G'day from Hollywood, California

[Mondo Vila]

G'day everyone! I came upon this site while searching for ideas of what to do with saw dust and found a thread that really cracked me up. There are some really funny and clever guys posting on here. I live in hollywood, CA, and am a pretty old guy at 49. I was a sound mixer for film production for about 8 years and worked as an office administrator before that. The last two years really kicked my ass in the film industry, absolutely no work. So here i am desperate for a new career and nobody wants to hire a 49 year old hairy beast of a man as a secretary. uh uh! So after much thought i've decided to do something with wood! A piece of wood doesn't care about how i look and i've always thought woodworking was cool. I have a decent sized 2 car garage in my home and a few dollars to spend on equipment, so i'm able to set up a nice little shop for myself. But other than fixing a few things around the house with crappy hand tools, I've never worked with woodworking equipment. I decided to start out making decorative what nots to learn how to use the equipment and have a list of stuff i can start with. I found a used DeWalt DW788 scroll saw in perfect condition for $100 and an old belt sander for next to nothing. I instantly fell in love with the scroll saw but already I am needing something bigger so I'm planning on buying a Grizzly 14" band saw and drill press, and later a table saw, router table and dust collection system. My first goal is to learn how to safely use all the equipment and then add on as I go. I'm excited and confident I will find something I love to do and in the process learn some woodworking skills and am considering taking a woodworking class or two at my local community college. Just cuz I'm an old dog doesn't mean I can't learn some new tricks, right? Or is it the other way around? Anyway, I'll be hitting the forum for tips and maybe sharing some "what not to do's" (I'm sure I'll have a few of those lol). Btw, one of my favorite bands of all time is Midnight Oil. I'm proud to say that Peter Garrett poured a bucket of water on me and my friends to cool us off because we were out of control moshng (maybe it was still called slam dancing or pogo'ing at that time) at a Midnight Oil concert at the old Hollywood Palace concert venue on my birthday night on March 30, 1984. It was one of the best shows ever! There's a lot of great music from Australia that's for sure! Cheers!

[Claw Hama]

Hi Hollywood, sounds like you're about to hit a steep learning curve, the lesons sound like a good idea. A few lessons at a time like this would be a bit of a short cut and might bring you up to speed a lot faster than the school of hard knots. You now need to post us a few pics of your projects so we can see if you're real or a Roger Rabbit Hollywood drawing Enjoy the forum

[artme]

G'day Hollywood and welcome to the shed!!!

You will get lot's of advice here, some of which may even be helpful . Just ask away.

[groeneaj]

Welcome to the forum mate

I'd love to visit California one day!

[Mondo Vila]

Yes, its a steep learning curve for sure... i've done a lot of research about equipment i'll need to start crafting with and what's the best tool for the buck, taking into consideration whether those tools will be good enough for future bigger projects and will the next model up fit my budget now, etc. its pretty fun designing my shop layout, window shopping, learning about dust collection - what? i can't filter finer than 0.5 microns? i need better filtration! i live in Los Angeles! i'm looking at the Harbor Freight 2 hp dust collector with Wynn Environmental cartridge upgrade. kind of pricey for a damn vaccuum but everything seems pricey to me right now - I was thinking my old Hoover could do the job. I'm hoping my little shop will be up and running by the next month some time. i'll post picks when i'm done installing the Foosball table, satellite tv, portable jacuzzi and tiki torches. i know, i know, safety first, leave out the Foosball.

[Mondo Vila]

Welcome to the forum mate

I'd love to visit California one day!

California has very beautiful areas, but Hollywood stinks! Nothing pretty to see 'cept the police cleaning up the riffraff. lol. Its really just a party town for 18-20somethings and there a lot of homeless people and runaways. I think northern California is beautiful, lots of lakes and redwoods and rolling hills dotted with twisted oak trees. Yosemite is just awesome and makes you feel so happy to be alive. So is Mount Shasta and the Napa valley, where my family lives. My dream is to one day move to northern Cal and raise walabi's! they are cute. no, i'd love to rescue abused and injured dogs. that would be a fine legacy for sure. If I had a bigger house I'd invite you to come and visit. There are some fun things to do in Hollywood actually. I suppose living in the heart of Hollywood (I live just a few blocks from the Capital Records building near Hollywood and Vine) makes you see it for what it really is, a tourist trap.

[munruben]

Welcome tohe forum. A few pics of some of the stuff you have made would be good.

[Christos]

Welcome to the forum. As you seem to have already started with the knick knack things you have already found some things to change. As you have mention that you are wanting to do a course then that would be a way of finding out about other tools with out spending big.

Nothing wrong with hand tools.

[coutaboat]

Fantasy land! Old Hollywood, not what most people from faraway lands imagine its like!!! I was there years ago, took some directions from Disneland area, thought like an Aussie...cut through a short cut to Hollywood, ended up in Korealand!!! After going through another aggressive neighbourhood whilst driving a turquoise and white '56 Chevy convertible with my blonde wife, we were lucky to get to Hollywood!!!! One fella told us ..'Nice car, hope you can keep it!!!' Found heaven 45 mles inland at Lake Arrowhead. What a beautiful place away from the smog, and lots of wood up there!
I love 'Woodie' station wagons, they are rare here as they were never sold here, would love to build one using front and chassis from an old Ford, do you see many in your area?
Funny, but a nickname of mine is Hollywood due to my American cars and media work....
-Robbie

[tea lady]

Enough with the old. 49 is only old in Hollywood. To the rest of us "50 is the new 30! " welcome to the forum!

[Steve-M]

Hello, Mondo. Remember me? I was with you at that Midnight Oil concert at the Palace!

Twice, the drummer hit his drums so hard, his drumstick flew into the audience. Everyone scrambled for them -- but both times they flew towards me, and I got them both!

[Christos]

Welcome Steve-M would be interesting to see if the lad replies. Also interesting to see if he is still wood working.

[Grommett]