Looking backward...
How do you get started in woodworking? Like any hobby, it just happens. You just look up and there you are, a woodworker. For me, my daughter needed a desk so I bought my first real piece of equipment - a DeWalt 10-inch Radial Arm Saw right out of the JC Penny's catalog. Then came the birch plywood and a couple drawer guides and hinges. That was more than 20 years ago and the desk is mine now. It's large enough to make a pretty good computer work station. Other than a similar desk for my son, I didn't do much more with wood until just a couple years ago when I actually realized I was a woodworker.
I started with one of those garden sheds. I thought 12 feet by 14 feet would be a good size. (For those of you just starting to get interested in woodworking, it's not!) The 7 by 14 "carport" is good for wood storage, but then I don't have a place for my wagon. Anyway, I put my trusty DeWalt out there and went to work (or play - whatever).
This is My Delta Midi-lathe at work. I have a 9 inch log that's slowly becoming a 6 inch deep bowl. The wood is Ambrosio Maple that I was lucky to find before it became firewood. The tree had to be removed for a school expansion project. This was from one of the lower branches.
Since posting this photo, several people have asked me what is on my right index finger. I'm a little embarrassed to say, but it's a finger cast provided by Dr. Shiparo at the Cleveland Clinic in Lorain, Ohio. If you happen to have an embarrassing accident with a table saw (or other power tool), he's the best - a real miracle worker.
Having said that, you might ask where is my full face shield? I could say I was just posing, like Norm removes his tablesaw blade guard for photographic purposes, but the truth is, I don't own one. I am wearing safety glasses, and I do wear hearing protection and a dust mask when appropriate.
I think the best way for me to get out of this one is for you to click the link to go to the next page: