Hi from Brissie, Metal and Wood working

[Tom.]

Hey guys,

I'm Tom from Brisbane, I've recently chucked in the towel working behind a desk for the past 15yrs in a corporate environment and I'm going to pursue a carpentry trade as a mature age apprentice - that's the plan come July.
From the metal side - I've bought myself some metal working tools - welder, bandsaw, drill press, cut off saw etc to setup a metal working workshop from home where I intend to make designs I've drafted, it's early days and I'm enjoying every bit of it and learning a lot and hope to learn a lot more on here from the community.

Cheers,
Tom.

[Bendigo Bob]

Way to go Tom. I waited too long. Had the gear in the workshop for the last ten years of the work life as a desk jockey but had no time.

Finally in 2014 the stress got to me and I quit, was no good for anythign for 12 months really. Now a LOT of time in the shop.

good on you for daring to make the mid life change. Share your projects here, we love that, ask advice, we love that too Everyone's got an opinion!

WELCOME!

[crowie]

G'Day & Welcome to a top forum "Tom",
There are a stack of members in Brisbane & across S.E. Queensland plus the rest of the world.....
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......good luck with the carpentry apprenticeship....
Cheers crowie

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum Tom.

[Tom.]

Thanks guys

[JJF]

welcome aboard

[Christos]

Welcome to the forum.

[george mavridis]

Welcome from another Qlder

[Tom.]

Thanks guys

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Hi Tom,

Welcome from another Queenslander (though I count myself Australian first and Queenslander second). You have chosen an interesting path. I hope it will be fruitful for you.

Beware the 'tool envy' and tool accumulation that strikes so many of us who come to fine woodwork later in life. I rushed in about 6 years ago and purchased a lot of the cheap H&F and CT tools at first because they seemed such good value. They were not (for fine work, though all delivered adequately for their price point), and virtually all have now been passed on (through the forums market place mostly, although one - from another supplier lauded by others on this site - was so bad I can't make myself impose it on anyone else).

A good technique if you want to make a living from your woodwork is to only buy top quality gear and only buy it when you have a job that absolutely requires it and can contribute materially to its cost.

Do not forget the top hand tools too. We have some exceptional tool makers here, world-renowned, and you can do a lot of good work with hand tools.

My other comment is that apprentice carpenters are not usually taught fine cabinet making today. It would be worthwhile looking for a fine cabinetmaker to do some classes with too. They will lift your game from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Brisbane is blessed with a number of them. If you PM me I can name a few.

Good luck

David

[Tom.]

Thanks for the advice David, I've grown up with very basic cheap tools and I worked out at a young age that if you look after your tools they will look after you and last - I believe in buying what you can afford and looking after it and moving on when the need arises.
I'm very much a fan of hand-tools and detailed work and old world techniques of building without a reliance on nails and power equipment, after all I come from a long line of European craftsmen who built log houses using hand tools and materials from the land around them! On the other hand I have a healthy respect for the decent modern build with crisp clean lines and all the modern grandeur available today.
I really like your advice on Cabinet making - and that's something that has worried me a little is that I may not learn joining techniques cabinet makers would use.

Cheers,
Tom.