-- about wortheffort

Welcome to 'wortheffort', my little woodworking school on the internet and the marketing side of a master plan to educate the non-professional craftsman, hobbyist and artisans some woodworking skills. I'm developing this concept because I firmly believe that helping people learn a skill such as fine woodworking can actually make life better for them, their acquaintances and the community in general. Selfishly, the thought has also crossed my mind that being able to earn a conservative living doing so seems like a nice way to spend a life. 'wortheffort' is the free crack I'll give away trying to get you hooked and wanting more.

Now let me state right off the bat, I am not a professional woodworker. I've restored a couple homes, built some furniture and made lots of trinkets. My talent as a fine woodworker can be described as someone who knows enough to realize I've only scratched the surface. I'm breathing hard at the bottom of a learning curve, idolizing those adventurers way up there on the peak, realizing that I'm out of shape and have a long way to go.

What I am is a teacher, and I'm always striving to become better at communicating a message as simply and efficiently as possible. That is going to be the biggest difference you see with this site. The information, while on woodworking, is being presented by a teacher focused on communicating simple lessons to an audience of amateur woodworkers just starting out, hobbyist looking for better explanations or artists looking for a new viewpoint.

My career up to this point has been convincing High School miscreants that technology is actually based on very simple, easily understood principles and that understanding the basic concepts behind ideas can give a person real power. I've taught pre 'web 2.0' technology to the kids of rocket scientists. That classroom time showed me that I don't have to be an expert to communicate foundation lessons. I don't have to know the process for determining the subatomic personality of quarks and it's interdependence with electrons in order to explain how electronics have gotten faster and more reliable. That level of knowledge is just not necessary when making a fool of myself spinning in a chair like an 8 year old explains that concept in a manner that will actually be remembered.

The same is true here. Learning to cut a competent dovetail is not rocket science and there are numerous ways to accomplish any given task. So... I'm going to do my best to explain steps, procedures and concepts as simply and efficiently as possible. I don't know it all and hope that feedback to articles will broaden my knowledge and thus improve future lessons. My goal is that articles here will be balanced showing the pluses and minuses of any given subject. But don't be surprised if I also have an opinion on certain aspects.

In the end I hope you learn enough to be able to participate in a hobby that becomes the highlight of your day and is highly appreciated by your family. But most importantly I want to boost your desire, increase your motivation, and stimulate the will to get out there and learn even more. I want you, with your own hands to be able to fill your families life with objects that are functional, durable and beautiful. Items that intelligently use our dwindling resource and will have value for generations to come.

So please enjoy 'wortheffort, have some fun, and come back often for more.