Hi!

[Steve W]

I'm glad I found y'all.

I was referred by Bryan S, who saw my post on Sawmill Creek.

I'm located in Mebane, in Alamance County. We've been here since last may and relocated from northeastern MA (near the NH border). I moved most of my woodworking equipment with me and had to get a large shed up to contain my workshop, since basements are a rarity here. I have to admit that the shed is far superior to my former basement shop that had a very rough floor that was probably multiple bags of Sakrete poured over a dirt cellar floor with very little, if any, screeding occurring before the concrete set ;-) The new shed is 12 x 20 and so I have to figure how best to use this space.

My largest project to date was the creation of my kitchen cabinets in my last house. I will do a very similar thing here as the kitchen hasn't been touched since the house was built in 1979.

I want to begin building furniture soon, as well. My dad is a carpenter (retired) and I learned a lot at his side and am working on learning more.

My questions now mainly consist of where in my area can I find some rough-milled wood. I have the tools necessary to turn this into finished lumber (as soon as I find a good jointer, anyway).

Anyway, I'm really glad to be here -- we chose to move here and were not transferred! After alomost 8 months we are feeling very much at home and hope to make more friends as we move along1

 

[jerrye]

Welcome to NC! As a native I am always happy to see others discover just how great a state this is. You have one of the best rough wood sources ~ 15-20 minutes west of you in Gibsonville, called The Hardwood Store of NC. Look them up in the "NC Wood Suppliers" section at the top of the page. HTH

 

[McRabbet]

Welcome to the NC Woodworkers website and to NC. Jerry has given you a great recommendation for a nearby wood supplier -- you may also want to check out Wall Lumber in Mayodan, north and west of Greensboro. I'd also recommend that you drive out US 70 west of town and visit Craftique Furniture, one of the best small furniture manufacturers still in production in NC (we have about 10 pieces from them). Be sure to upload some photos of your work and shop to a Photo Gallery -- check out the FAQ forum for how-to's. You'll soon learn that around here, "no pics, it didn't happen"!

Rob

 

[DaveO]

Welcome Steve, I am glad to have you with us. I don't think that you will have much trouble finding good wood sources around you. In additon to the above mentioned sources are our saywer members Jeff..., Kyle, and Dusty Saywer who can always cut out the middle man, especially if you have the space and time to air dry.
Dave

 

[NCPete]

Welcome fellow Yankee!

 

[Steve W]

Thanks to all for the good words!

I will start looking for lumber soon. My son and hope-to-be-future DIL expressed an interest in receiving new furniture. I take that as a challenge!

McRabbet: Does Craftique have offcuts or other lumber available for purchase? I know that a lot of folks from the old WHite Furniture Co. ended up working there. It's right along US 70 between Mebane and Haw River.

Jerry, I think I've heard of that place in Gibsonville. I will be investigating soon.

NCPete, where are ya orignally from?

Thanks, all, for the welcome! Are there any clubs or groups who meet locally?

Thanks to all!

Steve>>

 

[NCPete]

Thanks to all for the good words!

NCPete, where are ya orignally from?

Steve>>

Northern NY, near Montreal, but have family in Connecticut,... Boston and South Weymouth, MA, Burlinton, VT, somewhere in NH and Maine. Dad grew up in northern VT, so I spent a lot of time there growing up.

Been in NC for almost 12 years now. guess no matter how much I threaten, I'm not moving. :roll:

Great bunch of woodworkers here, and people don't get hosed for asking questions that may have been asked before, no matter how many times.

As a lifelong skier, I enjoy the south, but miss the snow:-(

What sort of furniture are you looking to make? Some great teachers available within relatively short driving time for you.

 

[McRabbet]

Steve,

I was never successful in getting any scraps from them, even though I was on a first name basis with Craig Shoemaker, one of the owners (we did spend over $10K there over a 2 year period), but you sure should try. They have beautiful mahogany and walnut for their furniture and use most of the offcuts for glue blocks. It is a fascinating place to tour; lots of basic processes, but fine craftsmanship and worker pride abounds.

BTW, I'm a displaced Yankee, too (upstate NY), but I've been in NC for 22 years, the last 3 in retirement.

Rob

Thanks to all for the good words!

McRabbet: Does Craftique have offcuts or other lumber available for purchase? I know that a lot of folks from the old White Furniture Co. ended up working there. It's right along US 70 between Mebane and Haw River.

Thanks, all, for the welcome! Are there any clubs or groups who meet locally?

Steve>>

 

[Steve W]

I'm considering doing a bed in oak initially ( prefer to do quartersawn as I love the look of it!).
I'm also considering making cherry cabinets for the kitchen. Currently, the kitchen cabinets are painted white and the quality of the wood beneath I suspect belies why they are painted in the first place ;-) Also, being a New Englander, I can't help but go "tsk, tsk" at the soffit above the cabinets that extends for nearly a foot to the 8 foot ceiling. To me, that is wasted space! My previous house in MA had 8 1/2 ft ceilings and the original cabinets extended all the way up and that is how I extended the new cabinets around the rest of the kitchen. The top shelf was set aside for things that were infrequently used. Given that we have no cellar here, anything that can add to the storage capabilities is a plus to me.

To the NC natives: in the Northeast, basements (cellars) are the rule rather then the exception. They become the "catch-all" area where all of our detritus are captured. The more-organised amongst us (myself NOT included) could keep a garage clear enough to actually use it for storage of CARS since most of our other "STUFF" was "down cellar." When I moved here, I cast-away a LOT of STUFF, sold a LOT more on eBay and abandoned yet more knowing that I would no longer have a precious cellar into which I could cast my "limbo" stuff. ;-)

Having no cellar has allowed me to set priorities and I now have a 12 x 20 shed to do my woodoworking. Does anyone else in this group have a similarly-sized shop? How do you keep everything together and can you actually keep a bunch of power tools while also maintaining a real workbench? I am considering adding a "real" workbench but the space available seems to be shrinking...

 

[MikeH]

Welcome to NCWW and to NC Steve. We look forward to getting to know you and hopefully we can meet face to face sometime soon. Again welcome!!!

 

[jerrye]

To the NC natives: in the Northeast, basements (cellars) are the rule rather then the exception. They become the "catch-all" area where all of our detritus are captured. The more-organised amongst us (myself NOT included) could keep a garage clear enough to actually use it for storage of CARS since most of our other "STUFF" was "down cellar." When I moved here, I cast-away a LOT of STUFF, sold a LOT more on eBay and abandoned yet more knowing that I would no longer have a precious cellar into which I could cast my "limbo" stuff. ;-)

Here those are called "tobacco barns" or "lean-to"s or "sheds". Kinda odd that cellars are regular features up North considering how frozen the ground gets in winter. One of the first things you'll discover here is mild (or lately, non-existent) winters; people who tend to wave at you with ALL of their fingers:-D because they are saying "hi!"; humidity in July-September; helpful people; the one true BARBECUE!!!! meaning grilled pig marinated with crushed red pepper and vinegar (sorry Western NC); and wonderful people such as are here on this site. Anytime you need help just ask. Read a few recent threads to see proof of that!

 

[Tarhead]

Welome Steve!
Check out this thread and jump in on a group buy of some QSWO.
http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=6711
Early birds get the wood. (No worms in this I hope:-D )
Mark

 

[Steve W]

Jerry,

I love how everyone waves here and it seems to be genuine!

I tried to get a place with a tobacco barn but it was not to be. We wound up being in a "suburbia" setting after all was said and done but this is not a bad thing -- we had to be within a reasonable commuting distance from jobs that matched our professional skills.

We're still navigating the minefield that is Eastern vs Western Barbeque. I honesty like both and can fit them in depending on my moods. My DW likes western better, as does my son and "almost" DIL. I know that arguments of various Carolina BBQ's can get as opinionated as what I recall of what constitutes real clam chowder (chowdah) (BTW, Real chowdah is white and NOT red!!!)

I'm still getting set up but hope to do more than merely create expensive sawdust. I appreciate all the encouragement from all of you that I'[ve received thus far.

All the best to all of you!

 

[jeff...]

Welcome to the saw dust pile :-D

 

[cskipper]

Welcome to the sunny (usually) south! We look forward to pictures as your shop progresses.

 

[Bryan S]

Glad to see that you got logged on here Steve. The Hardwood Store in the big city of Gibsonville is a great place to get lumber and only about 20 min west of you. Check out the buy and sell forum there's a delta jointer thats just been listed.

NC BBQ ya makin me hongry :mrgreen: I'm partial to the eastern style my favorite in this area is Stameys in Greensboro

 

[gator]

Thanks, all, for the welcome! Are there any clubs or groups who meet locally?

Thanks to all!

Steve>>

There is the Triangle Woodworking Assoc that meets in Raleigh and I think that there is a club in either Greensboro or Winsten-Salem. Since you are almost next door to Woodworker's Supply (Exit 148 off I-85) you can check in there and they can tell you of local activity.

Welcome

George

 

[FredP]

wellcome aboard. we were all yankees at one time! I am originaly from upstate N.Y. didnt leave anything there that i need to go back and git!:-D good folks here. enjoy the ride.

fred

 

[Splinter]

Welcome to the site Steve. You mentioned the size of your shop. Some here have smaller shops and some have larger, but any shop is better than none at all.

we were all yankees at one time!
fred

Fred, I don't think so!! :slap: :lol:

 

[dozer]

Welcome to the site Steve. I to am a northern transplant I grew up in Conn. I know there are some good books on how to set up a small workshop that might offer some good ideas for you.