09-06-2012, 06:42 PM
Hi,
Thank you Gary for such kind words about my work.
Please believe me Gary when I sincerely say I'm no one special when it comes to woodworking; I still make silly mistakes such as a novice would and I've not received any training in woodworking other than to detest the subject whilst at school 50 years ago.
I don't even consider I'm skilled but I do have a great deal of experience built up over the years learning everything the hard way and making every mistake possible before getting it right. Power tools and machinery can be more of an hindrance and many times I reach for my hacksaw rather than push a button. I've just been working on the base unit door and I could have brought it to size by running it over the big planer but instead I nipped it in the big engineering vice with packing protection and went at it with the Stanley #80 scraper which was most satisfying.
As an apprentice I was taught to use my head and hands and yes in this respect I do feel highly skilled and the methods spill over into my woodworking; I can saw very accurately using a hacksaw and I can work to extremely fine limits such as hand filing flat to a thou. If you count these skills Gary then I agree I have a head start when it comes to woodworking but engineering and woodworking are two very different disciplines as I forever keep finding out; my bad habit is to try to work to engineering tolerances as I was brought up to do so but wood moves a lot with temperature changes so whereas a thou (0.001”) is considered by me to be a large amount it is common in woodworking to work to tolerances of 1/16” (0.062”).
I installed a fully fitted hand made kitchen at our first house with nothing more than a B&D 3/8” single speed elect drill as a power tool; I did get lots of blisters to my right hand whilst sawing the white Contiplas using a very cheap tenon saw but even so long ago I exercised a great deal of patience and determination resulting in a rather nice kitchen costing extremely little monetary wise.
My power tools and big machines do take most of the hard work out of many woodworking operations but I've not always had these building up my collection over a lifetime. When our friends have been enjoying holidays abroad I've been working on our home and have restored a number of scrap machines which now repay me well and owe me nothing.
What does the average guy do at weekends Gary? Drink; smoke and watch sport on TV or attend a football match or something similar? I've never ever done any of these instead I've been working on our home or restoring machines; Bron and I go out for days but we never go away on holiday and don't feel the need to do so as we are very comfortable. I can do all my projects because I've been gaining experience over the years; I'm certainly not criticizing any guy for doing what he wants to do in his free time but because I now have a really good set up and can make anything I wish suddenly everyone thinks I was born with all the necessary skills and that my power tools and machines have appeared as if by magic. I can assure you it has been extremely hard work and I do at times get fed up and depressed just as anyone does when things go wrong. I never give up because I'm downright stubborn and refuse to be beaten by a problem.
When I'm faced with a complex problem that I've not before encountered I try to find and easy solution by either trial and error or a bit of researching. As you know Gary I restored my AVO wave winder and one major problem was the lack of change gears in fact this scrap machine didn't have a single gear but I didn't let this bother me; I invented a new way of cutting the required gears. When I wanted 3 phase on in the garage again I found a way of installing it and today I've been using the 3 phase system.
I still maintain that if I can do these projects then anyone can but the key here is that person must be determined to win through in the end and not be easily beaten. Those who inform they can't do such work as me are of course correct because it's highly likely they have never tried or had a go and given up once the first major problem arose. There is nothing wrong in this but it does separate me from these people. Many of my chums tackle all kinds of projects successfully; I don't say I can't turn wood like David who is brilliant at wood-turning; I do a fair job at wood-turning and with practice I would get better. I'm not in the same league as you Gary or Tony when it comes to technical radio restorations of a chassis but I don't say I can't do it; I've restored over 100 radios getting them all working; not perfect of course but acceptable and with a lot more practice I would get better. Alan enjoys the heavy stuff as I do and we exchange many messages on the joys of bashing lumps of metal and playing with our engineering lathes; we both enjoy such work in our own way.
I can't express this feeling between I can't or I can any better than my own story of my first contact with you Gary. I had just become a BVWS member and your exemplary cabinet restoration I saw in my first copy of The Bulletin really did make me stand up and take notice; I had never seen such workmanship on a cabinet previously having only ever done general woodworking and cabinetwork around home. To see you take a rough “Woody”and to restore to as or better than new was a delight and inspiration to a novice like me. I've never hidden the fact that from that first article I saw of yours I regarded you as my role model and I could only at that time aspire to such high standards of workmanship.
Since those days I've done as I always do and made steady progress; I can get a chassis working and recently even restored my first TV set much to my amazement. I've learned how to veneer and to French polish to a decent standard. Anything I don't know and want to know about I go out of my way to find out. All the time I'm gaining vast amounts of experience whilst enjoying myself.
I'm sorry if I sound to be a know it all or even to sound smug as this is not my intention. My intention is to try to encourage others to simply have a go rather than say the can't do it out of hand. All my threads etc. are from my own projects and things I've learned the hard way. I stress I'm no one special but I am different to the average guy as I do not like sport or drinking; I spend my time and money around home making both mine and Bron's life better and more comfortable. I'm not scared of failure or looking a fool and to date failure hasn't been an option; if I hit a major problem of which there are many in my various projects I simple dig in until I resolve the problem one way or another.
One thing I do have is a great deal of confidence in my own ability; couple this with a lot of patience and a powerful driving force then there is no stopping me.
All I can say to the people who are watching what I do and say “I can't do that” please take the “t” out of “can't” then you can.
Look at the fabulous workmanship from centuries ago when most things were done by hand taking a great deal of time; these craftspeople didn't have a workshop full of power tools or machines. I've not always had my well equipped workshop or garage either but it never stopped me from doing decent work.
Many forum members are doing lots of work around home such as Lawrence putting a new roof on in dire conditions; both Mark and John have made their own computer desks having the satisfaction of doing so; some people just get on with it whilst others watch.
Forums are great for helping members and hopefully to offer encouragement; I enjoy adding my stories even though it does take time and hope my stories come across as nothing more than information and encouragement because I like doing my projects. Keep up the good work guys and keep sharing your stories.
Kind regards, Col.
Thank you Gary for such kind words about my work.
Please believe me Gary when I sincerely say I'm no one special when it comes to woodworking; I still make silly mistakes such as a novice would and I've not received any training in woodworking other than to detest the subject whilst at school 50 years ago.
I don't even consider I'm skilled but I do have a great deal of experience built up over the years learning everything the hard way and making every mistake possible before getting it right. Power tools and machinery can be more of an hindrance and many times I reach for my hacksaw rather than push a button. I've just been working on the base unit door and I could have brought it to size by running it over the big planer but instead I nipped it in the big engineering vice with packing protection and went at it with the Stanley #80 scraper which was most satisfying.
As an apprentice I was taught to use my head and hands and yes in this respect I do feel highly skilled and the methods spill over into my woodworking; I can saw very accurately using a hacksaw and I can work to extremely fine limits such as hand filing flat to a thou. If you count these skills Gary then I agree I have a head start when it comes to woodworking but engineering and woodworking are two very different disciplines as I forever keep finding out; my bad habit is to try to work to engineering tolerances as I was brought up to do so but wood moves a lot with temperature changes so whereas a thou (0.001”) is considered by me to be a large amount it is common in woodworking to work to tolerances of 1/16” (0.062”).
I installed a fully fitted hand made kitchen at our first house with nothing more than a B&D 3/8” single speed elect drill as a power tool; I did get lots of blisters to my right hand whilst sawing the white Contiplas using a very cheap tenon saw but even so long ago I exercised a great deal of patience and determination resulting in a rather nice kitchen costing extremely little monetary wise.
My power tools and big machines do take most of the hard work out of many woodworking operations but I've not always had these building up my collection over a lifetime. When our friends have been enjoying holidays abroad I've been working on our home and have restored a number of scrap machines which now repay me well and owe me nothing.
What does the average guy do at weekends Gary? Drink; smoke and watch sport on TV or attend a football match or something similar? I've never ever done any of these instead I've been working on our home or restoring machines; Bron and I go out for days but we never go away on holiday and don't feel the need to do so as we are very comfortable. I can do all my projects because I've been gaining experience over the years; I'm certainly not criticizing any guy for doing what he wants to do in his free time but because I now have a really good set up and can make anything I wish suddenly everyone thinks I was born with all the necessary skills and that my power tools and machines have appeared as if by magic. I can assure you it has been extremely hard work and I do at times get fed up and depressed just as anyone does when things go wrong. I never give up because I'm downright stubborn and refuse to be beaten by a problem.
When I'm faced with a complex problem that I've not before encountered I try to find and easy solution by either trial and error or a bit of researching. As you know Gary I restored my AVO wave winder and one major problem was the lack of change gears in fact this scrap machine didn't have a single gear but I didn't let this bother me; I invented a new way of cutting the required gears. When I wanted 3 phase on in the garage again I found a way of installing it and today I've been using the 3 phase system.
I still maintain that if I can do these projects then anyone can but the key here is that person must be determined to win through in the end and not be easily beaten. Those who inform they can't do such work as me are of course correct because it's highly likely they have never tried or had a go and given up once the first major problem arose. There is nothing wrong in this but it does separate me from these people. Many of my chums tackle all kinds of projects successfully; I don't say I can't turn wood like David who is brilliant at wood-turning; I do a fair job at wood-turning and with practice I would get better. I'm not in the same league as you Gary or Tony when it comes to technical radio restorations of a chassis but I don't say I can't do it; I've restored over 100 radios getting them all working; not perfect of course but acceptable and with a lot more practice I would get better. Alan enjoys the heavy stuff as I do and we exchange many messages on the joys of bashing lumps of metal and playing with our engineering lathes; we both enjoy such work in our own way.
I can't express this feeling between I can't or I can any better than my own story of my first contact with you Gary. I had just become a BVWS member and your exemplary cabinet restoration I saw in my first copy of The Bulletin really did make me stand up and take notice; I had never seen such workmanship on a cabinet previously having only ever done general woodworking and cabinetwork around home. To see you take a rough “Woody”and to restore to as or better than new was a delight and inspiration to a novice like me. I've never hidden the fact that from that first article I saw of yours I regarded you as my role model and I could only at that time aspire to such high standards of workmanship.
Since those days I've done as I always do and made steady progress; I can get a chassis working and recently even restored my first TV set much to my amazement. I've learned how to veneer and to French polish to a decent standard. Anything I don't know and want to know about I go out of my way to find out. All the time I'm gaining vast amounts of experience whilst enjoying myself.
I'm sorry if I sound to be a know it all or even to sound smug as this is not my intention. My intention is to try to encourage others to simply have a go rather than say the can't do it out of hand. All my threads etc. are from my own projects and things I've learned the hard way. I stress I'm no one special but I am different to the average guy as I do not like sport or drinking; I spend my time and money around home making both mine and Bron's life better and more comfortable. I'm not scared of failure or looking a fool and to date failure hasn't been an option; if I hit a major problem of which there are many in my various projects I simple dig in until I resolve the problem one way or another.
One thing I do have is a great deal of confidence in my own ability; couple this with a lot of patience and a powerful driving force then there is no stopping me.
All I can say to the people who are watching what I do and say “I can't do that” please take the “t” out of “can't” then you can.
Look at the fabulous workmanship from centuries ago when most things were done by hand taking a great deal of time; these craftspeople didn't have a workshop full of power tools or machines. I've not always had my well equipped workshop or garage either but it never stopped me from doing decent work.
Many forum members are doing lots of work around home such as Lawrence putting a new roof on in dire conditions; both Mark and John have made their own computer desks having the satisfaction of doing so; some people just get on with it whilst others watch.
Forums are great for helping members and hopefully to offer encouragement; I enjoy adding my stories even though it does take time and hope my stories come across as nothing more than information and encouragement because I like doing my projects. Keep up the good work guys and keep sharing your stories.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
