Tpt life Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I invested in tools over winter break. Nothing high dollar, some old user hand planes, chisels, stones etc. My thought was that I have a long slog before my next break from school. I could save some cash, plan a project, then pull the trigger and go. My problem is that I sit here having spent my hobby cash and am without my project lumber. Why is this a problem? Snow days. Unplanned free time with no project ready to go. This is enough to drive me batty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I have the same problem as you. I have to choose between buying tools or buying materials to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cochese Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I'm saving up for tools so I can build things I have. Neither way is good. Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Find a free pallet, or a bunch if them... Take them apart and make something I've made a few of these. It's not "fine furniture", what ever that means, but it's free wood, and allows your creative juices flowing. These were made with pallet wood... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Man Mel, I debated such a mundane post but now I am glad I did. I was checking Craigslist and forgot about pallets. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I have threads on these. Honestly these are my a couple of my favorite projects. All it cost was a little time, some milk paint and BLO These are also good for testing a color you're thinking about. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ..Kev Posted January 26, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 There's other stuff out there too.. Mill ends from construction sites, cut offs from a cabinet shop, there's lots of places to get some free stuff. You won't be playing with Bubinga but, you'll be playing! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer_J Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Don't forget about fire wood!! I've got a huge stack of cherry that grew in about 10 different directions. Each chunk is from another planet. Bowls, tool handles, bookmarks, boxes, panels, veneers, all possible with free funky firewood. Sent from my thumbs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Also, call your local wood mill. Mine often has dry split wood. Usually around half off normal prices. It's not the choice stuff, but excellent for small boxes and such.I built my second bass with the stuff, and nobody would ever know because I was able to cut around the split. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer_J Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Mills also like to give away their slab offcuts... My pine mill charges $20 per truck load... Sent from my thumbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDi Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Did something a few months ago when I was in the same boat. Got a flyer from lumber liquidators and stopped in for the heck of it.picked up 2 boxes of unfinished clear maple flooring for $20 each. Planed off grooves on the bottom and ripped off T & G. Ended up with almost full 3/4 about 4 inches wide, So far it's become 2 end tables and a cutting board, and a bunch of shorts. Nothing fancy, but lots of practice with joinery and mistakes didn't bother me because of the cost. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 C'mon Carus, you gotta have some scraps laying around. Remember those little boxes woodbloke posted a few months back? I bet he used about a fourth of a board foot on each. If you and I joined forces we'd be in business...my lumber racks are stuffed but I have no time to do anything with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 my lumber racks are stuffed but I have no time to do anything with it. How terrible. I can stop by and take it off your hands if you'd like 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 It is terrible. I've got a hundred projects on my list...and the lumber to build them...but I just can't find the time. My goal is to complete the current Guild Build before Marc releases the final video. And I'm gonna do it dammit. I gotta build something. It's been ten months since I endeavored a "real" piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 It's at times like this that I do some Honey Do projects. I'm repairing some dining room chairs today that my wife has had in her family for years. She says they have always squeaked when you sit on them. What is actually happening is the dowels have no glue holding them and truth be known haven't had for a long time. So West Systems epoxy to the rescue. The chairs are old but machine made probably in the 1940s or 50s so no real value. We have no issue using epoxy on them. It's either that or they will end up on the burn pile. C maybe you have a few projects that you have been putting off for a while that you can do until some lumber arrives 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cochese Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 One thing I did a few days ago with nothing better to do was sharpen all my plane blades and chisels. Find whatever maintenance/tune-up stuff you never like to do and get it done. Those minor shop improvements, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I've seen posts like this before, along with posts about how people need to get just one more tool before they start woodworking. I'm guilty of both, especially they second one. I wonder if this a version of paralysis through analysis that I've also seen people posting about - and I also suffer from. My solution to paralysis through analysis is to blog about it. That seems to do wonders. Others have worked on side projects. In fact I seem to remember Marc, Matt and Shannon talking about it in Woodtalk. We all do it; I think it's human nature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cochese Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I've seen posts like this before, along with posts about how people need to get just one more tool before they start woodworking. I'm guilty of both, especially they second one. That's sort of where I am right now, although that one more tool (Domino) is in order to make easier a series of plywood-oriented projects I want to accomplish this year - new router table, new miter saw cabinet and new lathe stand. I don't need the Domino to do these by any means, but I do think I'll enjoy the process a lot more than in the past. It is a painful waiting process, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 The cold weather always keeps me down this time of year. Even with a somewhat heated, and insulated shop, it's just no fun to woodwork in the cold. I put a small hand tool only shop in my basement for these times so I can work on dovetails, or build a less complex piece. I think I may give the contemplation bench a whirl too. The only issue is I cannot use a grinder indoors, and the weather is TERRIBLE - like -38 degrees Celsius terrible. Maybe I'll build a few shop projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 My sawyer sells shorts,pieces under 2', for little of nothing. Sometimes he has so much that he will just give me a few. A lot of them are gems in disguise You've got to be creative.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G S Haydon Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 C, good on you for posting this. Some truly great ideas, Mel's cabinets look really neat and all the better for being made from humble materials. +1 for construction sites, who knows if you get a good raport with the contractor you could get the heads up on all sorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 The lumberyard I go to also sells "select shorts" at a big markdown. They are about 4 feet long, and 4-5" wide ( rough 4/4). When I went to a different yard a while back for materials that were not available locally, they had a "burn bin" that you take from. I was very surprised by the materials in there so I grabbed some. I tool a 5 foot section of 8/4 walnut (6" wide), a chunk of 4/4 maple (4" wide and about 4 feet long) and some clear pine sticks (2 inches wide or so). The guys there said it was "unsellable", so it went to the scrap pile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Pritchard Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 The cold weather always keeps me down this time of year. Even with a somewhat heated, and insulated shop, it's just no fun to woodwork in the cold. I put a small hand tool only shop in my basement for these times so I can work on dovetails, or build a less complex piece. I think I may give the contemplation bench a whirl too. The only issue is I cannot use a grinder indoors, and the weather is TERRIBLE - like -38 degrees Celsius terrible. Maybe I'll build a few shop projects. I'm lucky I *only* get down to -10C and I have a space in the house I've migrated to. Couldn't bring the tablesaw or jointer down, but it just means I have to workout how to do tasks another way. And I'm lucky I can get power tools into my winter shop. I think the noisiest thing I have is my shop vac! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondhockey Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 I have a few projects waiting for materials (they drop dramatically in price in a few months, some slabs are still drying) but find that I have endless honey do's and shop maintenance (crosscut sled push board had bowed, tools needed sharpening, need for stops and jigs, need to learn mortise and tenon joinery...) I've come to the tentative conclusion that I don't "need" another store bought tool to complete a job - there are various ways to "get er done". New tools will be justified when I repeatedly find that I want them (to save time or improve work.) Like others, I collect scraps, cutoffs, pallets. Our entry way bench was made from scraps from a burn pile. My woodworking books have shop made bookmarks. Most such ideas come from places like this site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 On 1/25/2014 at 6:04 PM, C Shaffer said: Why is this a problem? Snow days. Unplanned free time with no project ready to go. This is enough to drive me batty. Amen to that. I can hardly stand to watch glue set up. I always have 2 or 3 projects going. One large piece and a couple smaller efforts. If I reach a stopping point on one item (parts in the clamps, shellac wash coat drying, etc.) I just shift over to another. Idle time is the devil's workshop, especially since I don't watch TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.