jhl.verona Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 A "Ciao a tutti" from Verona in Italy. I'm British, but have lived here for the last 25 years. That doesn't really make me Italian, and I'm not really very British anymore... Much as I'd like to call myself a woodworker, this is not the case. I just work with wood - occasionally. Usually when I have a desperate need to 'accomplish' something in my life, well something tangible anyway. While I'd love that the results are sort of "Wow, you made that?", it's still much closer to "Hmm, you made that didn't you?" (with a slight ironic accent). Now I live in an apartment, or flat - as most Italians do, which means no personal garage, and no "shop". So anything I set myself to do means commandeering a bedroom, chairs for a saw bench, and so on. But I have tools: - they live in the broom closet - and there is also a hand held electric drill, and a hand held electric jigsaw. That's about it. So, having just a hammer, I spend a lot of time converting the "difficult bits" into something that looks like a nail. Which is why I'm here, to test your mettle with "mission impossible" problems, looking for MacGyver solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Ciao Caro Gianni; Buon giorno, io sono un Americano che abita en l'Argentine per 23 anni ... that is all I can do in Italian. Just like you ... I am born in Pennsylvania, then at 4 left for Buenos Aires, Argentina and lived there 18 years, then returned to the US, first Texas, then California. I feel like you, very American and very Argentinean and there is a Argentinean song that says "no soy de aqui ni soy de alla" ... I am not from here, nor there, sort of. Since you are British living in Italy ... the definition of an Argentinean is an Italian who speaks Spanish and wants to be an English man ... true ... The Europeans are the masters of optimizing space, we in the US understand Square Feet, the Europeans understand Cubic centimeters and maximizing space. It sounds like your "shop/closet" is just that. A "Ciao a tutti" from Verona in Italy. I'm British, but have lived here for the last 25 years. That doesn't really make me Italian, and I'm not really very British anymore... Much as I'd like to call myself a woodworker, this is not the case. I just work with wood - occasionally. Usually when I have a desperate need to 'accomplish' something in my life, well something tangible anyway. While I'd love that the results are sort of "Wow, you made that?", it's still much closer to "Hmm, you made that didn't you?" (with a slight ironic accent). Now I live in an apartment, or flat - as most Italians do, which means no personal garage, and no "shop". So anything I set myself to do means commandeering a bedroom, chairs for a saw bench, and so on. But I have tools: - they live in the broom closet - and there is also a hand held electric drill, and a hand held electric jigsaw. That's about it. So, having just a hammer, I spend a lot of time converting the "difficult bits" into something that looks like a nail. Which is why I'm here, to test your mettle with "mission impossible" problems, looking for MacGyver solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted October 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Hola Roberto. Ciao Caro Gianni; Buon giorno, io sono un Americano che abita en l'Argentine per 23 anni ... that is all I can do in Italian. Not bad at all - a lot better than my Spanish... I liked your office area, mostly because you take care to show how the bits fit together. The Europeans are the masters of optimizing space, we in the US understand Square Feet, the Europeans understand Cubic centimeters and maximizing space. It sounds like your "shop/closet" is just that. No shop, just a closet. Sigh. Just took a look at Xaromir's post - I can feel for him, though I can't see myself being able to use the dining room table... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Caro John, Wow, talk about maximizing space usage Thank you for the compliments on the way I put this countertop together. I did the top fitting and now I am working on the huge edge banding. Probably tomorrow I will have some more pictures. Hola Roberto. Not bad at all - a lot better than my Spanish... I liked your office area, mostly because you take care to show how the bits fit together. No shop, just a closet. Sigh. Just took a look at Xaromir's post - I can feel for him, though I can't see myself being able to use the dining room table... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted October 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Just so that people know that I have butchered wood in the past - my previous projects... The micro-sled (circa 1993) - think tea tray size here, but surprisingly effective: and the bottom: My excuse is that this was an experiment, so lots of nails, glue, mistakes. But they (I made two to match the number of offspring) lasted 7/8 seasons - and got used by adults who should have known better... You sit with your feet pointing left, and hold on to the ears with your hands. Raise your feet slightly and lean back to accelerate. Lower your feet to brake (and get showered in snow). Making a "weeeee" noise as you fly down the slope is optional... The closet (circa 1995): awful joinery: but I've been climbing on it to get to the top shelves since then: - about 80 Kg... The plastic box on the floor is my "shop" ;-) The wardrobe (circa 2002) Unfinished so my daughter could draw on it: As you can see, my aversion to doors meant that I went with sliders, velcro and some pretty resilient cloth material... So there are ideas, all poorly executed. As they say an idea is worthless, but its execution can be worth a fortune... But I'm trying (very trying sometimes). John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Trying is the first step. Second step is to attempt a project you know is slightly beyond you; it forces you to learn new things and many of those new things will be how to fix mistakes. You learn to avoid the mistakes the second time (well, tenth for me) and you learn how to get out of a mistake. Sometimes it takes a clever thought, sometimes it takes a lot of work. Regardless, it's learning. You're having fun with it. So, for you, step one: quit putting down your skills; they are in there. step two: pick a show piece that needs to look good (not a shop piece that doesn't matter), assume you know what you're doing (q.v., step 1), and go build it even if in the end it looks like there were a lot of patched mistakes along the way (for one, most people won't notice them and second you could now ace that same piece on try #2, but why bother... pick something harder). So welcome to woodworking... the most expensive way to save money on custom furniture!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Caro John. One thing I don't want to be (and I often am) is one of those guys who claims that "this is the only way". So with that said, you accomplished what your goals were and that is good enough for any of us. Paul-Marcel said two great things, first try to accomplish something slightly above your skills and second I laughed a lot "... the most expensive way to save money on custom furniture" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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