Why We LOVE Woodworking

I was always the type of kid who took things apart to see how they work. We lived across the street from a wooded area and like many kids I was always in the woods where we would get discarded lumber from the cabinet shop down the street and build “forts”. My parents got me an Erector set when I was about 7 years old and a kit that had styrofoam blanks and plastic tools to make stuff. I played with them for hours.

I didn’t do much wood working when I was young. Never took wood shop, instead focusing on metal and auto shop. I didn’t get into wood working until I was working on my Industrial Arts degree, which led me to teaching wood working. I eventually began doing wood on the side, for fun and for money. It’s stuck with me all these years, and I really enjoy the processes, as well as the finished projects.

My most unusual wood working project was a “Wood and Fabric” home built airplane, called the Volksplane. Flew it for about 12 years, with one trip from the DFW Texas area to Oshkosh WI, for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s big fly in. That was quite an adventure.

I’ve always enjoyed anything creative and loved to see what people do with wood. I didn’t get into wood work (specifically, wood carving and scroll sawing ) until I retired 6 years ago. I love the smell, feel and different grains of the wood and I can spend hours on the scroll saw or chipping away at a piece of wood and watching the project emerge.