Introduction To Woodworking

So, everything up to this point was accomplished with whatever stale knowledge I had gained during middle school wood shop class and whatever info and techniques I could find online and in books. After hearing a little bit about the nearby fine woodworking school at RRCC, I gave them a serious look and got pretty motivated to jump into the Lutherie program -- starting with Introduction to Woodworking.

There were a handful of discussions on selecting wood and materials, dimensioning techniques, joinery, and even some finishing. We learned how to use most of the tools available in the shop safely and effectively. The first "project" was to hand-cut a ton of dovetail joints. This was difficult.. actually, I feel like heading out to my shop right now to try my hand at it again!

The second project was a "little bench". Every student started with similar amounts of lumber and we all went through a reliable process to build a very sturdy 1'x1'x18" bench. One foot tall.. ok, more like a little stool. We had to sketch it out isometrically, by hand, leaving no detail to the imagination. Then we learned and were encouraged to utilize Google SketchUp for future prototyping and modeling. I love Google and SketchUp is just one reason why. I learned AutoCAD at Mines and was pleasantly surprised that computer drafting could be so easy! Anyway, here's my little bench.

The final project was to build a "tool box" (actually, any kind of box). It had to have a pre-conceived purpose and it had to be designed to function for that purpose. Many students built small cabinets, or  literal tool boxes. I couldn't think of a tool box I needed (I didn't have much storage at my house at the time, so I didn't try too hard, either). I decided I needed a guitar case for a telecaster. I didn't succeed, entirely, but I do believe that I came up with an acheivable design -- just not acheivable by me in the few weeks we had to complete the project.

I ended up with an interesting equilateral triangle after testing my joinery while designing the guitar case. Finger joints cut on an angle were the feature that allowed my guitar case design to be plausible. This triangular box, made up of three practice joints, turned out to be my final project.

Getting Started

I am not sure where the idea to start woodworking really came from because I've always been interested in building things.. Perhaps my LEGO obsession finally just decided to grow up? A few years ago, I borrowed a woodworking book from my father in law. The Complete Woodworker (1980) showed me examples of hand tools, joinery, and how to build practical things out of wood (without the help of power tools!) from fences to tables. I developed an understanding that it doesn't take a shop full of expensive, commercial power tools to build a simple project.
So, I set out to acquire the essential tools to get started. I went to my local hardware store and picked up a simple hand saw/miter box combo and an oak board. I attempted my first dovetail joint -- and it was terrible. I did a little research on YouTube and the second attempt was better, and I started understanding how it was all supposed to work. I got even more excited!
A few more books later, and I eventually worked up the courage to visit a local lumber yard. After seeing rough-cut lumber in real life, I realized I was silly to think I could do it all with hand tools -- I just didn't have the time. Or the tools. After sulking about it for a while, I discovered a temporary solution: Club Workshop. I got excited and went to check it out. The owner gave me an enthusiastic tour which included work spaces for automotive repair, metal fabrication, sewing, and of course, woodworking (including a CNC router -- but we'll get to that later). All I needed was a project.