The Journey #1: Starting the Journey

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Since this is my first ever blog post of any kind, I thought I would start out with some background. This will be a document to my journey to understand woodworking and it’s effect on me. I have been enamoured with woodworking on and off for the last 10 years. I have never had the ability to devote any amount of time or space to it. I have owned a table saw and a planer as far as big tools go, used them seldomly and sold them. I always had a fear of them as well as I did not look forward to all of the setup and cleanup associated with them. I enjoy tinkering and have caught the bug again and want to document my path. What tipped me over the edge was Nick Offerman’s book “Paddle Your Own Canoe.”

I am very attracted to hand tools. I like the way they feel and like the idea of creating something by hand with as little machine work as possible. I believe that my attraction to woodworking has very little to do with the final product, but more with the process of working and finishing the wood. I also have a strong attraction to the tools themselves. I have discovered the renaissancewoodworker.com and am going to attempt his winding sticks as his free class. After that, I will determine if I would like to proceed.

When I started this journey in late November of 2013, the hand tools I had were:

Stanley #4 Plane
Stanley #7 Plane
Stanley Block Plane – Bad condition
Disston Crosscut saw – 12PPI
Starrett Combination Square
Micrometer
Veritas Wheel Gauge
Bevel Gauge
Veritas Sharpening Angle Jig (not the MK2)
Hard & Soft Arkansas Sharpening Stone

I also have some power tools:
Porter Cable – Random Orbital Sander
Bosch Jigsaw
Dewalt Drill
Dewalt Chop Saw – With Station
Dewalt Biscuit Joiner
Milwaukee Router

Since then, I have added:
Drawknife
Spokeshave
Brace & Bits
Disston Rip Saw
Disston Crosscut Saw
Dividers
Record 050
Egg Beater Drill
Files and Rasps
Stanley #18
Stanley #5
Shapton 1000
Shapton 8000
DMT Course
Veritas Carcass Saws – Rip & Crosscut
Veritas Router Plane
Lie-Nielsen Dovetail Saw
Lie-Nielsen Large Shoulder Plane

Wow, did I go down a rabbit hole. I have noticed that I spend ALOT of time paralyzed with the thought “I can’t build that without that tool.” So I buy the tool. Now it is time to build something.

Source: LumberJocks.com

The Journey #1: Starting the Journey