Is it ever too late to start ?

Hi. I'm Ween, I'm in my fifties, and as a girl never did woodworking. On the upside, I learnt how to sew, type and cook...

I have started teaching myself woodworking after many years of wanting to but not having a space. A great carpenter friend gifted me a workbench, and I have kicked my kids (or their stored junk) out of the double garage. I have tinkered a bit, did a beginners course a few years back, but have recently started trying a few things in earnest. I have tools, now I just need to learn how to use them :)

My first box jointed box with sliding lid was a solid D, but a B plus for effort according to my carpenter mate (who, as a carpenter, reckoned a rebate and a nail would have done the job... not a form over function guy clearly).

Hope to get to know some of you as I lurk around the forums reading random bits of knowledge and seeing the gorgeous things you all make.

Cheers
Ween

Welcome Ween .

We all had to start somewhere. I'm sure you'll pick up some good information and make the odd new friend (odd as in occasional not as in :clown:) although we do have a fair smattering of those. :doh:

Enjoy your time with us.

Cheers - Neil :U

Welcome to the forum. It's never too late. I really only started in my 50's, went to a crappy school that didn't offer woodwork or metal work. :C I've still got the first box jointed box I ever made, an 'F' would probably be appropriate. My daughter would tell you that a 'D' stands for distinction. :D

Welcome Ween.
Happy lurking. :)

Yep - never too late.

One of the most pleasant things I did when I first retired about 9 years ago was assist a female friend in setting up a workshop.
She had been dabbling with small pieces (all self taught) and friend and hubby already had a workshop but really wanted to have a dedicated woodwork space and gear to get serious about woodwork

We started by going went shopping and being well funded she spent up big.

I went to stay with her for a couple of weeks and helped set up the machines and then she roped in a friend to help and we all built a large work bench together.
Attachment 506340

She was a fast learner and her skills have come along way and she's selling some stuff on the web.
Last year I went and helped her and her son to set up a serious dust extraction system.

Some mens sheds have regular ladies days so you might want to ask about this at mens sheds in your area. As well as learning stuff you should eventually get access to tools and machines you might not have.

G'Day & Welcome to a top forum "Ween".
There are quite a few members in Canberra and around the Southern Highlands with a stack of members in 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

Hi Ween,

I'm also a latecomer to woodworking (haven't really done anything since school) and anything else was mainly done by people with many years experience!
I too, am from around the Canberra region (I just moved out to Bywong) so I finally have space to actually call a workshop!

I know there a couple of places in Canberra that might be some helpful sources of information - Womens Shed Canberra (Based out of Thors Hammer) and the Woodcraft Guild in Kambah, outside of the wonderful people in the forums!
So I look forward to seeing what things you produce and see you around the area!

Welcome to the forum Ween.
I was also a latecomer when I started at 60yrs. We are never too old to learn new skills.

Regards
Keith

Welcome to the forum.

Never to old, that is the great thing about woodworking the diverse nature of the craft.
Welcome.

Agree with others never too late. When I first started I had the mentality that I started too late, would never be able to pick up fine skills like hand sawn dovetails etc. So when I started everything was butt joined or screwed together. After a little time past I quickly grew bored of seeing the things I was putting together, and started pushing what I thought was impossible. A year later and I'm proud as punch, tight hand cut dovetails are almost second nature.

The biggest issue I've found when. Starting later in life is finding time to devote to your new hobby.

Thanks all for the warm welcome. I will certainly try to post some pictures (once I work out where the attach button is on a mobile, or pull out the laptop). Thanks also for the referrals to the guild and other local resources. I have looked them up and will for sure make use of them.

Time is certainly the most valuable resource. I have found myself guiltily passing by the much more urgent lawn mower this weekend :) On the upside box 1.2 is getting there.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome Ween. Good to see you striving to perform the finer skills of woodworking rather than just settling for slapping something together. Now you have your work area you will be able to set it up and spend a lot of valuable time in there. I hope those leads you were given will help out with enhancing your skills and confidence.

So it turns out box joints are really hard to get schmick. I knew this, but reality hurts. However, I now have a funky box to serve as a card and peg holder, with a crib board in the lid. Made with old meranti skirting board offcuts. Dodgy joints are partially disguised by sander dust. Note, this doesn't work despite what you tube tells me. My cunning plan to put a crib board in the lid worked, although I should have made a jig to get the lines straight, so a slightly wandering path to 121.

My next purchase I think needs to be a wheel marking guage. A thin pencil, good metal ruler with set square and knife works... but...

Thoughts?

Hi Ween. Those items are a good place to start. Accurate marking out is critical to success. Personally I have found much inspiration on YouTube. Like everything though not all of it is good and much of it is Nth American.