Any Woodworking Fans Here?

[rockbridge]

Hey gang,

It's obvious to me that there are some members here into woodworking. I thought some folks might like to see some of what I do to pay for my poster habit.

This is a Cape Cod Salt Box styled new home that I just completed on Lake Austin (did the entry door, all the interior doors, trim, arches, cabinets, etc...). Check out the rustic cherry compount arch top fridge cabinet in the kitchen :

http://www.trimtechaustin.com/notables/ ... index.html

This one is currently in the pre-paint install process- A really cool architecturally correct Federal estate in Tarrytown:

http://www.trimtechaustin.com/notables/ ... index.html

[phishstix101]

Sir, you are an artist! Beautiful work!

[HappaHaoli]

You do very nice work!

Have you done any custom frames for your prints?

[keefdotorg]

Man, that's gorgeous. If I ever win the lottery, you're the fellow I'll call to deck out my house.

[mr_rugby]

You are a master at your craft

[trarex]

Really nice craftmanship , you sir are an artist.

[PLUSH]

Very nice, if you come up to the DFW area I am looking to have all my baseboards and trim done. Nice work.

[Philpenn]

Beautiful work indeed.

I haven't been able to any serious work since high school due to no access to a workshop, but by my senior year I had wood shop 5 out of 7 periods a day.

[keefdotorg]

Do you carpent as well? I get a big ol' boner for good woodwork in all realms.

We had a couple fellows install bookshelves in our house last summer. I show these things off every chance I get.

[rockbridge]

You do very nice work!

Have you done any custom frames for your prints?

Everybody always teases me because I don't do my own framing. It comes down to not having enough hours in a day to run my business, be a dad to 2 young boys, pay the bills, mow the lawn, etc....I would love to do it someday when I have a bit more free time to pursue the hobby! Also, I feel like I would want a clean room (dust free environment) if I were to do it. My shop is about 50,000 square feet and even with massive dust collection systems, there is a lot of particulate always floating in the air. Maybe when I build my next shop (already drew the plans, but then the recession hit), I can have a small clean room to do frames in

Thanks for the kind words...This will sound cliche, but you have to do what you love. I moved to Austin in 1992 as a long-haired hippie with $50 to my name, a back pack and a dog, but I loved to work with wood, so that's what I started doing. My passion for wood has turned into a great business that supports many people now. My employees are my greatest asset and they are all like family to me!

[emac]

Sam, Chris and I will definitely be giving you a call in a year or so when we finally get around to buying a house in Austin.

Also, keef, I want your shelves so badly! I'm getting a lady boner looking at them.

[DarthHippie]

Hmmm.... I love pussy. Wonder what I could do with that.

In all seriousness, you do some amazing work.

And lady boner....

[john38103]

Thanks for the kind words...This will sound cliche, but you have to do what you love. I moved to Austin in 1992 as a long-haired hippie with $50 to my name, a back pack and a dog, but I loved to work with wood, so that's what I started doing. My passion for wood has turned into a great business that supports many people now. My employees are my greatest asset and they are all like family to me!

It's always amazing to hear that anyone has found a way to make a living doing something they genuinely enjoy. Even more so when they realize how lucky they are. Nice to hear that the dream exists.

[keefdotorg]

Sam, Chris and I will definitely be giving you a call in a year or so when we finally get around to buying a house in Austin.

Also, keef, I want your shelves so badly! I'm getting a lady boner looking at them.

They weren't exactly what you'd call cheap, but they're scalable and moveable-- they're anchored to the ceiling with feet on the floor, extensible by a couple inches so they'll work on fairly uneven ground, and theoretically we can take them with us if we ever move. If the place we move has similar ceiling heights.

When you do buy, if you're still interested, holler-- I can give you these guys' information. They're excellent fellows.

Carpentry guaranteed to give you a boner (or a lady-boner, as the case may be).

Of course, Mr. Bridge may well be able to hook up some fantastic differently-styled bookshelves. He seems to have skills coming out of his ears (or his lady-boners, as the case may be).

[jjbehren]

Looks awesome, rockbridge. You are living my dream that can never now be realized. It wasn't until I was about half way through law school that I figured out I'm not cut out for these desk jobs. And it wasn't until a year or so after that that I realized what suits me and my personality style best is a trade like yours where I can work with my hands all day long, see a tangible result at the end of the day, and take pride in what I do. Since then I've narrowed it down even further to specialty and custom reclaim woodworking/carpentry, leaning more towards craftsmanship than artistry (I'm not very artistic). I'd love to open and run a shop. My dad's a small business owner so that instinct to create my own work rather than rely on someone else for employment has always been there for me. With astronomical student loan payments, though, the money has to come in every month now or I'd be in trouble.

Keep up the good work, and keep posting pics of your jobs. I'd also love to see pictures of your shop.

Very nice, if you come up to the DFW area I am looking to have all my baseboards and trim done. Nice work.

Judging from the work he posted above, I'm thinking rockbridge doesn't even get out of bed for those kind of jobs. Unless it's much more extensive than I'm imagining...