THE HOBBYIST'S BACKGROUND
I am a retired chemistry teacher who loves working with wood.
Ever since I was a small child I have enjoyed making things out of wood and my skills have been developed over recent years with lots of practice and by seeking advice from books and other woodworking enthusiasts.
I am prepared to try my hand at making almost anything from wood but I particularly like making small items of furniture for friends and family.
WHAT DO I MAKE?
I make whatever I am asked to make but the most frequently made item is a Cracket
Here is a list of the sort of things I have made during recent years.
Crackets
Children's small crackets
Tables and chairs
Chests of drawers and other items of furniture
Boxes of all types
CD and DVD storage units
Turned bowls
Storage & display units
PLUS
Lots of firewood!
Sawdust and woodshavings!
WHICH WOODS DO I USE?
I am prepared to use any wood I can acquire but I much prefer to use European Oak, American White Ash and most other light coloured woods e.g. American Hard Maple, Lime, English Elm, Sycamore, Sweet Spanish Chestnut and Beech. Recently I have been asked to make items from American Black Walnut and examples of these can be found in the child cracket section.
Yew is a lovely wood to use because of the colour contrast between the heart wood and the sap wood but the dust is quite toxic and I find I am allergic to it even though I use a respirator when working with it.
Another wood I am particularly fond of is Spalted Beech - that's Beech with black veins going through it caused by a fungus. It is difficult sometimes to get the balance right between an attractive usable piece of Spalted Beech and a somewhat rotten piece that is only suitable for use as a fuel.
Why Have A Website?
I enrolled for a Web Design Course and needed a topic on which to base the site.
I chose my woodworking hobby.
Starting from scratch and using html and css - and a considerable amount of help from the tutor - I created the website as it exists at the moment and decided to make it "live" so that friends could see it. I hope to develop it further in the future.
It is not intended as a commercial website although I would be prepared to consider small commissions if asked. I don't really have the facilities to make any of the larger items that appear on this website. The small children's crackets have proved very popular amongst friends who have requested them as birthday or christening gifts for nephews, nieces, grandchildren etc.
I hope the site might inspire others to try their hand at making things from wood. It is so rewarding to start with some rough lumps of wood and end up with a beautiful piece of furniture.
It can be very therapeutic!