What Are You?

[pecker]

When we bought our house, we needed a plumbers services. He charged for 8 hours work what I made in a week. I became a DIY'er at that point, 25 years ago.

[Thom2]

Okay ... now my curiosity is going ....

At the moment of posting this, we have 41 "Woodworkers" and only 4 "Tool Collectors" .... 10 times as many workers as collectors ....

IF that IS the case .... then why is the Bargain Alerts area of the forum ALWAYS 10 times busier than the Finished Projects area???

huh? huh? huh?? ... anybody???

Bueller?

[ironhat]

Okay ... now my curiosity is going ....

At the moment of posting this, we have 41 "Woodworkers" and only 4 "Tool Collectors" .... 10 times as many workers as collectors ....

IF that IS the case .... then why is the Bargain Alerts area of the forum ALWAYS 10 times busier than the Finished Projects area???

huh? huh? huh?? ... anybody???

Bueller?

Ahhh, Thomas me boy, you have forgotten the first rule of woodworking: ALL tools are needed. Therefore, there is no such thing as tool collecting. Tools collect due to serving or having served their need but they are not a wanton collection. As for the lack of finished projects shown there are two reasons: 1). We're a modest bunch. 2). Not eerything is a display item. I don't often photograph a drywall patch, and these sorts of repairs far outweigh the visible projects. Hence the lack of displayed projects. Anyway, that's my story to the LOML and I, for one am sticking to it. You collectors are on your own!

[linear]

"Tool-wielding primate" is about as high up the scale as I want to claim.

[cwsmith]

I feel like "Renaissance Man"... I seem to fit, in at least some small way, in all catagories.

Woodworker, well I'm trying to be... finding the time after Handyman and DIY'r is difficult, but a very real objective. I spend a lot of time with carpentry, refinishing, etc. Soon, soon, I will be actually building something other than rennovating house trim.

Artist, well "art" is determined by the observer I suppose. I spend a lot of time illustrating, playing with design, and laying out future home projects. Hey, it's an "art" to me.

I can't afford to be anything other than a Handyman and DIY'r. Unfortunately I have found that I pay somebody else to do some project that I don't feel comfortable with, and then go back and do them over, with a heck of a lot more attention to detail. Obviously I'm not a good manager of sub-contractors!

Tool Collector, you bet! But I blame the LOML, she keeps saying OK!



CWS

[LinuxRandal]

A handyman, to me at least, is either a person who does odd jobs for money, OR a DIYER, who is learning to DIY on things they don't know yet. So I chose Diyer. (learned more then I thought I have).

A woodworker is what I aspire to be (time, verses money and projects). Allthough, I think the "other" option is missing.............

Thanks to Dennis Leary

Folks
I'd like to sing a song about the American Dream
About me
About you
About the way our American hearts beat way down in the bottoms of our chests
About that special feeling we get in the cockles of our hearts
Or maybe below the cockles
Maybe in the sub-cockle area
Maybe in the liver
Maybe in the kidneys
Maybe even in the colon
We don't know

I'm just a regular joe
With a regular job
I'm your average white
Suburbanite slob
I like football, and porno, and books about war
I've got an average house
With a nice hardwood floor
My wife, and my job
My kids, and my car
My feet on my table
And a Cuban cigar
But sometimes that just ain't enough
To keep a man like me interested
Oh no, no way, uh uhh
No, I gotta go out and have fun
At someone else's expense
Oh yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah.............................

[gary]

More tool collector than I care to admit.

[dkerfoot]

Tools vs Wood

I had lunch with an old friend yesterday and he asked how the woodworking was going. I had to admit to more tools purchased than projects finished. One of the things I talked to him about was the (to me) shocking price of wood. Even plywood is more than I like to pay for.

Can anyone else relate to the line of thought: "I have $100 to spend. I could buy enough maple to build a small project (which I might screw up) or I could buy a new tool to enjoy forever."

The other thing that happens to me is I collect tools $10, $30, $50, $90 at a time - picking up a couple things each trip to Lowes, grabbing the occasional bargain alert online...

It is hard to impulse shop for wood. It is such a thoughtful, deliberate purchase that it is much easier to talk myself out it of or delay indefinitely.

Besides, once a get a planer and a jointer, I'll be able to buy rough-cut wood, sooooo much cheaper.....

[Black wallnut]

Dkerfoot, there may be light at the other side of the tunnel. At some point you may get to where you actually buy lumber the same way you now buy tools. Just when you do a project buy extra lumber each time even if it is just one more board. There really are a bunch of smallish projects that are very worthwhile that do not take much lumber. For example: this couch table takes about 4 bf!

[dkerfoot]

Thanks Black Walnut,

That is a very cool table. I am going to keep that in mind. I also really like the curio cabinet you built - big impact/small cutlist!

I am not despairing or anything, just curious if I am the only one who thinks that way - apparently I am!

Compounding the matter is my very small shop space. Long term wood storage just isn't much of an option.

For the time being, I have been working on maximizing the space I have. Last night I built the box for a miter saw station. It will be cool because the wings flip over and store inside the body when not in use. I actually got the plans from "The complete Small Shop" (Thanks KMK!) but here what it will look like: http://www.plansnowinprint.com/mitersaw.html I also like that it is built in three steps, each step being useful in itself (1-station box 2-wings 3-fence w/stops)

Once done, I'll build a rolling cabinet for it, matching the heights to my TS, workbench and router table...

[Ed62]

I do most of the things that need to be done. We had 9 kids, and when the kids were little, there was no way I could afford to pay someone to do the things that needed attention, so I guess that's the way I got started.

I would not call myself an accomplished woodworker, but I enjoy ruining a nice piece of wood occasionally.

I built an addition on our home, but I had an old friend install a new furnace. That's how he makes his living. My son is a licensed electrician, and he said he'd do the wiring. I didn't argue. So it's DIY for me, but I know my limits.

Ed

[oakchas]

I design like an artist, try to complete the design like a craftsman (a sub-species you left out), assemble it with woodworking joints, and it ends up looking like a do-it-yourselfer did it. Along the way I collect some new tools to make it easier to do similar things in the future.

I am a do-it-yourselfer...

I love to putz and dink. I was the kid who took his toys apart and most often could not figure out how to put them together again. I've gotten better at putting stuff back together. I'm still "WAY GOOD" at taking stuff apart.

My reach exceeds my grasp. I think up wonderful designs and ideas. More often than not, they take an inordinate amount of time to complete.

I'm very good at re-engineering things. Sometimes for the better... sometimes not so much.

Current Irons in the fire (some for a very long time).

Dust collector fan and cyclone made from materials from the scrap yard for less than $50 (not including motor or piping).

Convertible "turtle top" for truck bed that becomes full size topper weighing less than 100# so it can be more easily removed completely.

Rails for pickup bed that convert to overhead ladder rack AND bed extender.

Folding compact doggie stairs for 85# dog to get into SUV for less than $20.

Plans for (was it Loring's?) multiple headed router table. (Two vertical, one horizontal, all on one table).


Plans for a cheap "Jointability" and long board sled combination.

[twistsol]

Renaissance Man/Woman is formally defined as "A person with many talents or interests." I've often wondered about the variety of talent represented here and marveled at the breadth of knowledge demonstrated. Questions on almost any topic bring out a great deal of quick wit as well as clearly thought and studied responses.

I'm aspiring to be a woodworker; another 20 years or so ought to do it.

I know I'll never be an artist and could never make such a claim with a straight face.

I've never bought a tool that I didn't need for a specific purpose, but I really do have a good collection.

From the choices given, that leaves me somewhere in the DIYer to Handyman range.

I've formally studied political science, literature, finance, computer science, and religion. (I spent close to a decade in college majoring in indecision.) In addition to that above, I’ve worked with wood and stained glass, I’ve built a house and done more additions and remodeling than I can remember and none of it has ever seemed like work. Add to that casual interest in sports, meteorology, history, and agriculture. In my heart, I’d have to go with Renaissance Man

__________
An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
A moral man does it.