What was your first woodworking experience?

[lwoirhaye]

My dad had a disc sander we used to sharpen survey stakes into dangerously pointed swords.  Later I sculpted a tougher Conan sword on that disc from a length of hardwood and carved a recess for a decorative inlay using some carving tools I'd received as a gift.  I remember expressing an interest in carving and maybe carving some soap, but aside from slicing the artery in my thumb open and carving that hole on different occasions I don't remember using them until adulthood.  The inlay was a metal skull with jeweled eyes I had bought at Disneyland as a keychain - the loop had broken off and I repurposed it by pressing it into the hole with modeling clay for a thoroughly badass effect.

Other than that, I sucked at woodworking for a long time thereafter.

 

[aloysius]

Was given a set of small Japanese carving chisels for a 6th-8th birthday gift together with a few blocks of Huon & King Billy to use 'em on.

Started carving a variety of boats & ships:  a galleon, MTB, Royal Marines landing craft etc.

I can also remember about that time unsuccessfully (it never flew) attempting to assemble a box kite from Balsa too.

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

Great idea for a thread, Peter!

Hi,

I re-discovered one of my first "woodworking" projects some time ago. I built it with my Dad in my parents basement workshop/boxroom. Mom wrote Christmas '90 on the backside, I was 4 back then.

Kind regards,
Oliver

My first "real" woodworking project I did on my own came decades later ...
http://festoolownersgroup.com/vario...ding-a-wooden-toolbox-looking-for-suggestions

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Sparktrician]

I think my first woodworking project was to build a clubhouse (shed) behind our home.  My dad had made a few hundred kneelers for the church, so I got some really good lessons in what NOT to do, like try to cut off the end of his finger with a radial arm saw.  He eventually did a great job with the kneelers, even upholstering them himself.  In any case, the shed didn't last long, mostly because it detracted from the house, so it went.  Then I got into bicycles.  My dad couldn't fix them, so I taught myself to do what was needed.  I marveled at his ability to fix lights and things, well, until I went to electrician's school.  When I got home on leave and re-examined his electrical work, I was horrified and set about fixing everything right, and according to code.  Eventually I got into building small projects for friends.  I took the opportunity to attend a Shelter Institute class for owner-builders and got hooked.  It just evolved from there. 

 

[James Carriere]

I'm sure I made a pig shaped napkin holder or something similar in a 7th grade shop class but it's my Brother's first woodworking project that I remember best.  Growing up in Southern California in the early 70's we had a pool.  My Brother who was probably about 13 or 14 at the time convinced my Father that he should be allowed to build a boat.  Being an engineer my Father likely had grandiose ideas of what his oldest son was about to create so they went to the local lumber yard and bought 5 or 6 sheets of (yes, that's right) particle board.  [blink]  As if that was not already cause for alarm, my Brother proceeded to spend the next day and a half to build a four sided ships cabin with a door, window cut-outs, and a flat roof on top.  Once my he was content he had a good place from which to sail his ship, and nearly being out of sheet goods, he nailed the cabin to a flat sheet of particle board likely thinking it was the equivalent of a raft.  He manned the cabin and my Father "launched" the craft into the pool which sank in less time than it took to say  [scared].  I clearly remember it listing to one side and violently going down in one quick movement.  My Brother had second thoughts on the way into the water and he dove out of one of the cut out cabin windows on the way in adding even more comedy to the event.  I don't remember how the craft was removed from the bottom of the pool as I was ordered into the house for laughing too hard but I remember that afternoon as if it was yesterday. 

 

[Cheese]

Great story...

Just wondering if your father ordered “abandon ship?  [big grin]

 

[Tinker]

Ninth grade HS was my first introduction to woodworking. It was in my 10th grade that I had my most memorable experience. As you can see, I had  learned a whole lot in a short time. I knew it all.

I was a sophomore in High School and since my mother was divorced, I guess I figured I was the MOTH (That's “Moan Of The House”).  I did inherit some of my dad's love of working with tools, so some of the necessities did fall onto my shoulders, as my brother was more of the artist with, as Mom would say, “…his head in the clouds much of the time.”

My mom had just bought the old house at 348 Belden Hill with no heat, electricity or running water.  There were dozens of projects that needed doing and I was in my glory.  For the first year in the house, the only heat was the kitchen (kerosene) stove with its many idiosyncrasies, too numerous to go into here.  I am sure there are a few of you out there who are my age (39 for nearly 50 years) who have had their own experiences with those cantankerous and smelly monstrosities.  Anyhow, for our second winter, Mom bought a large kerosene space heater from Sears (maybe that heater was the beginnings of my admiration for much of what Sears has had to offer thru the years).  We decided the best place to put the stove would be in the cellar directly under the living room floor.

After leveling a spot in the uneven dirt and mixing up some concrete, I constructed a level pad just the right size for the stove.  My very first ever experience with concrete (I could go on for quite a while about some of my stupid mistooks with that material) turned out quite successful, as time would prove.  Once the stove was safely setup on the pad, I plumbed up to the floor above and drilled a hole (hand drill, remember, no electricity) centered directly above the stove.  I then went up into the living room and decided my calculation for the placement of the stove was satisfactory.  I made my measurements from the center point and prepared to start cutting the hole for the iron register that we had found somewhere.  It must have been cast iron, as it weighed a ton.  As I prepared to start cutting, Mom suggested that I set the register in place to be sure my markings were correct.  NOW, if any of you have ever raised 14 or 15 year old boys, you know exactly the sort of remarks I probably made about stupid grownups, or whatever.  I KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING!  I just went on cutting.  I assure you, that was no eazy task as the floor was white oak 5/4 planking, well seasoned.  I worked up quite a sweat with much huffing and puffing as I went. (Again, remember, NO Electricity!)

Once the hole was completed, my buddy, who had mainly been an observer to that point, offered to give me a hand setting that monstrous floor register in place.  He took one side, and I the other.  As our fingers neared the edges of the floor opening, we simultaneously let go so the iron could settle into place and my job would be done so we could get back outside to play ball. 

CRASHHH!!!  The hole was exactly 1/4" larger than the total register dimension, NOT 1/4" larger than the vertical flange.  Oh well, we had been quite accurate in our aim.  That register never touched a bit of the wood floor as it descended directly and flatly onto the space heater waiting below.

It was great my Mom had a sense of humor.  She laughed (I think) and went to Sears and, luckily, found a new register to fit my opening with only minor adjustments to one side of the flooring.

EPILOGUE:  My mom was taking a metal working class in Westport.  Her instructor was my shop teacher, Mr. T----.  Of course, Mom just had to tell Mr. T all about my big operation, for which I took a lot of ribbing from my favorite teacher. His favorite advice thru the years was always, “There is no such a thing as gud’n’nuff, it’s gotta be perfik.” Well, my mistake was the perfect set up for him for any mistook I might make from then on.

Tinker

 

[APRP]

My first experience was building a fort with my friends in his backyard when we where 12.  We where off for summer vacation and after a day of biking around, going to the corner store and playing in the quarry, we decided to build a fort in the backyard with his dad's tools from the shop. 

This was in a time when we where allowed to stay at home by ourselves at that age.  We used scrap wood and good would and a circular saw without any guard and what seemed like 200' of extension cords.  I remember the first time the saw kicked back on my friend cutting unsupported 3/4" ply.  We didn't think anything of it when the saw went astray and almost nailed him. If anything we laughed and kept going as pre-teens do.  I wish I had a picture of what we built, it was horrible but to us it was a master piece.  Looking back what was even more amazing was we used whatever was in the garage, hardwoods, softwoods, plywoods, osb and all the screws and nails we could find, when his dad came home who was a hobbyist wood worker was not impressed as we showed off are masterpiece.  Apparently your not supposed to use oak, cherry maple as roof sheathing and siding on a fort.  we where at least smart enough to use a brand new waxed canvas tarp that we cut up for the roof to protect it from the rain. I still remember the look on his face and the immediate urge for all of us to get on our bikes and go home before we got in more trouble. 

Once his dad cooled down the next day we all ended up being employees for the next weekend to load square bails in the loft.  If you've even done that on a farm you'll know exactly what I mean.  Bail after bail coming in through that opening and running around stacking them as the space got smaller and smaller.  I think the old man was teaching us a lesson because there where more bails coming into that mowe than two people could handle.  He even rotated all the boys through a shift up there and made his son stay up there the whole time.  So do I remember my first time, yes!  A year later it was the place where we all shared a borrowed bottle of sherry from his dad's liquor cabinet, we got into trouble for that too. 

Truly, youth is wasted on the young!

 

[RightAngleDesign]

To keep me busy while he was doing one home project or another, my father would hand me a scrap of whatever was around and encourage me to do something with it. The one I remember best was a piece of maple that I was trying to hammer nails into at about age 8. I didn't get very far!

 

[sancho57]

When I first got married (25 years ago) and had a son, we bought a condo. It was a fixer upper. I was a Marine Machinery Mech by trade but knew nothing about home repair especially wood working. A friend of mine came to visit and we were talking. I told him that we needed a new kitchen plus a lot of other repairs. I couldnt afford to pay someone so it will wait until I got the money.

He suggested that I take some construction courses as the college near by had a great trade school with classes instructing all sorts of trades. to almost quote him " Why pay someone, go to the colelge learn how to to do it and build them yourself".

So I signed up for woodworking as my first class. I met a guy who became a good friend that I still see. Well we made a book case in the class.  It was a disaster trust me.

At the end of the semester the instructor was giving the projects back to the students to take home. He had mine and was asking who it belonged to. I did not raise me hand embarassed I turned away not making eye contact.

I stuck with it and now build and sell some nice things. Ya know my buddy still teases me about that book case here it is 25 years later. Even after I built him a nice wine rack See photo), did some remodelling for him built him a nice hall closet out of maple ply and oak hardwoods, I still hear about that stinkin book case  [big grin]

 

[Bob D.]

Probably when I was about 8 or 9 back in the mid 60s. I belonged to our local 4H club and also Scouts but in 4H we learned basic woodworking and electrical stuff. Our WWing classes were at the boat shop down at the docks. This was an old place where they used to build boats but in the 60s that was gone and the shops sat empty most of the time. Mr. Knight owned the place and taught us how to use and care for hand tools, basic layout, and guided us on some simple projects.

The one project I remember making was a door stop. Real simple T-shaped style which we shellacked. I gave it to my Mom as a Mother's Day gift.

Last Christmas I was at my sister's house and noticed a wooden door stop holding a door open. I asked where did you get that and she said "Mom gave it to me". I told her I had made that 50+ years ago and she said she knew because Mom had told her. It had been about 40 years since I last saw it in my Mother's house. Next time I am there I will have to take a picture of it.

I also remember making a milk carton holder from wood and sheet metal, a small table top book rack from pine, and a electrical test light using a 230V lamp in a pigtail socket which we folded the pigtail leads back up on the bulb and secured them with friction tape with the leads spaced about 3/4 of an inch apart so they could be inserted in a receptacle. The light glowed dimly at 120v. Don't what happened to that. Last I saw it was the last time I moved and that was 21 years ago. No idea where it is now.

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

Mine was apparently as a toddler, picking up a hammer and nearly hitting my dad with it, whilst he was fixing the fence.  [blink]

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Not a lot of money at home when I was a kid, so I always had to get a summer job.  When I was 16 I got a summer job with the school district as a carpenter's helper with the maintenance department.  Kept coming back up through first two years of college.  First year was pretty much just labor - hauling bags of cement, simple demo and disposal, cleaning up after the carpenter.  Over the years he taught me basics of tuning up doors, repairing windows, drywall, etc and sent me out on my own for simple jobs.  Toward the end I was doing some simple cabinet making.

Didn't do any furniture making until decades later, but at least that gave me the self confidence to try and learn new stuff.

 

[dwillis]

Probably my father teaching my brother and I how to use his lathe is the first woodworking experience I can remember. Just making sawdust and a round piece of wood was fun, regardless of whatever we were turning.

On a side note, it was a Sears Craftsman lathe made in ~1940 that my grandfather gave to my father as a high school graduation present (my grandfather was a machinist). My father, who is now an active 94 year old, gave me the lathe and all the accessories a few years ago. When I get my retirement home and workshop built this year the lathe will be a featured tool. I'm also looking forward to restoring it to a like new condition. In all these years it's only had the motor replaced. Nothing like solid cast iron and machined steel.

My father gave me a life long appreciation for good tools, guess that's why I appreciate Festools.

 

[RC]

I was just a kid - maybe 4-5 years old building toys out of wood with my grandfather. We built swords, bows and arrows, toy rifles, pistols, roman catapults, gocarts and tree houses. Eventually by the age of 10 or 11 I built with him my very own playing house with a proper concrete foundation, glass windows, tar paper roofing, electricity, lights and doors with proper locks.

I think the absolute first thing was a simple sword or it might have been a whistle - can't remember for sure. I remember that I got to use a handsaw and a sloyd knife to do it for the first time.

I took all possible shop class, computer science and electronics in school from 3rd grade until 9th grade I could which translates to about 4h / week for those years graduating from hand tools to power tools on wood to metal work and welding in middle school.

Subsequently I did help my uncle build his house from the ground up so did everything from building the foundations, building the concrete molds, rebarring the plates, concrete pouring, wall assembly, inside trim installation, electric wiring, fuse box connections, roof tile installation, insulation, etc. All manners of things except not much plumbing.

Now trying to teach my own son to do things - started at the age of 5 with him and made a wooden Katana with him. Then came Thor's hammer, British Longsword, Viking Axe and now we're tipping our toes into electronics at the age of 11.