G'day everyone

Considering I'm hanging around here considerably more than when I first created my account, I suppose I should introduce myself :)

My name is Bertil, and I'm a relatively young fella, at a tender 26 years of age. I consider myself to be a bit of a late bloomer - Grew up on a farm for the first 17 years of my life, and in that time I had barely an understanding or passion for tools and creating things.
My love for making things only began after I moved to Perth, when in about '02 my partner of the time and I made a pair of cages for some pet rats. The first one was a relatively bodgy job, using a mix of freshly bought Jarrah and left over pine from goodness knows where. The second cage is an item of pride in my books, crafted far better than I expected with three $20 tools.

Over the years I collected the odd tool here and there - It wasn't until I got a job as a data cabler 'til I appreciated quality tools, where I purchased my first real drill in the form of a mighty DeWalt 14.4v XRP hammer drill. Her batteries only recently gave up the ghost, and I'm tossing up as to whether buy a refurbed battery, or save the pennies for an 18v kit.

This year I won a MIG welder through a raffle - It's only one of the cheap jobbies from Bunnings (The top model though, gas/gasless 160amp unit), but it's ignited a strong passion for metal working. I've always been a bit of a scavenger, but recently I've been making a good haul - plenty of steel and timber from various places, scraps from building sites, steel from pallet racking at work, lots to work with :)
I really want to get into a night welding course locally so I can learn how to weld better, and then save up for a good quality machine.

I'm also a man of many grand projects and being quite terrible at getting around to starting/completing them :doh:
I've got a chook hut which I'm slowly building, highly over-engineered but deeply satisfying, a grey-water system which is getting itself together bit by bit, heavy duty shelving in the shed that needs to be completed, a concrete-countertopped outdoor kitchen on the cards, and many other plans which I tell myself I will get around to ;)

I have a strong lust for collecting tools - Never have I bought a tool to have it wasted. Sometimes it takes a year for said tool to become invaluable, but there isn't a single one which I wonder "Why did I waste my money on that?" Thankfully I now have a partner who appreciates my tool-lust, as she considers something worthwhile if it's going to be useful. She has also stated interest in trying her hand at building a few things, which I need to capitalise on, as I may be able to convincer her to fund the purchase of a wood lathe.

Being the age I am, I know there's a massive shortcoming in my knowledge, but will still occasionally jump in with a "I know that!" attitude even if I've done it only a few times without it failing on me. I greatly appreciate being corrected, because it's all a part of the learning experience :)

If I don't stop my fingers soon, my entire life history is going to end up on here :p
I look forwards to the opportunity to one day meet some of you and pick your brains in person, and learn some handy tips and tricks that text alone cannot convey :)

Cheers!

Welcome LordBug! :thyel: It sounds like you're going to have a busy future.

G'day bertil and elcom to the fun!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Looks like youwill have more than enough to keep you busy.:)

Hi Bertil and welcome to the forum. Nice introduction, :2tsup:

Welcome to the forum.

G'day and welcome to the forum