I am always interested in learning / trying something new. This means I have had a lot of hobbies over the years. Some which have lasted years (e.g., woodworking, snowboarding, cooking, etc.), and some which have only lasted days / weeks (e.g., watercolor painting, soccer, etc.).
While I have a number of hobbies, I am going to use this section to primarily discuss my main hobby, woodworking.
Woodworking
Woodworking is an avocation I have been practicing for many years. It probably started in cub scouts when making my first pinewood derby car, or around that time when I was practicing wood carving with my father. It was not always an easy hobby to practice, living in apartments for many years. I did, however, still make things occasionally; usually on my porch, occasionally in a spare room, much to my neighbors delight I am sure!
It was only recently, with the purchase of my first home, that I have been able to have a dedicated shop space and invest more in improving my skills. Recently I have been spending much of shop time optimizing my shop. I have painted, installed French cleats throughout much of the shop, and have been working on making the organization / storage systems for the French cleat walls. The French cleats are really allowing me to optimize the space, and making it easy to reconfigure the layout on the fly, depending on the project, to make my woodworking more efficient and effective. It is still a work in progress though, as you can see…
Outside of getting my shop built-out, I have found some time to complete a few projects. We wanted some more surface area near our couch and an easy way to charge phones / power laptops, so I made us a sofa table with built-in electric outlets. We love our gardens so I had to make a couple raised beds, and of course a couple patio chairs to relax in while enjoying the garden. The turtle needed a larger basking area for her new larger tank, so I made a new setup for her. I also like to do some wood turning for relaxation, so I have made some bowls recently.
Designing
In the past I did all of my project planning and design on paper. Having had taken drafting in middle school using the “old school” pencil and paper methods it was the quickest and easiest way for me to get my visions and plans out of my head and onto a visual media. I still do some pencil and paper planning, but I very recently started using CAD software (i.e., Fusion 360) to help me with the designing process. I still have a lot to learn, but I am really enjoying the process and the benefits gained from using CAD for the designs.
Here is my first ever design in Fusion 360. It is nothing terribly complex, and a seasoned CAD user I am sure would scoff at it and how long it took me, but I am actually pretty happy with it!
Click image to enlarge
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions!