# Why we love woodworking.



## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

Why do you love woodworking? What is it that keeps you interested?

I enjoy the technical challenges, and making something that will last for generations, and is useful.


----------



## gwurst (Nov 28, 2007)

I'm a network manager for a school district and if I do my job well nobody knows I exist. It's nice to physically make something and say "I did this" and have something to point to.


----------



## offseid (Jan 16, 2008)

I do it for the fame, money and chicks, of course.


----------



## odie (Nov 20, 2007)

I have to totally agree with Eric … It's the fame.

I'm a straight line kind of guy, so most fine art is out. Straight lines with wood … I'm a happy camper. It's the sawdust in the morning …....


----------



## thetimberkid (Apr 5, 2008)

I agree with Eric lol


----------



## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Gee, Eric- I have all that! ;>)

I am sort of in Greg's situation. Worked in computers and electronics all my life. You can toil all day but when you go home there is little tangible evidence that you even existed. Maybe it's ego but woodworking verifies your existence. It says- "Look, I made this!"

Lew


----------



## Russel (Aug 13, 2007)

I like making stuff, though the whole chick angle sounds pretty good too.


----------



## mart (Jun 23, 2008)

I must be doing it wrong, no money, fame or chicks. I do it to detox from my job as a corrections supervisor and for the feeling you get from the journey through each step to completion.


----------



## mot (May 8, 2007)

When I gave up cigars and women over 70, I had to do something.


----------



## Festool4 (Jan 21, 2008)

With my present occupation, everything that I design, build or install will be trashed in twenty years or less; technology is constantly evolving and older generations are being left in the dust. One of the things that attracts me to woodworking, is the fact that I can build something that could potentially last 300 years or more. It is one of the best chances that I have of leaving something of value behind - my legacy, I guess…


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

cause powertools are KEWL…


----------



## dennis (Aug 3, 2006)

Because I put my fishing pole in the shop and can't find it anymore.


----------



## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

my wife thinks im a freak woodworking is simple i love the feel of wood it so tactile and to to produce something from nothing but a peice of wood is just the best feeling in the world i just wish i was close to some of what you guys put on here….....


----------



## brianinpa (Mar 16, 2008)

For me it is the opportunity to get away from all the hassles of the day. The sounds of the power tool or hand tools working the wood to me are like Calgon to a lady in a bath tub. I also need the time away from my wife when she is getting on my nerves: that why I call my garage my break room!


----------



## steveosshop (Jun 21, 2008)

I enjoy working on something that others will trully appreciate and can use all the time. I also agree with Eric and PurpLev…. ...


----------



## jlsmitty (Jul 7, 2008)

It has given us a lot of solid walnut furniture that we probably would have a hard time affording to buy. Someday I will post pictures. My "chick" (wife of 48 years) loves the stuff, she does a lot of sewing on a fancy machine.


----------



## offseid (Jan 16, 2008)

But seriously, I enjoy being able to make something entirely by hand, and to know that it was a great challenge to do so. I also realize that most people who will see the stuff I make won't have any idea how difficult it was, if they even notice it at all. That's why the satisfaction and reward are mostly just internal. So I love LumberJocks because at least when I post about my victories and struggles in the process, lots of others out there know what I'm talking about and can relate!


----------



## ashish (Jul 8, 2008)

I am like Lew and Greg…. Completely virtual…. some even surreal….
I went to grad school in India and got my engineering degree in electronics engineering. In the first year, they teach every one all the trades in the workshops. So I learnt engineering drawing (plan views, isometric projections), wood working (made dovetail joints uses saws and made a small switch box), lathe for metal and wood, welding, fitting and God knows what…

I always wondered why they taught me all that as my major was engineering. My dad, professor of mechanical engineering and man of wisdom told me that it is all required to be a good engineer. If you cant mke it work with your hands, your are not an engineer. 
Years later (11 to be exact), I moved to Canada and discovered Ikea and realised how much basic training in engineering helps me understand and do stuff…. 
Now the 'real' engineering that I do, is in my wood working… I enjoy it, destresses me…
I also find the pieces I build are great conversation points with friends and others who come over…


----------



## ChicoWoodnut (Dec 15, 2007)

I do it because my day job is creating and designing information systems that you can't touch. I do it to satisfy my design/create/build drive in a tangible way.

Plus I have a place to go when I am bugging my wife.


----------



## Newton (Jun 29, 2008)

I do it because…well…I LIKE WOOD!


----------



## tenhoeda (Jun 27, 2008)

Like others who posted it helps me decompress from the day job (network admin)primarily. I can "take a break" from the family to be alone. The satisfaction of being able to say I built that.


----------



## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

I simply love to create something. I work in a corporate office; you just don't get the same sort of satisfaction do that work as I do woodworking. I love the smell of wood and the way the shavings curl from a plane or off a chisel….


----------



## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

For me, there's just something about the infinite variations of wood grain and color. It always reminds me that nature is the ultimate artist.A well finished piece just begs to be touched and admired. Being able to blend nature's art with my own vision is very satisfying.

I also find that woodworking is a metaphor for life in many ways. Good projects, like good relationships, take time, effort, and patience. And no mistake is ever so bad that we can't start over.


----------



## Dadoo (Jun 23, 2007)

Cuz most furniture for sale today is expensive…yet cheap. Cheap materials, cheap fastners, cheap joinery, cheap finishes, and cheap hardware.

So I get a charge out of building my own.


----------



## bbqking (Mar 16, 2008)

Before I got into wood, I was first a welder/fabricator. Then it turned into painter/pinstripes/airbrush. These were hobbies in addition to my regular job that paid the bills. No brag but I was really good at that and still am. I think what really got me about wood is that you have one shot at it. You can't fix it with weld and a grinder, you can't fix it with lacquer thinner, sandpaper, and hi-build primer. With wood, measure three times, cut it, still too short-use your head and make something out of it next month. In the meantime, re-cut, re-mill, re-do. It teaches you patience, which is in short supply these days. You guys know what I'm talking about. bbqKing


----------



## Taigert (Nov 20, 2007)

The only thing I can draw with a pencil is drawings to work from "Blueprints" I can paint a picture, or play a musical instrurment.
But I love the the camera, and woodworking. I find it easy to create in both of those worlds. I have the ability to look at a piece of wood or a sheet of plywood and see the way I want it to turn out. For the most part it is being able to create something that brings joy to someone weather it's a family member, friend or a client.


----------



## Miket (Jan 27, 2008)

Because I love to.


----------



## BigCM (Mar 13, 2008)

Cause it's awesome to reply to "Where did you get that beautiful table?" with "I made it!" 
But also because it makes you a chick magnet


----------



## SteveKorz (Mar 25, 2008)

I deal with destructive things and people all day at work. They only want to tear down their community or each other (don't get me wrong, I deal with good people, too). It's nice to get into my shop, listen to some music that I like, and create. It's one of my outlets for all that negative energy.


----------



## Nels (Dec 10, 2013)

I remember 40+ years ago I worked with a carpenter that made a simple plywood cabinet with a sliding door. I was so impressed that someone could make something from scratch. I have a installation business and stopped working with my hands for ten years. When I started making furniture again, I felt so much better. I need this therapy. Not much of an artist, straight lines mostly. Quarter sawn white oak and arts and crafts furniture.


----------



## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

Because pushing a person through a table saw is illegal.


----------



## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

Other than the hot babe groupies and the free whisky, I like making things that will last for many years and bring people happiness.


----------



## DustyM (May 16, 2016)

For me, it's because I was always the nerdy kid who was expected to excel at anything requiring pen and paper, and nothing physical or material. But I grew up watching NYWS, and always wanted to do what Norm did.
So, I guess it was an act of rebellion?
At any rate, after spending 4 years as a tradesman in the low-voltage field, I now work in an office underwriting. The woodworking keeps me sane: I lost the satisfaction in my 9-5 of being able to show something I did with my own two hands, and this is the only outlet I have for it.


----------



## ScottM (Jul 10, 2012)

I giggle when my wife talks about my wood…. I know it's sad but it's all I have.


----------



## Nels (Dec 10, 2013)

Didn't know what I wanted to do out of HS. Worked as a labor for a carpenter who built a simple cabinet for the people we worked for. Found what I enjoy. 45 years later, owned a woodwork installation business for 25 years, built furniture as a hobby, and collect woodworking tools. My son is starting to take over the business.


----------



## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

smell that? you smell that?red oak,son.nothing in the world smells like that.
i love the smell of red oak in the morning.


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

I like doing a lot of work for little money.


----------

