The weather was gorgeous this past weekend – even better than normal. I was shaking off the remnants of a cold and needed to get out of the house for a while to stretch my legs. What could we do? A trip to the beach?  Ehhh, we’ve done that before. How about a romp in the park? Fun, but we’d only be there for a little bit of time.

How about doing something we’ve never done as a family, and go to the Heritage Village Folk Festival? Now we’re talking!

I’ve worked for the Pinellas County government for 18 years now, and Heritage Village is owned and operated by the government. They’ve held the Folk Festival for years, but for some reason, the idea of folk music didn’t do it for me.  They also have traditional crafting demonstrations, but there’s only so much work on the loom you can stand. And, when you’ve seen a few meticulously-restored Model A Fords, well, they start to blend together.  The kids really dig that they had kettle corn, so, that was a draw…

But, that was it. I had never gone to the event… Even though I live about a five minute bike ride away…

This year was different. I had been in touch with the folks at the St. Petersburg Woodcrafter’s Guild (more is coming on them… believe me!) about possibly participating in the event, and I heard they worked out a deal to be there to show the craft.  SCHWEET!

So, we walked around, taking in the beaming sunshine, fresh air and twanging sounds of folk music. We stopped in a few historical homes to take a peek, and when we got to the Harris School, the banner for the guild was hanging proudly. Ahhh, here we were!

We went into the one-room schoolhouse, which normally has period desks lined up in rows. Instead, the desks were removed and the building was converted into one sweet hand tool shop for a day.

Members of the guild were there showing off several period tools – a spring pole lathe, a shaving horse, smoothing planes… the works.  Each of the stations had a few guild members helping visitors get a handle on what was going on in the shop.

My son Steven got a chance to handle a sweet smoothing plane. I think he’s a little short to get the maximum effect.

Dominic was the man behind the spring pole lathe, getting some good direction on how to use the turning tools. The boy is a natural!

And, me? Well, giddayup! I was working the shaving horse… for the first time ever. That oak never stood a chance!

During the 20 minutes at the Harris School, I learned a few things:

This was the first time the St. Petersburg Woodcrafters’ Guild ever came to an event at Heritage Village. Judging from the pile of sawdust, shavings and other wood scraps on the floor, I’d say they had been very busy – and we all know, a busy shop is a popular shop!

Secondly, the folks at the guild are knowledgeable about what they are doing, and they can communicate that clearly to visitors… Perhaps we can see some new woodworkers after this weekend?

And, finally, trying new stuff in woodworking?  It totally kicks butt. That was a blast to get on the shaving horse, and I can see why people like that so much.  Heck, I may have to build my own…

After our trip to the Harris School, we walked around the grounds for a while, and yes, we bought the boys their kettle corn. As we were heading out, we passed by the Harris School again. Amazingly, there was a line of people waiting to get into the building.  As I walked past, I smiled.  Woodworking was definitely alive and well in Heritage Village that afternoon.

Can you believe it?  Get Woodworking week is now less than one month away!  I’m so excited, I can hardly contain myself…

Well, maybe I need to learn how to contain myself just a little bit. Anyway, I wanted to get you into the mood by listing a few resources you might want to check out for woodworkers just starting out.  At these sites, you will find all sorts of advice, plans, tool reviews and technique articles to get you motivated to get into the shop and try your hand at woodworking.

Wood Magazine’s Basic Built Series: This is is Wood Magazine’s initiative to provide simple, yet high-quality woodworking projects that can be completed with a minimum number of tools and skills. This site covers a wide array of topics – from how to find furniture worthy wood to where to find the best deals on tools. The inexpensive projects offered run the gamut from shop fixtures to tables, seating and casework.

Popular Woodworking’s I Can Do That: In every issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, the “I Can Do That” column features projects that can be completed by any woodworker with a modest (but decent) kit of tools in less than two days of shop time, and using raw materials that are available at any home center. Be sure to download their .PDF manual first before you get a start on things.

New To Woodworking:  Marc Spagnuolo, the Wood Whisperer, understands that it’s OK to be a Noob. That’s why he put together this impressive site for the up and coming woodworker. He’s sorted through his site and found the best articles on shop set up, technique and projects with build-along videos.

NewWoodworker.com: Tom Hintz is no longer a new woodworker, but, believe me, his site will help steer any new woodworker in the right direction. Before you buy a new tool or select a spot for your shop, be sure to pay this site a visit and soak in the knowledge.

Now, this is by no means a complete list of sites. In fact, if you are aware of any others, be sure to list them in the comments below this article. This way, I can add them to this list to build a resource of sites geared toward the new woodworker.

Also, be sure to check the blogs listed to the right of this post. Each of those are the sites of bloggers I have been in touch with – either in person or online – who do some outstanding work.  I have asked for their help for the week, and most of them have said they are game. As they post articles on their sites, I will also link to them on a dedicated get woodworking page on my site.

The best part about Get Woodworking Week is that we’re going to make an active effort to get folks off the sideline and help them find the sawdust in their veins.  We’ll all be better off with new folks who get out there and show us what they’ve got.

For those of you who signed on very early this morning, you saw the link of the week taking you to a different site.  Something about a dovetail jig review site.  In my zeal to provide you information about dovetail jigs, I grabbed that one and posted it today.

Boy, was I shamefaced when Stuart of Toolguyd.com wrote me a note pointing out something I should have seen all along… the site is – how shall I put this – less that reputable.

Basically, what the site’s author had done was to copy and paste a great deal of background information about dovetail joints from Wikipedia to the site, with a number of links his Amazon affiliate site. He also copied and pasted many of the user reviews from Amazon and listed them.  Of course, the big drive was to have unsuspecting woodworkers (like me) Google, check out the info and then click through to buy the jig, netting the site owner cash. Marc Spagnuolo of the Wood Whisperer’s site pointed out that these types of sites are commonly known as ‘link farms’, and with the amount of content he puts out, he has to watch the web carefully to ensure his material isn’t being used for this purpose.

It’s a very deceptive way for someone to set up a site, making money on the work of others without their knowledge or permission.

How can you tell if you are on one of these sites? Both Stuart and Marc told me to check  the site’s content against the Wikipedia entry – if it is lifted word for word, you know someone’s not doing their homework.

Also, look for an excessive number of affiliate links all over the page. On the page for one dovetail jig alone, there were eight links back to Amazon to that one product. On ONE page.

Was this the only site out there doing this?  Nope. There are many sites out there misappropriating online content for their shady dealings. I addressed similar sites in my Monkey Business article at Wood Magazine, and  Steve Ramsey did an awesome video about fighting online piracy at his Woodworking for Mere Mortals site.

The current link of the week takes you to the About.com site on dovetail basics – an awesome read.

As for me, I want to apologize for posting that first link today. This isn’t the first time I’ve made an ass of myself on my blog, but I’m hoping it will be the last.

OK, so take a look at this, and tell me what you see?

An apple core, or two faces staring at each other?

How about now?

Is it the face of a young lady, or a musician?

Now, look at this and see if you can figure out what happened….

That’s right.. Tom made another boneheaded move. You see, he was so busy looking at the shape of the cutter, he failed to realize that it actually cuts the negative… So, of course, he put the cope cut on the end of the rails…

Fortunately, I broke into peals of laughter, and the boy stopped before he did any more damage. Nothing hurt… except his pride. And some wood. And, he lost about an hour of shop time doing things wrong.

After he shame-facedly admitted his error, Tom fixed the issue and things are back on track. In fact, they are looking good.

Which goes to prove a point – even though Tom has made a bunch of errors this year, he’s prone to make them again and again.  That’s OK, I think we’ll keep him…

This time of the year, everyone likes to take a peek over their shoulder to see how far they have come over the past 12 months. The kids are a little older. You are really starting to appreciate the home improvements you made in the spring.

And, as woodworkers, we see just how far our skills have advanced.

“I think it’s only natural for folks to see how they have progressed through the year,” said Eric Poirier of Bell Forest Products. “Whether it was that first veneer job, the cradle you built for your grandchild or that chair you built that doesn’t wobble – each project is a great accomplishment for you to celebrate.”

While we tend to look only at our progress, Eric and the folks at Bell Forest Products have an interesting perspective. “When someone looks back at his or her woodworking accomplishments, that’s good. Then there is the joy we find in looking at the successes of our customers… and we are floored.”

That’s the reason why the company proudly features a customer gallery on their site. “The idea started when some of our customers wanted to show off what they had done with the wood they ordered. We thought, ‘what the heck?’ and posted a few of them online. Since then, the gallery has grown to one impressive collection.”

And, what a collection it is. Guitars. Tables. Chairs. Pens. Floors. “If it can be built out of wood, you’re bound to find a photo of it in the collection. I am impressed with the creativity shown by our customers. The wood is spectacular, but we are only part of it. It’s that skill that takes the projects to new heights.”

Eric confessed that he often looks at the project photos for inspiration. “When we are rough milling the boards in our workshop and warehouse, it’s easy to see the wood as just a commodity – something like paint or butter or pillows. But, when you see the results of someone taking the time and care to carefully craft a work of art out of it, that makes our work a little more interesting.“

While there are many pieces on the site that will take your breath away, some really stick out for Eric. “I am a big fan of functional furniture – so I really enjoy seeing custom built pieces using highly figured wood.  Our customers are very talented, and they do a great job selecting and utilizing these unique pieces.  I enjoy seeing contrasting woods, figured accents, and live-edge slabs.  The projects that are most special to me are probably the ones where I hunted down a specific piece of wood for a customer for their project.  Several projects that come to mind are:

Jeff Baenen’s Talon box

Brian Tracey’s Roubo vise

Diane Slobotkin’s sculpture

David Palmieri’s mantle shelf

Todd Spooner’s cabinets

Tom Iovino’s trestle bench!

If Bell Forest Products stopped taking photo submissions today, the collection would be impressive. “But, we’d miss the excitement of opening those e-mails from our customers and seeing what they have done. What has been built is something to look at, but we’re most excited about those projects yet to come. Who knows what is cooking in each of our customer’s shops? I just can’t wait to see what’s next!”

“From the folks here at Bell Forest Products, we want to wish all of you a very happy and healthy holiday season with visions of sugar maples – and other woods – dancing in your heads!”

Oh, yes, it was SO good in 2010, you know I just had to come back for more!  I just can’t get enough of the Great American Teach In… even  though some of the questions were a little more pointed…

My day began last Thursday by driving my youngest son in to his school, where they had some great coffee. Jet fuel for the soul. There, I delivered three talks to two fifth grade and one fourth grade classes. Unlike last year, where I just spoke about tools, this year I cut several samples of joints, showed how they worked together and even showed off my blog.

After the third session at my youngest son’s school, I packed up my materials and headed down the road a ways to my oldest son’s middle school. I was surprised when I got there that I had a lot of time available before my first class… and I was going to be fed lunch.  The food was delicious, but it was a little intimidating being in a room with about a dozen SWAT officers from the Pinellas Park Police Department.

After I ate, a student helped guide me down the hallway to where I set up for my next classes – the science lab. It was a great room with plenty of space for me to spread my stuff out and really get into things. I also set up my little video camera and had my son Dominic operate it. Yes, you can hear him piping up from time to time during the talk.

After a full day of seven classes, working with more than 300 kids, I was totally whipped. Next year, I need to wear my athletic shoes and bring some Advil.

Now, after talking about tools and joinery, I’m going to have to find another topic to talk about next year….  But, at least I have a full year to think about it.

So, yesterday, I spent the day going around to my two son’s schools to talk about woodworking at the Great American Teach In. And, for the most part, I had a great time. Talking to seven classes and more than 300 kids about joinery was a blast.

For the most part.

There was this one student. After I had spent the better part of an hour explaining how joinery, glue, nails, screws and dovetails worked, she piped up and asked me, “Why do I need to learn this ‘stuff?’” Only, the word she used was a little stronger.

While this was obviously done for effect, it did leave me wondering what I was bringing to the kids.

I mean, most of them were never going to get involved in woodworking. The only contact that many of them would have with wood would probably be a few chairs, a table or some other pieces of furniture. What the hell was I trying to communicate?

I stammered. I struggled. Then, six hours later, it struck me like a bolt out of the blue.

What does a twelve year old kid know about life?

When I was twelve, my life revolved around the New York Giants, the books I had read and the TV show M*A*S*H*.  I had a few close friends, didn’t particularly care for girls and had yet to decide what I wanted to do when I grew up.   Maybe an astronaut. Maybe a race car driver. Maybe a cop.

Since that time, I have seen so much more. High School. College. Girlfriends. Trips to different cities. Building a resume. Reading books. Watching the Internet grow. Getting married. Playing golf for the first time. My children. And, discovering woodworking, a hobby that I enjoy tremendously.

When I was twelve, I’m sure I knew everything there was to know in the world. I had it all together. If, at that time, I was never exposed to new things, how poor the quality of my life would be. How narrow my focus.

She asked the question not because she was being sassy, but because she had yet to see the world beyond her small sphere of influence. My job yesterday wasn’t to get the kids jacked up about starting to woodwork on their own (although, I am sure that some will be for sure), but it was to show them something else worth seeing in life. To expand their perspectives.

Yeah, it was a challenging question.  But, for sure, my job wasn’t to provide answers. Those will come for those kids later in life.