Beginning Young Woodworker in NC

Grit12Gauge

New User
JP
Hello all! James Pearce, 26, from Greenville NC now living in Hope Mills NC.
I have recently gained immense interest into woodworking and have started to fill my shop with tools. I started woodworking by turning high quality baseball bats and actually sold some to minor league ball players. I am self taught from YouTube videos but I always enjoy mentoring from those more experienced.
I plan to start small with furniture making but would one day love to make fine furnitures such as dressers and secretaries. Still learning basics such as joinery but any advice and/or mentoring is welcomed.
 

Bryan S

Bryan
Corporate Member
Welcome to our little spot on the web James, glad to have you with us. Lots of good folks here and there is always someone willing to share some knowledge or lend a hand. Please do not be shy, feel free to join in a conversation or ask any questino
 

McRabbet

Rob
Corporate Member
Welcome! It is great to see a young man with such strong love for woodworking and a sense of direction for your future. There are great resources on this website, so don't be afraid to ask for advice!
 

ashley_phil

Phil Ashley
Corporate Member
welcome. bats are hard to turn my hat's off to you. I've turned one and that was enough.

my kid and his teammates signed it for his coach. good guy. glad i did it, but wouldn't want to do it again.
 

Grit12Gauge

New User
JP
No doubt! Luckily I had a favorite wood bat I used when I played so after a lot of measuring with a caliper, I had a nice template to go by. Hand turning took about 8-10 hours a bat but after a while, I got smart and attached a “copy cat” jig to my lathe.
 

ScottM

Scott
Staff member
Corporate Member
Welcome to the sawdust family. Great to see younger people getting into wood working. Post pictures. We love pictures.
 

SabertoothBunny

SabertoothBunny
Corporate Member
Biggest thing I can tell you: don't be afraid to suck at something new or to fail.

It is how we learn, it can be discouraging. You just need to focus on being positive and learning from every success and mistake. Don't fixate on errors or flaws and don't tell customers about flaws you see or know about because they probably won't even notice them. Don't be afraid to step away for a break when needed to clear your mind or tired, working that way easily leads to injury. Welcome to the "club" and good luck with making stuff while generating man glitter.

Most people in this forum appear to be up north in the Raleigh region or there abouts. A few of us are down in the Fayetteville/Hope Mills areas (like me and you). Say positive and ask questions.
 

Raymond

Raymond
Staff member
Corporate Member
Welcome aboard, James. You have come to the right web site.

I lived in Hope Mills, when I was stationed at Ft Bragg. It was a quiet little place back then.
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
Welcome aboard! Don't forget to post pictures. Yes, I'm not the first to mention this. Won't be the last one either :)
 

Bear Republic

Steve
Corporate Member
Welcome to the neighborhood! Lots of great people sharing their knowledge and advice. Don't be afraid to ask questions, you can get simple to complex detailed answers depending on what you need. The various workshops we out on are a great way to meet people and learn.

So to learn from you what makes a good bat? Have a nephew doing quite well in baseball and its on my todo list.
 

Kelly

Kelly
User
Welcome. And don't be afraid to ask questions, even the most simple. We have all been there.
I will give you one tip as a primer. Develop a marking system that you understand. Dont use a #2 pencil. It's mark us too wide to interpret. Use a marking knife or a mechanical pencil with .07 lead. And teach yourself to always treat it the same. "Do I save the mark, cut down the middle, cut the mark off, slightly to the left or slightly to the right ?".
AFTER A WHILE IT WILL BECOME SECOND NATURE TO YOU AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO RETHINK WHEN YOU CUT.
I was taught this early on and it has served me well.There are a million little tips like this that this forum will teach you.
Good luck and welcome. If you want to spend a day with me I'm my shop ,I will be glad to do that.
 

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