Hello Hello. TAS Teacher in training from Dubbo.

[MichaelQ]

Happy Hi all. Great to have found this forum and looking forward to being part of the community.

47 yr old reformed website & computer geek dad and becoming a half decent DIYer.

My woodworking experience has been fairly limited to some good memories from school 30 years ago. Must have been pretty good memory because this year I decided to go back to Uni and start studying to be a high school TAS teacher - focusing on Industrial Arts and Graphic Design. I wanted to challenge myself doing the Woodworking / Metalworking side of it to learn something new for myself, plus learn a few new tricks and give me an excuse to build out a workshop in the (very large) shed.

During our first woodworking workshop for uni this year I built a pretty nice chessboard which I wouldn't have thought I'd been able to do so soon. But it showed me that with some basic tools, nice timber, and patience - you can build something pretty good. Was very excited at the end of the week with what I had made. But what I really wanted to do was build it again knowing all the stuff I had learnt during the week. Practice the skills and learning from mistakes. But for that I'm going to need some more toys at home.

Going to need some advice with regards to tools to get. Funds have been a bit limited but I want to spend a bit now and build out some basics to let me get started with some weekend projects and practice things.

Best way to say hi is to catch me on twitter @michaelq

Looking forward to the journey.

[crowie]

G'Day & Welcome to a top forum "Michael".
There are a good few members in the central west with a stack members across the greater Sydney area plus the rest of the country.....
You'll find a heap of helpful & knowledgeable blokes & ladies on the forum and for most very willing to assist.
Make sure you show off your handiwork as everyone loves a photo, especially WIP [Work In Progress] photos with build notes.
Enjoy the forum.
Enjoy your woodwork......
Cheers crowie

PS - You're a game man, retraining to be a teacher

[KBs PensNmore]

Hi Michael, welcome to a Top Forum. As far as tools go, what did you use when you made your chess board? If a lot of it was done with hand tools, then that is what I'd get, as you are used to using them. Then as you get more experience and more adventurous, buy more tools as the need arises. As money is a bit tight, look for quality second hand tools, they could cost equal to or a bit more than cheap tools, but in the end it'll be worth it. There's nothing more disheartening than using second rate tools. Post a wanted to buy in the market place, some members move to smaller accommodation, and have to down size their tools and stuff as there's no room for a shed, or not allowed to do such hobby, etc.
Please post pics of your projects and WIP (Work I Progress)
Kryn

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum Michael.

[MichaelQ]

As far as tools go, what did you use when you made your chess board?

Hey there and thanks for the reply. Some good points and questions there.

For the chess board workshop we had access to a full high school classroom in Cherrybrook Sydney - well it was more like 3 or 4 rooms. But a combination of power tools (mostly) and some hand tools. I probably used the hand tools a bit more than others, but still mostly powered tools for things like ripping, cutting, sizing, etc. Also didn't help we only had 4 days for a 5 day project (Easter) and so not a lot of time for "mucking about" trying different things unfortunately.

I have been putting together a bit of a list and will look at setting up some searches on eBay, gumtree and the like. Happy to go second (third) hand for quality gear over buying new cheap stuff. I guess being in Dubbo the opportunities are thin unless you want to do a few trips to pickup or expensive postage.

[MichaelQ]

Make sure you show off your handiwork as everyone loves a photo, especially WIP [Work In Progress] photos with build notes.

PS - You're a game man, retraining to be a teacher

Yep I plan on putting together a website for my TAS Training portfolio and some woodworking projects too. I'll post here too. Usually pretty good at taking pics along the way when I am doing stuff.

I was training to be a teacher 20 years ago when I "took a short break". Still keen on it - playing in the woodworking shop seems a bit more fun than Math though. Probably end up teaching all sorts of things with my backgrounds.

[JJF]

Welcome to a forum Michael