Bad news, good news... a hiccup in my woodworking journey.

[Doc Fluty]

In the last 4-5 months, I finally got my garage shop completed. I got the mini spit, led lights, sawstop pcs, powermatic 8 inch HH jointer, and dust collection... in addition to the myriad of Festool, lie nielson, shapton, woodpecker and other goodies I have been acquiring the last 2 1/2 years since I took up woodworking.

I was finally ready to start building the furniture I had been wanting to for my home. Things like the kids new beds, a credenza, tables, patio furniture, jewelry boxes, ect...

however, I got news last week that my wife, who is a US Navy Sailor, got new orders... and it looks like we will be moving to Italy for 3-4 years and living in a large apartment on a military base.

So the bad news is all those big tools I got will have to be put in storage for a few years. I won't be able to put together those projects I have been studying and practicing so hard to get good at to build something beautiful for my family.

The good news is by living on base and other factors, we will be able to save a ridiculous amount of money each month and by the time we come back, I could afford to build a shop in my backyard from scratch.

I might just take the loss and sell everything and repurchase it when I get back. The loss might be less than the actual storage costs for 3-4 years in high humidity mississippi.

it's just a pain... Im a disabled veteran who can't work due to injuries and the woodworking was giving me something to preoccupy my time. Something to work on and build myself while I sit home all day and now I have to wait... again.

But i think the experience of living in italy and traveling with the wife and kids means a lot as well. So, I'm not sad about the situation and I didn't ask the wife to try to change the orders stateside... seeing rome, venice, ect is pretty exciting in its own right.

Due to shipping issues, i doubt anything i build now and ship over (takes about 3 months) would make it in good shape to the new destination... so i don't think that would be worth the effort.

There is no point about this post... I just needed to vent. I don't want to give my wife the impression im bummed and ruin her excitement... shes so happy about this and worked so hard, she deserves a win. I don't want to have my selfishness rain on her parade. So i can't tell her this... so I'm telling you guys.

i thought about making a small storage chest and seeing what I can build on a patio with just some handtools and Paul Sellers videos lol...  i dunno.

Thanks for reading if you got through this.

 

[CarlsonCarpentry]

One of the many challenges of marriage. Not every success or change is easy for both partners. School, jobs, children. All have different effects on both people.

You have a good attitude about it. That’s a good start.

 

[Bob D.]

First off, thanks to you and your wife for your service.

Sorry to hear you will have to put your woodworking on hold for 4 years.

Any possibility you can take some tools with you and be able to work in
your apartment, or maybe there is space on base for hobbies.

Get to know some Seabees and see if they have some shop space you can
use, or maybe get something started to create a woodshop that you and
others can use.

Hopefully you'll find a way that you 'Can Do' some woodworking during
your time in Italy. Maybe someone on here will see your post and help
you find a place to do some work, even if it's smaller projects just to keep
your hand in it or develop a new skill like carving or intarsia which has it's
origins in Italy I believe.

 

[RKA]

Take the hand tools with you, buy some 220v hand held power tools over there and sell the rest.  You’ll be able to do something over there, maybe not with the scale you dreamed, but as you said, this is just a little detour in your life (and a good one at that).  Once you come to terms with that I think the opportunity this presents for your family will really hit home and you’ll be just as excited as your wife.  And once you get there, you can figure out how you’ll continue your woodworking journey.

 

[Sparktrician]

First, thanks to you and your wife for serving. 
Second, you might want to look into the cost for controlled-environment storage and compare this to the cost for replacing all your tools upon return to CONUS before making a decision.  If you do choose storage, be sure that you have insurance against theft and incidental damage due to being stored.  Also, prepare any tools for storage as appropriate with Boeshield T-9 or an appropriate equivalent. 
Best of luck to you and your wife for a successful deployment.  [smile]

 

[Rob Z]

Hi there Doc

Unless you have a friend who has a shop and can hold on to and use/maintain your machinery while you're gone, it likely does make more financial sense to sell off the big tools now and buy new when you return to the US.

One thing you could do is make some plywood crates (small enough for the movers to manage) and pack away your hand tools and include them with your household goods.  If you have space in Italy for even small benchtop tools, you could buy those there and sell when you leave.  And hopefully you would have some small space to build and use a small workbench  and your hand tools. If nothing else, you would be able to spend your time in Italy working small projects and practicing hand tool skills.

Best of luck to you and your family.  I wouldn't hesitate to give up the stuff I have (other than some hand tools that have sentimental value because they belonged to my great grandfather) to be able to live in Italy for a few years.

 

[Doc Fluty]

I appreciate the tips guys.

Im thinking of documenting the whole thing on youtube and showing going from a full-size garage set up to work out of a bench in my dining room on base lol

Once we get the written orders I will call our guide over there and ask about the on-base facilities... I believe there is an auto shop and saw one place mention a woodshop so not sure.

Thanks again!

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

That’s a double edged sword for sure! Your wife is getting rewarded for all of her hard work and dedication, and congratulations for that. However your wife achieving her goal, is unintentionally moving you further away from yours.

All said and done, you’ve put your family first, I would too, always. You will have a nice time in Italy, it’s a lovely country, and so are the Italians. Personally, I would sell all the big stuff, then if you can in Italy, rent a small workshop, and you can carry on with your enjoyment too.

Whatever happens, I wish you good luck and happiness on you travels.

 

[ProCarpenterRVA]

Sometimes life gets in the way of your dreams... You'll never regret putting family first. Everything else is just stuff.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[sancho57]

You can ship them in you HHG.
Maybe even ship some in your Unaccompanied baggage (UCB). As (UCB) you are allowed something like 500lbs ea for you and your wife and 300lbs for each dependant. You definately can put them in you NTS non temp storage.

The base should have a hobby woodshop on it unless yer going to the base near the airport in Naples. Its small but a nice base.
Theres another one not far from it in Naples, never made it but they told me it is bigger and has everything.

The houses there are small.

When I lived in the UK I shipped my festools (which my entire shop is except for a stationary jointer) I found a house with a small UK garage that I managed to be able to set my shop up in. Had to use a tranny 2240-110V, youll need at least 3.3 kv tranny.

Mike Kidd is in Germany and he managed to find a house with a basement that he could set his shop up in.
But he has mostly festools as well.

So you have some descions to make.

Only suggestion I would make is to contact your wifes sponsor (person in her org assigned to help during the move) and ax about the housing situation the availability of housing with garages and basements or both. If there is a Hoby woodshed on the base or not.

I wouldnt sell them Id put them in your Non Temp Storage. Its a pain to buy the same thing twice if ya ax me. So utilize the base hobby shop (if there is one).

If they are damaged in shipping te shipper is responsible for the damage and I suggest making a claim for the damage and getting reimbursed. Also take photos of your tools along with a inventory that includes name P/N and S/N incase any are lost in shipment which does happen. Yes the shippers inventory the stuff theyre shipping but its hard to read what they put on the inventory sheets. Your own is better.

Honestly I built a few things mainly for other people while there , but couldnt really build any thing substantial for me other than a coat rack and book case and a couple of small things. As,  I not only had to find a spot for it in the small house but it had to be shipped back when my time was over.

Still building small things for friends was fun and kept me busy.

I also took a woodworking class while in te UK which I learned a bit in their style of wood finishing using shellac and wax .

But you are just a hour or 2 plane flight from England where you can take a class or 2 from Paul Sellers. I think hes in Oxford now,
A very well respected woodworker (check out his you tube videos).

The hobby shop at Lakenheath UK had woodworking classes there to. I never took one but they had them.

Hope this helps

 

[Gregor]

I would suggest you sell off all festools without a cord (that are still an active products here in europe) that you have before moving and re-buy them new in box when arriving here.

Reasoning is simple: we don't have the price fixing that's happening in the US (because our administration, in a short moment of mental sanity, outlawed it) so the stuff is way cheaper here. Taking a moment to pick a low price offer from a mail order box pusher reduces list price by 25 to 50% (depending on item), you might have some spare money (and new tools) in the end. Plus you don't need to ship the stuff in one direction.

 

[bertv]

Reasoning is simple: we don't have the price fixing that's happening in the US (because our administration, in a short moment of mental sanity, outlawed it) so the stuff is way cheaper here. Taking a moment to pick a low price offer from a mail order box pusher reduces list price by 25 to 50% (depending on item), you might have some spare money (and new tools) in the end. Plus you don't need to ship the stuff in one direction.

Also, as a non-EU citizen you may be eligible for a tax refund (that’s the VAT — Value Added Tax).

 

[jeh]

And you can haul the 220 volt tools back to the US and they will work just fine.

 

[HarveyWildes]

The cup half empty is that your hobby will be on hold for a while.  The cup half (or may almost all the way) full is that you can get exposure to woodworking in Europe, and perhaps work on design skills and ideas while you're there.  My wife and I have visited France, Germany, and Spain in the last couple of years - never been to Italy though.  Here are a few highlights:
France:

• The Musee d'Orsay has some incredible Art Nouveau woodwork, if you can tear yourself away from the paintings and sculpture.  Seriously, how did they do some of that stuff?
• The confessionals at Notre Dame had some of the most wonderful frame and panel construction that I've ever seen.  If they survived the fire, they are worth seeing.  I hope that as they rebuild and restore, that they are able to maintain the same level of craftsmanship.
• Faux wood doors are common in Paris - the painters are very good at it.
• Hopefully you will not be contaminated by all of the rococo.  How those guys thought that cute little gold leaf cherubs projected power is beyond me.

Spain:

• Barcelona, and Gaudi's architecture in particular, and Sagrada Familia in particular particular, are amazing.  The design is fully organic (literally) in nature.  The things that Gaudi could do without straight lines!  There is some woodwork, not as much as I'd like, but his work is a continual inspiration for me to try things that I have not the skill to accomplish.
• Some of the wood ceilings in places like Toledo, the Alhambra, and Seville are amazing geometric designs in wood.  Doors sometimes have similar, but less complex/expansive frame and panel designs.  I've seen some work on this forum that seems like it could have been inspired by some of those designs.  These are things that might be within my skill level, but not my level of patience.
• The Seville cathedral has amazing woodwork - carving in particular, but a lot of architectural stuff as well.  There is a central room that is all wood.

Munich:

• Just outside of Munich is the small town of Oberammergau, famous for the passion play.  It's also a wood carving center, where you'see lots of very expensive * clocks  (the forum edited out the word, but you know what kind of clocks they make in Bavaria, and they are not x-rated).  There is a carving school there that I visited.  My guide for about an hour was the student who spoke the best English - they were not prepared for visitors, and thought that I was somewhat odd (and complimentary) for being interested, but I was not interrupting classes so I got a pretty good tour.
• The Deutches Museum.  I love this museum, which focuses on technology and science rather than art or wood per se.  But there are some pretty great examples of wooden boats, as well as machines made of wood in some areas (printing, etc.).  The museum is good about explaining not just what things are, but how they work.

Of course, that's just a sample of what we saw, and we just saw a drop in the bucket of what there is to see, but I hope you get the idea.  Keep your eyes open, maybe make your primary tools for the next four years guide books and sketch books.  On a more mundane note, find the local craftsmen and look at how they do their work.

The other thing I do is try to bring back a small amount of wood from every country I visit.  That way I have a momento of the visit to be integrated into a project.  Just don't expect your wife to help you lug it around airports .

If I were going to take tools to Europe that would fit in a suitcase, here's what I'd take - medium quality, not necessarily Lie Nielsen or Veritas, except maybe for the plane.

• A quality, sharp block plane in a leather case.  If you buy rough lumber, you can use the plane to get an idea of what it looks like.  Ask first, of course.
• A foldable 1/2" chisel.
• A small Japanese saw with replaceable blades, like a Razor saw.  That way you can separate the handle from the blade for transport.
• A medium size combo medium/fine diamond stone.

Make sure to pack them in such a way that they won't be confiscated.  The airport stuff is obvious, but remember that many trains, museums and other places have metal detectors these days.

If you read Italian, German, or French, consider a subscription to a woodworking magazine.  I don't read German well, but I still buy the German woodworking magazines when I'm in Munich, and I have gotten some good ideas from them.  If I really want to understand the words, I can usually muddle through with my poor German, Google, and common sense.

 

[Gregor]

• The Deutches Museum.  I love this museum, which focuses on technology and science rather than art or wood per se.  But there are some pretty great examples of wooden boats, as well as machines made of wood in some areas (printing, etc.).  The museum is good about explaining not just what things are, but how they work.

It's really worth a visit, but in case you want to see all without running you'll have to allocate some days.
When being in Munich on a weekend and having no idea what to do with the night... a visit tohttps://www.museum-lichtspiele.de/reihe/Sonderprogramm/-_Rocky_Horror_(ov) is (in case you're not appalled by that movie) fun (every weekend since 1977).

The other thing I do is try to bring back a small amount of wood from every country I visit.  That way I have a momento of the visit to be integrated into a project.  Just don't expect your wife to help you lug it around airports .
[tools]
Make sure to pack them in such a way that they won't be confiscated.  The airport stuff is obvious, but remember that many trains, museums and other places have metal detectors these days.

I'm confused, do you collect the wood samples from exhibits in museums?

... well, at least it would explain why they need metal detectors these days ...

 

[HarveyWildes]

The other thing I do is try to bring back a small amount of wood from every country I visit.  That way I have a momento of the visit to be integrated into a project.  Just don't expect your wife to help you lug it around airports .
[tools]
Make sure to pack them in such a way that they won't be confiscated.  The airport stuff is obvious, but remember that many trains, museums and other places have metal detectors these days.

I'm confused, do you collect the wood samples from exhibits in museums?

... well, at least it would explain why they need metal detectors these days ...

Nope - I just cut down trees when no one is looking .

In the Orsay, an attendant yelled (literally) at me and alerted a guard because I got down on the floor to see how some joinery had been done, and rested the back of my hand on the edge of the exhibit platform to take a no-flash photo (which was allowed for that exhibit).  Live and learn.

I think that my collection now includes olive from Spain, beech from Germany, plane from France, and several species from Ecuador that I know the Ecuadoran name for, but not the ones that mean anything in the U.S.  The Ecuadoran lumberyard was a disaster waiting to happen, but they had some cool stuff.

 

[WillB]

I know that feeling of.... ass dressed up...no place to go now!
glad u vented here, it was the right thing to do...
Congrats to your wife, sounds well deserved and a great opportunity.
thank you both for your service to our country....