and studying vintage pieces. I have visited many of the Shaker sites, George Nakashima's studio, Frank Llloyd Wright and Greene and Greene homes and countless museums.


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## CharlesA (Jun 24, 2013)

My father died when I was 1. He built furniture as a hobby, but I never really knew that for years. I took shop in 7th grade, hand tools first semester, power tools second semester-that established some basic skills. Someone noted in their post that everybody in their family practiced a trade. Pretty much the same in my family, except for me. I was the egghead, consistently teased for having no practical skills. That set in me a determination to prove that I could do anything if I determined to do it. So I was always proving myself by figuring out how to fix/build things around the house. But I never did any serious woodworking, even though I've always loved to look of wood.

When we moved into our first house 17 years ago, we needed some room dividers upstairs. I went to HD to figure out what to do, and the guy in tools said what I needed was Kreg pocket jig-would make it much easier. So I headed over to a store I'd never heard of, Woodcraft, and got me one. I became fascinated with that jig, and made a few things from their plans. That got the bug going.

I've learned from Kreg at first, then lots of web education: Woodwhisperer, LJ, TV (Woodsmith Shop, Rough Cut), and some books (Charles Neil). The single most transformative piece I've read is Christopher Schwarz's Coarse, Medium, Fine.


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## b2rtch (Jan 20, 2010)

I always was very gifted to do things with my hands.


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## Toolz (Feb 26, 2008)

After I retired from the Navy I got interested in leather-working and wood working before the internet. I bought a few magazines and a few hand tools and small power tools and dove in and learned by doing ;-)


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

My grandparents dabbled in craft shows, mostly NCAA themed coat hangars, wooden toys and cork pin boards. This got me interested pretty early on, looking back, much of the safety practices my grandpa followed really weren't all that safe; never had a dust collector! As I've honed my skills building fairly simple, but heavy furniture and rebuilding old machines to aid me I've learned quite a bit, mostly on my own. I hope to continue to learn from more seasoned Lumberjocks, and help those with less experience than myself. With the additional time required to load all the new ads, this can't happen as quickly as it used to.


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## BigMig (Mar 31, 2011)

I grew up in an apartment, so it wasn't till I was into my 30s that I bought my first home, and began watching Norm Abram and *New Yankee Workshop*.

Got a used Delta contractor table saw…and have continued v-e-r-y slow progress. Always challenging, and fun, however.

Lumberjocks has fostered much learning, as has getting together w a couple of other woodworkers that I met at a local Lie Nielsen event.


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

I got my start sorta like Andy did ( gfadvm) only it was but 8 years ago in 2006 that I got my start, I am self taught, my very first project was my kitchen I dove right in on building hard maple cabinets which are buried deep in my projects, since stumbling onto LJ's it was here that pushed me the rest of the way and landed me where I am today. I've always been good with my hands and a fast learner.


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## leafherder (Jan 20, 2013)

One grandfather was a watchmaker, the other grandfather was a carpenter - both died before I was born. My father was a mechanical engineer - he died before I was 2 - but I still grew up hearing stories about how they could build and fix and invent things. I enjoyed wood crafts in Cub Scouts, but got turned off by a tyrannical wood shop teacher in junior high school (I think he did not like the fact that I could not build those wooden puzzles very well, but I could solve all of them in record time). Did not start again until after Graduate School when a storm broke some limbs off a couple trees in my yard - as I was cutting them up for the trash I thought "this one looks like a cane". As they say, the rest is History (which happens to be what I studied in college and graduate school). Still not very coordinated with power tools but love hand finishing things.


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## Texcaster (Oct 26, 2013)

Dad was very handy and it rubbed of on me. I've always made things. In the early 70's I was making surfboards and got pretty good at it. After many 3-4-6 month surf trips to Mexico and Central America, I no longer surfed in California. House painting was my way of saving for the next trip. Cabinetmaking seemed like a better fallback position, so at 27, I went to Los Angeles Trade Tech for two years. Best move I ever made. The G.I. bill paid my way, a married man received an extra $50 a month so we got hitched. Still together. Being older I never got the newbie treatment. Unlike in the army, after a year of cable splicing in Viet Nam, at Ft. Hood a dim career soldier sent me after "frequency grease ". I was gone most of the day. Sgt. Stitt was spitting chips when I got back.
" I've been everywhere sarge, nobody had any damn frequency grease."

I'm like Kalab but I play music for the things I don't get from furniture. I don't have to make music pay.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I was raised on a farm so helping dad and uncles got me started on basic carpentry at a young age. I started whittling toys when I was about 8 or 10 when my grandparents gave me a pocket knife for Christmas. All self taught, no classes. The schools I went to were too small to have a dedicated wood shop or class.


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