Post: #1

I'm interested in learning more about carpentry and woodworking as a hobby and an activity which could make me some extra money while I"m not working in the oil patch. I also just want to learn how to build shit as my oil job isn't very rewarding and I like the sense of accomplishment I get after making something functional that I can take pride in. I would probably start small by building smaller structures such as decks, fences, framing, etc before moving onto the more complex things. I'm also interested in fine woodworking, cabinetmaking and furniture but that would be something I would likely pursue down the road after getting a solid background in carpentry.

I'm already familiar with some of the basics having worked in a mill and helping buddies build and renovate houses but need to learn more and am thinking about going to a school. I was wondering if any RVF guys are experienced with this stuff and can advise me on which route to take, should I go to a school or just get a job with a carpentry company and learn that way? My local community college offers part-time night and weekend classes in the basics and some more advanced stuff like framing a house, there's also a twelve week pre-employment carpentry course that I could take which would probably teach me most of what I need to know to get a solid foundation in the trade. There's also some really nice, intensive woodworking programs out there that range from about ten weeks to ten months and by the end the students are making some really cool pieces.

If any of you out there are skilled Do-It-Yourselfers when it comes to building stuff or enjoy woodworking, I'd like to hear about your experiences and appreciate any feedback.

Post: #2

I've done a fair amount of making furniture (mostly bookcases, beds, desks, etc.). Sold some pieces. Built a deck. I picked up a lot from watching Norm Abrams on The New Yankee Workshop. Some things I learned from my Dad, who has built a few homes over the years.

House framing (unless it's timber framing) is fairly crude work where speed is more important. I prefer working on furniture, cabinetry, and fine carpentry which is more deliberate.

The key thing is access to tools: a table saw, radial arm or miter saw, and a router.

Or, you can go the traditional route like that guy on The Woodwright Shop. Fairly amazing what can be done with some nice handsaws, planes, and chisels. As I've gotten more into it that stuff has appealed more to me.

When I have more money I'd like to try my hand at timber framing. It's similar to building a giant piece of furniture.

Post: #3

Not sure how much of a project your looking to take on but a really popular way to get into woodworking is building an Arch Davis boat. You buy the designs and not only is it a project that will teach you every aspect of woodworking, but also this guy arch davis who's a boat builder from new zealand is awesome as far as support, he'll answer phone calls, take emails, etc.

There's also a ton of woodboat forums out there and a whole community to support you.

I'll post a pic. This particular pic is actually my boat. I'll have to take some closeups, the actual woodworking and detail is amazing. I didn't build mine but actually bought it secondhand, however am contemplating building my own. I'll try to post some follow up pics because the detail is amazing.

Post: #4

Scotian! You are thinking of giving up the oilfield dream? Is this just for interests/hobbys sake or do you really want to switch careers?

Post: #5

Did you get a chance to take a drive down that big hill beside Medellin where they make all the furniture, tables, chair, etc. There were about 100 shacks and everyone was making some kind of furniture with nothing more than a few saws, a fire pit, and other stuff. It was some of the best furniture I have ever seen.

Post: #6

You could make more money importing the furniture built in Colombia. That said, the real money is doing smaller jobs for cash, fixing rot damage, repairing decks, etc. It is hard to find a talented handyman. Framing will not be a good long term path, the hispanic guys around here can frame a house in less than a week so unless you run the crew with your Spanish knowledge, nothing to be made there.

Furniture work is fun and precise, but easy to screw up an expensive piece of wood. Do what you enjoy and experiment to find out what you like best since it is not expensive to get started.

Post: #7

I mess around in my garage and have all the basic tools: table saw, router, miter, circular, drills, sanders, etc.

I mostly do furniture and other small projects, like cutting boards, coat racks, candle displays.

I learned everything I know from YouTube, wood whisperer, WW for mere mortals, new Yankee woodshop, to name a few. lots of great free content out there.

I have fun doing it, although I pretty much lost inspiration to get out there and do stuff recently. takes a lot of time, I see it as a hobby that I will get more into later on in life. with work, training, traveling, gaming, etc there's not a lot of time left in the day to go and cut and glue wood

Post: #8

Carpentry and woodworking can be very rewarding for some people, sounds like you'd be one of them. Classes will get you started but certainly a fair part of what you are paying for with any class is a reading list and an instructor to hold you accountable. I would recommend starting off by reading some books on your own time. You can get them for little more than the cost of shipping used on Amazon. Old edition textbooks are especially cost-effective and will give you an idea what to expect if you do take a class. This is how I got started, and though I've moved on to commercial construction the base has served me well.

Just so you're aware, I speak from experience when I say that no, handymen do not make a killing replacing rotting sills, hanging three sheets of drywall and such -barely a living quite often. True, there are crews of hackers that will frame condos in a few weeks, but if you master basic trig and can calculate compound miters for roof framing or stairwell millwork and other trim these crews will not be your competition. Remodels or additions are a good middle ground for a one-man/small crew but you will likely have to put in your time lugging screw jacks through spider webs in an 18" crawlspace to learn the ropes if you hope to make a living at it. If you can meet the right people and skip that part, more power to you.

Woodworking will require a much larger investment that carpentry. You need all the carpentry tools plus jointer, planer, lathes, drill press, etc and everything needs to be higher precision. I'd recommend you buy a decent circular saw, a sheet of OSB, some 2x4s, hammer and nails and The Complete Book of Framing and build a model house walls. Then pick up Roof Framing and build a few of the various different roofs on this. http://www.amazon.com/Carpentry-Gaspar-J...+carpentry is also gold. Once you've mastered the basics, if you enjoy it you can start adding tools and take it where you will.

If you're younger you might consider joining a union. They'll teach you what you need to know and find you work, the tradeoff is you'll make good money but nothing more (and you have to hold up picket signs and stupid inflatable rats outside non-union jobsites for 3 weeks a year or whatever, but I digress.) Like anything, if you can tolerate the risk of hunting for work/women/food on your own the potential for reward and satisfaction achieved are that much greater.

Post: #9

My grandpa got big into woodworking during his 70s and 80s. He used to make all kinds of things for the family. People would just bring him a picture and he would figure out how to make it. It was a lot of furniture type stuff. He would even get rough cut lumber and plane it himself.

As far as careers go, when I was a kid I worked with a handyman building all kinds of shit, decks, 4 season porches, fish houses, barns, sheds, etc. He made a living doing that and never went to any kind of college, although it could be a good option if you haven't been around it a ton.

Post: #10

(03-30-2015 06:47 PM)RexImperator Wrote:  I've done a fair amount of making furniture (mostly bookcases, beds, desks, etc.). Sold some pieces. Built a deck. I picked up a lot from watching Norm Abrams on The New Yankee Workshop. Some things I learned from my Dad, who has built a few homes over the years.

That's the point I want to reach, being able to build nice furniture and other useful items, when I bought furniture for my condo last fall I couldn't believe how expensive it was for shitty quality bookshelves and a shitty Ikea bed, I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised but wasn't ready to splurge on furniture for my condo that I'll probably sell soon. When I do buy or build a home in the next 3-5 years, I want to furnish it with pieces that I've made myself.

(03-31-2015 12:26 PM)komatiite Wrote:  Scotian! You are thinking of giving up the oilfield dream? Is this just for interests/hobbys sake or do you really want to switch careers?

No I'm still going to work in the oil biz as nothing beats the easy money in the patch but I'll likely continue doing it seasonally, working about 4-6 months per year so that leaves me with a lot of down time. I'm able to make pretty good money in that time so anything that I do with carpentry/woodworking would be mostly for the fun of it and to keep me busy but I'd like to reach a point like Rex above and be able to make furniture to sell or be able to build a cabin or deck for some extra cash.

(03-31-2015 12:53 PM)LINUX Wrote:  Did you get a chance to take a drive down that big hill beside Medellin where they make all the furniture, tables, chair, etc. There were about 100 shacks and everyone was making some kind of furniture with nothing more than a few saws, a fire pit, and other stuff. It was some of the best furniture I have ever seen.

I remember you telling me about that but didn't get the chance to check it out. There's some really good carpenters in Colombia and they work for dirt cheap, there's also some big fucking trees down there, if I ever settle down there or even buy a house, I will most definitely be furnishing it with local made pieces.

Thanks for the advice guys, Gorgiass I +1'd for that great post, this was exactly the info I was looking for.

Post: #11

Build a wood strip kayak in your place while you're up there or a canoe. You'll need a place to cut etc outside but if you have the patience to do it and it's also something you can use you'll know it's in your blood to work with the craft.

Post: #12

(04-01-2015 06:36 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  Build a wood strip kayak in your place while you're up there or a canoe. You'll need a place to cut etc outside but if you have the patience to do it and it's also something you can use you'll know it's in your blood to work with the craft.

I was thinking of something smaller, probably a coffee table, something that won't kill me if it fucks up.

Post: #13

Any woodworker know the answer to this problem I have?

I built a table. The problem is, I bought the lumber in October and didn't build it until the last couple weeks. This resulted in some cracking of the legs (not too much of an issue other than aesthetic). The problem is, it also resulted in some warping of the boards I used for the tabletop.

My thought is I could level this out when I gloss finished the tabletop. The level differences between boards are up to 1/4" in a couple spots.

What is my best route to getting the smoothest most even surface? I've seen a polyurethane / boiled linseed oil / mineral spirit mix finish and like it, but I'd guess I'll have to apply a ton of coats to level out that much difference. The other option I've seen is an epoxy resin.

Thoughts? It's 3'x6'.

Post: #14

If you are doing this to make money, I would look at custom decks and custom bookshelves. While it might be enjoyable to make that boat, you are not going to find someone to pay you for your time in making it when they can buy an expensive fiberglass boat. But people need decks and custom bookshelves and are willing to pay for them. Bookshelves obviously are require more skill, so maye build some demos.

Post: #15

(02-08-2018 11:00 AM)heavy Wrote:  Any woodworker know the answer to this problem I have?

I built a table. The problem is, I bought the lumber in October and didn't build it until the last couple weeks. This resulted in some cracking of the legs (not too much of an issue other than aesthetic). The problem is, it also resulted in some warping of the boards I used for the tabletop.

My thought is I could level this out when I gloss finished the tabletop. The level differences between boards are up to 1/4" in a couple spots.

What is my best route to getting the smoothest most even surface? I've seen a polyurethane / boiled linseed oil / mineral spirit mix finish and like it, but I'd guess I'll have to apply a ton of coats to level out that much difference. The other option I've seen is an epoxy resin.

Thoughts? It's 3'x6'.

You can never ever smooth out a 1/4" difference by applying coats. You need to plane it down again.

Post: #16

(02-08-2018 11:00 AM)heavy Wrote:  Any woodworker know the answer to this problem I have?

I built a table. The problem is, I bought the lumber in October and didn't build it until the last couple weeks. This resulted in some cracking of the legs (not too much of an issue other than aesthetic). The problem is, it also resulted in some warping of the boards I used for the tabletop.

My thought is I could level this out when I gloss finished the tabletop. The level differences between boards are up to 1/4" in a couple spots.

What is my best route to getting the smoothest most even surface? I've seen a polyurethane / boiled linseed oil / mineral spirit mix finish and like it, but I'd guess I'll have to apply a ton of coats to level out that much difference. The other option I've seen is an epoxy resin.

Thoughts? It's 3'x6'.

"Cupping" (and cracking) of wood planks is caused by uneven drying. The concave side of "U" (probably the top) the is actually shorter because its dryer. The convex side is wetter.

Proper seasoning of the wood requires regular rotation to prevent this.

Your best bet is probably to put the table in the same conditions but upside down this time and wait. Allowing the wood to season on the other side might allow it to "relax" back to a flatter state. Although 1/4" is a lot assuming your planks are a foot or less in width

You might be able to fill it to level with resin but its going to take a lot of resin. You will likely need to create a perimeter form to contain resin that thick. Not sure how thats going to look either

Do you have gaps between the planks now too?

Post: #17

You can frequently experience cupping in bowbuilding, especially if you use fast drying technique. But problem is easily solved later when you just use a rasp and level the convex surface.

Relating to carpentry, I would really like to buy a router some time in near future. Amount of possibilities that would give me is amazing. I could finally make electric guitars.

Post: #18

I'm interested in this, not so much for myself, but more as a theoretical consideration about how to create more recession proof economies. Woodworking and related furniture building is a trade that can come in handy. It can be sold or people can simply avoid buying cheap IKEA junk or exorbitantly expensive quality furniture.

With the way we currently organize our economies, if you are unemployed, you are basically fucked until you get a new job. If more people had a skillset like carpentry, they'd have more options. The time unemployed could go towards creating useful objects and furniture for their home so they wouldn't have nothing to show for the period they were unemployed. They could create furniture for sale. When you're unemployed, working class and even $200 will make a difference, you'd be better off working for $2 an hour than having absolutely no income.

This should be a mandatory subject for men in high school. Not everyone would love it, but those who did enjoy it would get a good enough start on skills building to be able to do something very valuable by age 20 if they kept at it post-high school graduation.

Post: #19

(02-08-2018 07:00 PM)PapayaTapper Wrote:  

(02-08-2018 11:00 AM)heavy Wrote:  Any woodworker know the answer to this problem I have?

I built a table. The problem is, I bought the lumber in October and didn't build it until the last couple weeks. This resulted in some cracking of the legs (not too much of an issue other than aesthetic). The problem is, it also resulted in some warping of the boards I used for the tabletop.

My thought is I could level this out when I gloss finished the tabletop. The level differences between boards are up to 1/4" in a couple spots.

What is my best route to getting the smoothest most even surface? I've seen a polyurethane / boiled linseed oil / mineral spirit mix finish and like it, but I'd guess I'll have to apply a ton of coats to level out that much difference. The other option I've seen is an epoxy resin.

Thoughts? It's 3'x6'.

"Cupping" (and cracking) of wood planks is caused by uneven drying. The concave side of "U" (probably the top) the is actually shorter because its dryer. The convex side is wetter.

Proper seasoning of the wood requires regular rotation to prevent this.

Your best bet is probably to put the table in the same conditions but upside down this time and wait. Allowing the wood to season on the other side might allow it to "relax" back to a flatter state. Although 1/4" is a lot assuming your planks are a foot or less in width

You might be able to fill it to level with resin but its going to take a lot of resin. You will likely need to create a perimeter form to contain resin that thick. Not sure how thats going to look either

Do you have gaps between the planks now too?

Thanks for the input. I built the table with the warped wood...just wanted to get it done, so the boards are pretty tightly joined. There's a reason it took me months before I got to it, but I didn't want to have to go out and buy new boards (though in hindsight maybe I should have...regardless).

I think I'm just going to start layering on resin. The 1/4" isn't on the edges, it's where the length-wise boards join with the width-wise boards, as seen in the picture. (although the it will take more resin generally in the middle of the table than on the end boards, it won't be nearly as large as 1/4")

   

Post: #20

(02-09-2018 08:06 AM)Suits Wrote:  I'm interested in this, not so much for myself, but more as a theoretical consideration about how to create more recession proof economies. Woodworking and related furniture building is a trade that can come in handy. It can be sold or people can simply avoid buying cheap IKEA junk or exorbitantly expensive quality furniture.

With the way we currently organize our economies, if you are unemployed, you are basically fucked until you get a new job. If more people had a skillset like carpentry, they'd have more options. The time unemployed could go towards creating useful objects and furniture for their home so they wouldn't have nothing to show for the period they were unemployed. They could create furniture for sale. When you're unemployed, working class and even $200 will make a difference, you'd be better off working for $2 an hour than having absolutely no income.

That is a good way to look at things.

A similar thought is to have a hobby/side gig so when you are older you can semi-retire.

If you can build bookshelves or whatever on the side and bring in some cash, then you can retire earlier.

Of course this is the sort of trade that first world people pay for, not third world. But there is a huge sense of security and satisfaction that you give yourself when you can not only do this but have people pay you to do this.

So think in terms of what people will pay for. Cabinets woudl be at the top of the list, but require the most skill. Custom book cases are somewhere in the middle where you can charge a pretty penny but the skill is modest.