Our next episode will focus on all things sanding. Sanding techniques, power tool and hand tool reviews, and basic questions such as “What is Grit?”, “Can I Jump Grits?” and more will be explained.
Once again, exclusive promotions and discounts will be offered during the show.
Louis took us through the functionality, features, advantages and limitations of the Festool DF500 & DF700 Machines.
I still remember the Saturday mornings in 1997 in my single garage and my first project: A White Oak serving tray. Why buy one if you can make one for cheaper, right? Keep in mind that this is before the days of watching a quick 2 min step-by-step tutorial on Youtube. Just in case you are from the younger generation, yes, Youtube didn’t always exist…
With a small second-hand table saw, orbital sander, belt sander, drilling machine and a few basic hand tools from my late father at my disposal, the going was slow. Even simple tasks like joining 2 pieces of lumber took a long time, because I had to learn from books and an uncle I saw once a year. Even so, I quickly developed the love to shape seemingly dead pieces of wood into small pieces of furniture. I only became aware of wood movement after it became reality, with unsightly cracks in the top of my first table.
Passion turned into profession in May 2001 – installing kitchen cabinets and built-in wardrobes full time. This kept the bank account going while I kept on developing my passion for solid wood on the side, taking on larger projects and adding new power tools to make things faster and more productive.
By 2002, my garage-based business had grown sufficiently, which justified moving into a factory in Kya Sands in Randburg. The business was re-named and re-branded, and Wooden Delights was born. Producing kitchens, built-in cupboards and any bespoke furniture from start to finish. A staff compliment of 12 people ensured that we could create virtually any wooden object you can think of. Middle of 2006 saw the birth of Door Delights, an affiliate company focussing on the production of solid wooden doors for other kitchen companies like Timber City.
From 2008, the commercial side of the business was taking up all my time and I rarely even touched a piece of solid wood any more. This caused me to leave the wood business in 2011 and move into the commercial sector.
By 2013 Youtube and Pinterest were household names and it wasn’t long before I came home one day with a few pallets from the office to create a quick patio set, because “I can make that in a Saturday afternoon”. Without realising it, the second cycle of setting up a home workshop had begun. Before the year was over, my double garage was filled with enough power tools and stationary machines to make fitting in one car – let alone two – into the garage a nightmare. (it impossible for 2 cars to fit any more.) I had to accept my fate – quad bikes, golf clubs and fishing rods were not going to be in this guy’s future. After watching thousands of project videos and shop tours, I succumbed to the temptation to share what I was doing with the woodwork-community and uploaded my first video on Youtube in Jan 2018 on the LDB Woodworking channel.
Since then, I have been making and selling many products, using all profits to upgrade tools and add to the workshop. On most tools I am on the fourth generation of selling and buying. I am always busy changing things around, looking for the perfect layout and, of course, adding more clamps. I am of the belief that woodworking can be as expensive as you want to make it, but even with the most basic tools, you can create long lasting wooden pieces; my first Oak serving tray from 1997 is still in operation today, 22 years later, even though no Makita, Festool or other major brand of power tool had any part in the making thereof. Even if you can’t afford all the name brands yet, my best advice for you is simply to start. Soon you will be asked to make items that you can sell at a small profit. And, before you know it, your car will also be parked outside to make space for the new table saw.
My dream is to retire one day and still have the ability to spend entire days in my workshop trying new things and sharing ideas with like-minded woodworkers. And having good tools while doing this … well, I guess I wouldn’t mind that too much …