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My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

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Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#31

Post by rytis »

pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

As everyone is saying - just go for it. Also, sometimes "difficult" or "complicated" things aren't really that difficult or complicated. Also, don't pay too much attention to some of the "elitist" videos/tutorials. Pockethole joins aren't for real woodworkers? It holds two pieces of wood, looks neat, and is very simple to achieve, so I'm going to go for it, "real" woodworking or not.

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#32

Post by newbie578 »

Man what a depressing story.. You could say that it isn't a story, but just life..

Life is unfair, and life just happens, the best thing we can do is try to live the best we can.

Have to say, that really is a wonderful bookshelf, I just hope to see a picture when it is full of books.. I cannot even fathom how heart breaking it must be, every time you see the bookshelf, you remember your dead wife and her life wish she didn't get too see fulfilled.

This kind of stuff just hits you differently.. I have also always wanted to have a home library where I can hide away and just read books for hours on end, guess this could be a kind of wake up call to go for it sooner than later, since you never know when your end is coming...

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#33

Post by ejs »

pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

I'm somewhat obsessed in woodworking but got into it the same way I was drawn to programming - just making things.

Like most things if you expect the first thing you make to be any good it'll be a hard road.

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#34

Post by adulion »

codingdave wrote: post #30
pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

I'm a bad woodworker. My furniture has bad joints, gaps between pieces of wood. I don't use good wood. I do a poor job painting or staining it... and everyone still just sits down on my chairs and says, "This is so cool that you make your own furniture." Start small, start bad, improve on each project... and give it time.

Amen

I built my daughter a rocking horse- any woodworker or trades person looking at closely would chuck it in the bin as the joins are slightly off and the seat isnt symetrical but when i posted a photo of it on instagram or showed it to anyone- my friends where sharing it and people where commenting on it saying wow asking could i build one for them

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#35

Post by bardworx »

wegs wrote: post #12
pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

It's less expensive than pre-made furniture. A good place to get started is construction lumber -- just 2x4s. They're not bad once you clean them up with a sander and potentially planer and finish them, and they have a certain industrial aesthetic raw. They're cheap enough that if you mess up or change your mind, you can throw them away and try again. And if you want to redo a piece of furniture, you can do that too.…

You probably know what you're doing but for a beginner, 2x4 isn't a good choice because:

1. 2x4 are not 2" x 4" and when you start, you make a lot of assumptions that land you in hot water.

2. A beginner will not know what does "green" vs. "klin" mean and will have a hard time getting anything to be straight.

3. Construction lumber is made for construction and not interior use because of many different factors.

I would highly recommend choosing poplar 1x8 boards (they will neither be perfectly 1 inch in thickness nor 8 inches in width but close). They are easy to work with because poplar is soft, even though it called a "hardwood". And the wood takes paint and stain very well.

Also, with poplar, your list of beginner tools will be spot on. You wouldn't even need much more and I'm confident that I can put together a good enough kit for under $250 by using only corded tools and an extension cord.

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#36

Post by frankosaurus »

Is there a name for this type of ceiling? It's angled, so the roof is directly above the room (no attic). There's also a higher wall whose top portion is presumably adjacent to the attic.

I've seen this in California homes, including my own master bedroom. It really heats up during the day, presumably due to heat convection from the roof and attic.

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#37

Post by mabbo »

codingdave wrote: post #30
pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

I'm a bad woodworker. My furniture has bad joints, gaps between pieces of wood. I don't use good wood. I do a poor job painting or staining it... and everyone still just sits down on my chairs and says, "This is so cool that you make your own furniture." Start small, start bad, improve on each project... and give it time.

I think this is wisdom that applies very generally, to more than just physical things we make.

Thanks.

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#38

Post by dec0dedab0de »

Jaruzel wrote: post #14
pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

> presumably by taking classes at a technical college? Trial and Error is all you need. I've never formally trained myself in woodworking and I'm pretty good at it. I could definately replicate what this guy did if I had the time and money. My wife and I have a book collection that currently lives on eight 2.5 metre high by 1 metre wide Oak bookcases that fully line two walls of our living room (which we call the Lib…

If I could give up IT and do woodworking everyday, I would.

I feel like this every time I do some project around the house. After replacing my toilet a few years ago I realized that manual labor is bad for the knees but good for the soul. But knowing me I would probably end up writing a script to help whatever job I was doing, and then end up making that my focus.

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#39

Post by bardworx »

pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

All of these comments are good and provide value, my "take" wouldn't add to the conversation. However, I did notice that no brought up that at the beginning, you can compensate your lack of skill by spending more time on the project.

The difference between a novice and professional is efficiency. Good tools will aid in efficiency but not always necessary.

A simple box will take a beginner several days, an intermediary a day, and a craftsperson a few hours.

Substitute your lack of knowledge and tools by spending more time on quadruple checking everything, making good marks, and always doubting yourself.

Re: My wife recently passed away. I used my time off to build her a giant bookshelf

#40

Post by [deleted] »

pen2l wrote: post #5

It seems so fulfilling, being able to make such beautiful things. But also a bit expensive eh... to get the woodworking skills (presumably by taking classes at a technical college?), the equipment, and the time involved. If any folks here are capable of doing this stuff, would you please share details of your journey, I feel inspired to learn some of this myself. Did you feel it was all worth it, what would you do di…

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