Woodworking

Started watching Steve Ramsey on YouTube thinking “I could build stuff.” Then I found Paul Sellers, and suddenly I wanted to do it properly - hand tools, traditional joinery, the whole deal.

The Journey

Steve Ramsey is great for getting started. He makes woodworking approachable and shows you that you don’t need a warehouse full of tools to build things.

Paul Sellers is where it clicked for me. Watching him work with hand tools, explaining why traditional methods work, showing that a few well-maintained hand tools can do what a shop full of machines does - that’s when I decided I actually wanted to do this myself, not just watch videos about it.

My Tools

Power Tools

Full DeWalt yellow collection, because brand consistency is a sickness I’ve embraced:

• Table saw
• Circular saw
• Jigsaw
• Drill

I use these when I’m building modern furniture or need to get things done efficiently. My office furniture, for example - power tools all the way.

Hand Tools

This is where the soul is:

• Japanese hand saws - Pull saws that I love. Once you get used to the pull stroke, Western push saws feel barbaric
• Vintage hand planes - There’s something right about using tools that have already proven they can last generations
• Chisels - The basics
• Clamps - Never enough

I prefer hand tools. Power tools are faster, but hand tools are more satisfying. There’s a meditative quality to planing a board by hand that a thickness planer can’t match.

The Shop Situation

I work wherever. Driveway, garage, borrowed space.

There’s a room behind the garage that I’ve been meaning to turn into a proper shop. It’s on the list. Everything’s on the list.

The Eternal Workbench

The crown jewel of projects-that-aren’t-done-yet: a traditional Roubo Workbench.

It’s been “2-3 weekends away” for about three years now. In my defense: two house moves and having a kid will vaporize your hobby bandwidth.

The full roadmap is now documented. Time to break the chicken-egg cycle.

The Chicken and Egg Problem

My whole maker life is an eternal chicken and egg situation, but with multiple chickens and multiple eggs:

• Need the workbench to build things properly
• Need the shop set up to put the workbench
• Need time to set up the shop
• Time gets consumed by other projects
• Other projects would go faster with a workbench
• Need the workbench to…

You get it.

What I’ve Actually Built

Despite the nomadic workshop situation:

• Bass pedalboard - Made from Tamarindo and Peroba (Brazilian hardwoods) with traditional joinery. See Bass
• Living room furniture - Power tool builds for function
• Dining table for my grandma - One of my favorite projects
• Wedding decorations - When you have skills, you get voluntold for things
• Office furniture - Where I work every day
• Subwoofer enclosure - Custom box for the GM Classic sound system

Future Plans

The Custom Bass

I want to build my own bass guitar from scratch. Design the body, select the wood, wind the pickups, everything. Lutherie is calling.

I’ve already rebuilt my dad’s 12-string guitar almost from scratch - new frets, nut, bridge. Bringing instruments back to life is deeply satisfying. Building one from nothing is the next step.

But first: the workbench.

Car Audio Enclosures

Speaker boxes for the Classic Sound System and Bandeirante Sound System. Woodworking meets Car Audio.

Bandeirante Truck Bed

Wood flooring for the Toyota Bandeirante bed. Part of the camping/overlanding setup - functional and looks way better than bare metal.

The Shop

One day that room behind the garage will become what it’s meant to be.

Related

• Maker - The broader maker hobby
• 3D Printing - Different fabrication, same mindset
• Bass - The pedalboard and future lutherie
• Electronics - Tools need enclosures
• Cars - Audio builds need woodworking