Up and Running

Welcome to the blog for A.M.D.G. Woodworking. 

My name is John-Paul. I've been a hobbyist woodworker off-and-on for a decade or so. I used to think that woodworking meant getting to the end of the project as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Thus, my investment in power tools. How I wish I had that time and money back!

I guess I can't totally regret the power tools. They did get me started in the craft without having access to any teacher. Now I'm almost exclusively a hand tool woodworker. When I'm not learning and honing hand tool skills, I'm scouring eBay and other places for vintage, quality hand tools. 

Why hand tools? Well, I have been brought to the beauty of traditional Catholicism, so I guess traditional woodworking was the next logical step. Honestly, though, I sat in our parish church, St. Stephen in Cleveland, Ohio, and pondered the breathtakingly beautiful woodwork. 

I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that none of this was created with 3 1/4 hp routers, 12" compound miter saws, random orbit sanders or any of the other tools with tails found in the typical modern shop. This was craftsmanship at its best. By the way, all the statues in this church are hand-carved wood. 

So, my journey begins. Not to re-create the scene above, but to enjoy woodworking without all the dust, without all the noise, and without all the safety issues found with the use of power tools. Worth mentioning also is the space requirement. Anyone with a table saw knows you need x amount of infeed and outfeed room. My shop is in a spare bedroom; floor space is at a premium. Clearing out the power tools has left me with lots of room. And what if I want to work outdoors? Hand tools weigh less and are more easily transported. 

Oh, I forgot, I also like the process of working wood with hand tools, and its not for some sick love affair with the wood. There is just something more rewarding in chopping a mortise by hand or pushing a plane over the surface, hearing that familiar scrape and seeing a finished surface that requires very little-to-no extra work. I feel I am now working wood. 

The purpose of this blog is to record my progress, and to hopefully inspire you to either expand your craft if you are already a woodworker; to encourage you to pick up the craft; or to help you appreciate the beauty in hand-craftsmanship.

AMDG