Hello,

Recently stumbled upon this forum while doing research on woodworking, and found many useful tidbits of information so I thought it would be worthwhile to join in order to participate in conversations and ask questions directly.

About me, I have done some work in the past building basic objects (dining table being most advanced) out of construction-grade lumber, none of which were built "properly" (i.e. nails and screws about every three inches - because more is stronger, right?). But recently took some classes at a local woodshop to learn some actual skills, and am in the process of setting up a small shop in the garage to do a lot of various home projects.

Other than my newfound fascination/appreciation for woodwork, I work as an animator in Los Angeles, and it feels like the rest of my free time is spent walking my dog and playing video games.

Welcome to Woodworking Talk. I hope you like to post photos of your projects. I am very impressed with your animation and design talent, as displayed in your workshop designs.

I live in Orange County, not too far from you. If you are just getting started in woodworking, here are a few suggestions:

The LA Public Library system is huge, and you can request books from anywhere in the system. They are a great resource for woodworking books. They probably have more books on woodworking than you have time to read them.

Consider joining a woodworking club. The OC Woodworkers Association is a good one, but may be too far for you. The club is a well of experienced woodworkers, people who have been doing it all their lives. They are also a great source for used woodworking tools.

You mentioned taking a woodworking class. Cypress College offers a complete woodworking program, which caters to budding professionals and enthusiasts as well. They offer a regular curriculum and also have an extended education program.

I hope this helps.

Welcome to the forum! When you get a minute complete your profile with first name. You can add your name to your signature line and it will show in each post.

Post some photos of your garage/shop build out when you're ready. We do like photos!

David

Welcome!! I read what ToolAgnostic said and was curious as to the design he mentioned you doing so I looked em up. All I can say is WOW!!! man. You got some nice design and animation skills there which should come in very handy when designing projects. I guess being an animator kind of goes hand in hand with being skilled with computer design software. Well good luck with your wood working and as you have all ready found out, just ask questions. Theres an amazing amount of knowledge behind alot of these people.

Well that's certainly interesting.


This is a pretty nice forum we have here, everyone is pretty nice and almost always willing to help out. If you stick around you can pick up quite a lot from here. Welcome aboard mate.


-T

Since you asked - here's a shot of the workshop-in-progress:



The "bench" against the back wall is one that I inherited from the previous owner, which will get replaced ASAP. Everything non-workshop related goes on to the upper shelves which were also inherited.

Due to limited space in the garage (we still park two cars in here) all the workshop supplies/tools have to go either above the cars or between the studs. With some foresight I realized I would probably move stuff around as I got used to working in the shop, so I created some modular shelving using 5/8" plywood "ribs" that I could then slide shelves in and out of (so glad I got that cordless nail gun) so I can freely move shelves/storage units at my leisure:



Using the same system to hang up all my clamps - although I need to change these a little so they angle back towards the wall. I'm afraid if there's a quake (which there frequently are in LA) they'll vibrate out and land on my car.



First project (which I outlined in a separate thread) will be to build a proper bench to work on, using a bunch of new tools that aren't in the picture (told myself I couldn't unbox them until I get everything else organized and sorted away).

Thanks for the warm welcome, all!