I absolutely LOVE woodworking

I've been a homeowner for about 20 years, and in that time I picked up a handful of DIY skills, but my work was always sloppy due to my limited experience. I was envious of uncles or neighbors with garages who could build or fix virtually anything, as it seemed like having a superpower, like that kid in class who could solve any Rubik's cube.

When the pandemic started, I started working on my own cars, at first following guides to install various parts but eventually learning (via YouTube) how to do suspension and drivetrain maintenance on my own. Once I knew how a car's suspension really worked, it unlocked an entire world of understanding for me. I suddenly figured out engineering at a basic level and now I could diagnose any sort of broken gadget and fix it or at least figure out might be wrong.

My clumsy journey so far

In my first house, I redid my home office, where I got to design my first room and learn how to lay flooring and do trim work.

But every time I did something for the first time, I'd do it in a haphazard way, and I had a lot of botched projects with broken screw heads and drywall holes in that house. In our next home, I mostly hired pros to make sure things were done right, but I always wanted to do more myself.

Then I decided to take it seriously

A few months ago, after years of gazing longingly at YouTube watching woodworkers show how they complete their projects, I decided to take my hodgepodge of tools out of the garage and build a dedicated shop in my barn.

And honestly, it was this specific video from a longtime expert woodworker that demonstrated to me that if you had a bit of space and a few hundred bucks, you really could start making real things, and so I finally started building.

I followed detailed how-to videos that taught me how to build every aspect of a shop and I noted all the tips about how to do things correctly that I spotted in videos. For the first time, I put extra care into each step, drilling pilot holes and countersinking all my screws, using lots of clamps and wood glue and squares to make sure everything is lined up perfectly before I started joining things together. And before I knew it, I finished my first major project and it was actually level and looked like the original thing and worked and also it was built like a brick shithouse.

I built a miter station and two long workbenches. No longer would I have to use a saw on the floor, as the miter station meant I could comfortably make accurate, repeated cuts using stop blocks and clamps. Having this setup means I can make four perfect-height legs in a few seconds, which is the basis for almost any other build.

I know everyone who starts woodworking has to first build out their space so they can eventually build the things they want to. And so, once that was complete, it only took me a couple days to build a table on casters for my new table saw. I love the expanding outfeed shelves since they let me rip down whole sheets of plywood, but it collapses and can be shoved into a corner when not in use.

My latest shop project is a rolling wood storage bin, so I can keep all my lumber in one spot. This only took a couple hours to build since I had my table saw and miter saw within easy reach and ready to go.

I've also set up a basic dust collection system that attaches to every tool I use and keeps the sawdust down. My next shop project is learning how to build custom cabinets and drawers so I can organize all my new tools above and below my workbenches.

Why did woodworking stick this time?

When I started woodworking a few months ago, I quickly grew to love it. A lot of this scratched the same itch as learning how to program computers 30 years ago. Back then, I'd plow through programming books, staying up late every night as I learned how to create new features on my websites.

With woodworking, I love getting to build real things with my hands and the feel of a sore back after a long day of standing around a shop. I also love how any time I get stuck on a problem, if I step away and sleep on it, I'll always wake up with a new solution in the morning. I love being a novice at something again because there's an endless learning curve ahead and I can always up my skills. In the end, you even get to build anything you want.

Every aspect of woodworking is honestly super satisfying.

And class begins

I didn't want my hobby to end here, so I did some research and everyone on woodworking subreddits pointed to classes at Portland Community College as a way to greatly level up your skills.

I started my Woodworking 101 class this week and it's been everything I ever dreamed of. I hoped the class would introduce me to more complex tools and teach me how to mill my own lumber but the class is even better, as we get to use planers and jointers but we also work in a production shop that's been around for decades.

This means we use not only modern tools, but massive industrial shop-sized tools, and lots of historical tools since the owner is a collector and specialist in pattern making. In my last class, I got to use a router from the 1940s that felt like holding a temperamental boat engine in my hands. It had none of the safety features my new trim router has, so it really drove the lessons home of why you always move a router counter-clockwise around a piece of wood (go the other way, and a 1940s router can launch into the air, blades first).

Learning new techniques on all the foundational tools in their classic forms really makes me appreciate the safety and automatic features of the new stuff. It also makes me feel like I'm in a surfing movie montage where I have to ride a 1950s longboard before I get a 70s swallowtail before finally getting onto modern boards.

Our big semester-long project is building a step stool which sounds pretty simple, but after seeing a finished example, I can tell it will require learning all sorts of furniture building techniques and we'll get to mill our own hardwood to create it. We've already learned how to calibrate our tools and the pieces we work on to within thousandths of an inch, which is a crazy level of accuracy required for fine furniture.

Time to make some sawdust

I really love learning new things and woodworking has an endless set of techniques to try out and someday master. I can't wait to finish this class and keep going. I have big plans for all sorts of custom builds destined for my current home. And I can already tell that fixing and building small projects around the house is going to be so much easier now that I've got a shop full of tools and time spent learning how to do things correctly.