Woodworking
I have been building wood furniture since 1985, mostly for myself and immediate family. I started with crude tools and simple projects, and worked my way up mostly learning from books. I learned finishing techniques from my father (C.J. Sale 1937-1989), who refinished several antique furniture pieces and restored guns and farm toys as hobbies. I work on my projects sporadically, due to the normal interruptions of work, family, and home repairs. My early projects were white pine, some from scrap recovered from shipping crates for large aircraft parts. One of these, a 2′ by 4′ desk, lasted from 1985 to 2012, when I replaced the drawer section with a much better design built from oak. This is now our son’s computer desk at college.
My workshop centers around an antique Sears Craftsman 8″ table-saw, purchased second-hand by my father in 1968. I’ve tuned it up with a segmented belt and better pulleys, and the motor has been replaced a couple of times. I put a Vega fence on it, and braced up the 2×4 stand. I have a Delta band-saw purchased in 2002, a Sears drill press from around 1990, a Sears Craftsman miter saw, and my router table. One of my workbenches (always cluttered) is a recycled metal kitchen sink cabinet. Dad spotted it in a ditch near his house, and we recovered it. Unfortunately someone decided to use it for shot-gun target practice. Luckily only on the inside of one door. Another uses a cheap dresser cut in half to make 2 drawer-bases. Everything is in the back 1/3 of a 26×36 garage built by Coach House Garages.
