Popular Woodworking 2004-02 № 139, страница 12
Out on a Limb Join the Club or Get Some Class One drawback to woodworking is that it tends to be a solitary activity. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my time alone in the shop, away from all the stress of my "other world." And to some degree, this solitude may attract some people to woodworking. But life has taught me that reaching outside my world almost always brings back benefits I couldn't have imagined. There are several ways to get out of the shop and still develop your woodworking skills and knowledge. Here's a short list of ideas to consider for the coming year. • Join a club focused on the aspect of woodworking that you enjoy most. There are clubs for general woodworking, wood-turning, carving, scrollsawing and instrument making (who are known as luthiers). A quick survey of the Internet turned up more than 125 general woodworking clubs, about 250 carving clubs and close to 200 turning clubs scattered throughout the United States and Canada. Woodworking clubs are a great place to meet nice people who share your interest, and you'll learn a lot, too. Just about every club meeting includes some time dedicated to building knowledge and skills. Sometimes club members make presentations; other times experts from outside the club speak. You can learn a lot just by listening. Better yet, you can ask questions about problems you might be experiencing in your shop. And don't overlook the possibility that you might have the answer to a problem that a club member is experiencing. You don't have to be a charter member to know something. • Sign up for a woodworking class or attend a woodworking school. There are classes and schools for every aspect of working in every state and province. Many schools have opened in the past several years and most are doing well, a testament to the positive experience attendees are having. Many schools offer five-day classes or weekend classes. Woodworking stores, such as Woodcraft and Rockler, also offer evening and weekend classes. In fact, Woodcraft is vastly expanding its education program with the establishment of Woodcraft University, where you can earn college credits for certain woodworking programs. At the "sleepover" schools, where your class lasts a week or so, you'll focus on advancing your skills exponentially. Most schools offer small classes, which means lots of individual attention from instructors. Many attendees see their week at school not as work, but more as a mini-vacation! • Attend a woodworking show. There are numerous shows around the country and they offer a lot. Of course you can check out the newest tools and sometimes buy equipment at a discount, but many shows also offer excellent demonstrations by some of the country's leading woodworkers. No matter what you do I bet you'll see that woodworkers and people associated with the craft are a really nice group of folks. I've found this to be the case with our readers, contributors, people at shows, equipment manufacturers and even editors at competing woodworking magazines. The point is that meeting up with any group of woodworkers is bound to be a pleasant experience. Make a New Year's resolution to expand your woodworking horizons by getting out of the shop and into a club, school or woodworking show. You'll learn a lot and meet some wonderful woodworkers. And like a box of Cracker Jack, you'll discover that unexpected surprise that happens every time you take the initiative and do something new - you become better. PW Stei'e Shanesy Editor & Publisher CONTRIBUTORS JIM TOLPIN A professional woodworker for more than 30 years, Jim Tolpin has spent his career doing finish carpentry, cabinetmaking and building boats and English gypsy caravans. While running his own custom cabinet shop, Tolpin wrote a manual for his new employees to read. That manual turned into his first book, "Working at Woodworking" (Taunton Press). Today, Tolpin is the author of 12 books, including the second edition of "Jim Tolpin's Table Saw Magic," in bookstores now. Aside from drawknives and spokeshaves, the table saw is his favorite woodworking tool, one that he still uses with extreme caution. (Tolpin has seen a table saw turn on all by itself - the switch was caked with sawdust.) To learn how to build Tolpin's universal fence fixture for the table saw, see page 84. BILL HYLTON You'd think that a joinery expert would have a favorite joint to use in his personal projects. But for Bill Hylton, the fun part of writing our "Power-tool Joinery" column (on page 38) is learning something new: "Here's a joint. How many different ways can it be cut?" This is how he has learned so much in his 25 years of woodworking. After taking some classes at a vo-tech school, most of Hylton's education came on the job. As a writer and editor for Rodale Press, he helped produce the company's first woodworking books. Hylton picked the projects, gave them to the woodworkers and watched them the whole time. What's his favorite project? "The next one. ... I get excited about working out the design, the joinery and the construction process." Our Privacy Promise to You We make portions of our customer list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services we believe you may enjoy. If you do not want to receive offers and/or information, please let us know by contacting us at: List Manager, F & W Publications, 4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236 10 Popular Woodworking February 2004 |
