Is anyone into woodworking?

[Scotty]

I had this interest before the pandemic. Pre pandemic Home Depot would offers 45 min class. Post I can’t find anything. 
 

I reached out to a coworker who retired and was well versed in the subject. He does primarily art frames, I’m not sure what I want to do yet.  
 

Google shows that there’s not that many like minded people without paying. Anyone have a table saw and a few handtools that would like to take the time to introduce a newbie.  Looking to fill some time. 
 

Thanks in advance,

Scotty

[derf]

Been doing it for years. Make sure your first projects are for your wife. Prime the pump for the proper tools later. 1st rule: you can never have enough clamps. Check building sight for end cuts. They usually don’t mind giving them to you and there’s a ton of things you can make with them. 

[gregintenn]

I admire it, but do not have all the necessary tools.

Figure out what you’d like to make and surf YouTube!

Keep us updated with your progress. Like I said before; I admire it!

[derf]

A quick google search shows several places in Nashville that hold classes. 

[Scotty]

1 hour ago, derf said:

A quick google search shows several places in Nashville that hold classes. 

I tried a few links. A lot were defunct post Covid. 
 

Had an old timer I used to work with that is going to show me the works. 
 

I shoot pool, throw darts, golf, and shoot. This is one of those hobbies I want to do for myself. 

[gregintenn]

My grandfather was a hobbyist woodworker. I have several cars, airplanes, furniture, etc he made. These are priceless heirlooms to me. You can make the same for your children and grandchildren. Just do it!!!

[crc4]

7 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

My grandfather was a hobbyist woodworker. I have several cars, airplanes, furniture, etc he made. These are priceless heirlooms to me. You can make the same for your children and grandchildren. Just do it!!!

Excellent post. Your kids and grandkids won't care about perfection. They'll care about your efforts to make something for them.

[peejman]

What do you want to make? There's usually craftsmans guilds for furniture makers, wood turners, etc.  Surely there's a few of those around your area.  

Dad was always a hobby wood worker. He got deep into wood turning when he retired. He's in 3 guilds around Chattanooga and goes to symposiums a couple times a year. The guild folks are usually very welcoming and happy to help a newbie. 

You might also try the maker spaces. They have classes for various things as well. 

Edited June 29, 2023 by peejman

[Scotty]

In all honesty I’m just in a weird spot in life. Feeling myself get complacent and trying to combat that. 
 

I shoot pool, throw darts, weld, golf. I like competing against myself. All of these passions kind of quiet the mind for me. Looking for another hobby to eat up a few hours of daylight. 
 

I don’t have any grand plans of what to do with my hands, would like to build her a few proper garden boxes with lattices. I’ve built a few but they are temporary to say the least. I’m pretty versed in CAD and decent with my hands. Would like to expand off that. Honestly just trying to work out the mind muscle a bit more. 

[gary_boom]

Woodcraft in Knoxville has classes I don’t know if they have a store in Nashville.

[Photoguy67]

Depends on what you want to do with the wood. I also am a hobby wood worker, making pens, bowls, other relatively small things. You can dm me if you would like to chat more. There is a wood turning guild in Nashville and Woodcraft also has classes in Franklin, Tn.

[Scotty]

Thank you kindly. I will certainly DM you when I have a chance, heading to bed. Appreciate it. 
 

The guy I reached out to also recommended Woodcraft, seems like it would be a good resource. 

[Hozzie]

Woodworking is a bit like guns, you kind of have to find your niche.   You can do it all, but doing it all well becomes expensive and honestly it takes a lot of time to do it well.  Some guys like to build very detailed items like boxes, some like to build furniture, some like to turn, etc.   I personally don't consider building things like Garden Boxes, etc woodworking, but more carpentry (which is perfectly ok), but for me woodworking is really about being precise.

I have built everything from high end boxes using expensive routing jigs to large items like beds, dressers, etc.  I enjoyed it and have had a lot of nice tools to do it, but I am on the opposite end of it now meaning I have kind of moved on to other hobbies, but if you like to work with your hands, it's a very enjoyable hobby.

Woodcraft would be a good place to go learn some of the different options.  If space is  a concern, turning can be nice as you can start small with pens, etc and work your way up.  True woodworking takes a lot of space for equipment so that may be a consideration.  

 

[Bassclef]

On 6/28/2023 at 3:49 PM, derf said:

Been doing it for years. Make sure your first projects are for your wife. 

The best and to the point advice right here! My first woodworking project was a cherry music stand for her and now she’s pretty on board for any project I want to do. 

[pop pop]

My daughter just had a Black Cherry tree blow down and I just finished cutting it up this morning. It is really good wood, but I don't know what to do with it, and don't really need it. The main part of the trunk was about 18" in diameter. The Cherry is in the center and is approx 8" in the center with 4" of white colored wood outside of the cherry. There are still 2 logs, one 5' and another 11' in length. The rest of the tree I had to cut in 3' lengths to be able to extricate them from the horse pasture.  By the way the leaves are toxic if livestock eat them in the wilted state. Sure wish someone could use it, but one would need several tools to be able to cut and dry the wood correctly.