I got into woodworking because of my high school shop teacher, which is a really common
story.
I think my shop teacher, Mr. Hamilton, spent an inordinate amount of time with me because
I showed so much interest in it.
We were also part of the same church, and so we had known each other.
He had known my parents for a long time.
Typically, in shop one, you build like a, maybe a cedar chest, I think, something like
that.
Some people build like cocks or whatever, and in shop two, I had the opportunity with
Mr. Hamilton to build a guitar, and he had the opportunity to really spend time teaching
us the, oh no, some techniques and tools that we wouldn't normally work with, so that was
really my first taste of how fun woodworking can be.
So I picked it up again after college, once we had a house that had a place where we could
store tools and work.
Started with clipboards, and moved into making some tables.
I made a table for my wife's wedding present, and one thing led to another, and then I moved
to Spokane.
We met a neighbor of mine, named Pete, who really spent a lot of time teaching me everything
he knew, and so that's sort of his apprentice for over a year, maybe two years, and so that's
how it started, and kind of turned into doing trim and staircases, and now I'm back into
furniture, which is really what I love to do, and so that's my story, I'm sticking to
it.
So this is all ready to glue up.
Trial and gluing to get glue on every part of the surface, unlike gluing paper, the wood
has to have, it's just better, it goes into the pores more when there's glue on both
sides because they're forced into the pores.
Well, that workshop, this is my old hat, it was actually given to me by my wife's grandfather,
it was his hat, it's sort of simple really, how it developed into the name of my business.
I'm comfortable in this hat, and I sometimes like to think that my hat has feelings, and
that when I wear it, it feels useful, it feels included, and so I hope to build pieces of
furniture that are, like my hat is to me, for other people comfortable and give people
a sense of comfort and security, I guess, is what my hat is to me, and so I hope that
it gets, whatever I build people, is used by them as much as I use my hat.
So to me, it's more than an accessory or a piece of clothing, it's kind of become,
to me, a friend over time, and so that's how the name developed, it's a, it's my friend.
I tried to see wood as, I hope to see people, in a sense, though they're not the same, it's
not really my place to judge the wood, so just like people would shaped by its environment
and its atmosphere, whether it's hot or cold or wet or dry, that kind of shapes the look
of the wood that you use, and so, especially with salvaged wood, the stains on it, to me,
are character marks, you know, they come from what the wood's been through, whether it's
been in a really used environment like a barn, so it has a lot of manure on it, and that's
to be expected because that's what the board's been through, and so I try to see what most
people call flaws in wood as more character marks that bring out the story that the wood's
been through, and so, I like that about wood, so I like the knots that most people would
not want in their piece of furniture, I think that that brings a really special thing.
I guess my philosophy is that in the relationship that I have with whatever piece of wood I'm
working with, I'm more often the learner than the teacher, and I think more often than not
we have a lot to be shaped in us, just as we're shaping the wood that I'm working with,
so I learn a lot while I'm working with especially salvaged pieces because for the most part,
almost every piece of wood I work with is older than I am, so I feel like I have a lot
to learn from it in the process, so I like old wood, and I tend to choose it over newly
milled lumber just because it's got so much history to it, while it's most certainly
harder to work with, I think it's more rewarding in the end, so that's some of my philosophy.
Then I bought two more because I couldn't find it.
So this kind of stops it from corroding more than it already has.
I think I have, my personality has changed over the years, I think I was more outgoing
probably 10 years ago than I am now, so I really enjoy the solitude that comes with working
in here.
I have a good balance of probably in the shop two to three days a week, and then I'm not
in the shop the other three or four, so I'm a loner sometimes, so it's good for me to
recharge and get to think and dwell on things while I'm making other stuff.
I have a tendency to be in the moment though, so that's why I also have to have dedicated
times to design something.
I can't do one project and think about another one very well, so I love the peace and quiet
in here, except the neighborhood is kind of loud, so.
So I could easily stay in here 10, 12 hours and not even blink about, I think about how
sad I am that people aren't around, I easily get lost in this stuff.
I'm in here.
Ready?
Ready?
Cheers, this is my favorite mug.
Freshman's Paradise, over in Rockwell.
The best there is, the best there ever will be.
Cheers, this is my favorite mug.
Perfect.
It is like a wide area.
I did it like two inches higher than my normal chair.
Cheers, this is my favorite mug.
