Better Life: My Woodworking Hobby Pathway

As an overseas Chinese, I am visiting this website (zuojiaju.com) almost every day if I have time. I’ve missed at least two times for this DIY competition on this website since registration. I found there are many woodworking hobbyists all over the world, posting their projects and ideas at this place and making this website more colorful. It seems obvious that not many hobbyists from abroad have contributed their posts at this time for this topic. And I’ve been thinking I should join this activity this time if I am available. I wrote this post arbitrarily on behalf of those overseas Chinese hobbyists, especially in western countries. I am not intended for the trophy, but for the participation. My woodworking hobby can be traced back to my childhood. At that time, many families lived in a big courtyard in most cities in China and all aged kids can find their own play partners in the yard. Due to planed economy development mode, everything was in deficiency. For kids like us growing in that time, there were no toys at all on the market to buy. We had to DIY our own. We used very simple materials we could find: metal wires, waste bearings, and branches, wood scrapes to make toys. We made handguns, which can shot paper or clay bullets driven by rubber elastic. The most fun part was to make a tricycle-type wood cart. The cart was triangle shape, made out of wood and tree branches. The cart had two fixed hind bearings installed on a back axis and one front foot-maneuverable bearing in the front to control the direction like a car wheel. Usually, one kid “drives” this cart; one or two kids push the driver forward. The cat made very big noise on the asphalt-paved road. It was very fascinating to play the cart. We can play all day long without any tiredness. I remembered, in our yard, I was the only boy who can make this cart simply with kitchen knife, broken saw blade and hammer. My dad scolded me many times to dull our kitchen knife after cutting the tree branches and wood scrapes. I even made a wooden bicycle with two bearings. I was hoping how good if had a good handsaw, wood axe, and planer at that time. The Childhood DIY left me an unforgettable memory in my life and I was dreaming to making something when I grow up at that time. Like most same aged people in our generation, I haven’t done any DIY work since I became a middle school student due to tough education competition in China until I settled down in Canada. Many years have passed quickly and silently. Four years ago, my interested at woodworking was triggered on again when I bought our 2nd house in Canada. As the labour is very expensive in western countries, most people here always try to DIY first in order to save money. Woodworking is very popular and it is a kind of culture actually and almost each household has some woodworking tools in garage or basement.       Octagonal Vase DIYed for My Home After we moved to our new house, the first project I made was two garage shelves to hold my household items. Then I decided to upgrade our furniture mostly made from cheap plywood to solid wood to better life for our family. I started to buy woodworking machines and tools to make my childhood dream come true. A Woodpecker Decoration on the Door My interest grew bigger and more intense over time on woodworking. The more projects I worked on it, the more experience I gained from it. I’ve already gotten my garage converted into a wood workshop. I had purchased plenty of tools and machinery to help me make my projects look professional. To learn woodworking, I’ve borrowed and read many woodworking books from local library to enrich my knowledge. And also tried to master woodworking skills from video-based websites such youtube, vimeo etc. I also visit many English-based woodworking forums for more inspirations. I did not go to woodworking class for training, I taught myself everything. I know most people at this website are not professional woodworkers. They have similar experience. In my city, I am sure I am the only one doing woodworking as hobby among Chinese circle. When we have parties at my house, my friends don’t believe all the furniture was from my own hand. I sometimes made some small items such wood stool, scroll saw items as gift. All of them are very happy to receive this kind gift. Chinese Character for Happiness by Scroll-Saw as gift Wood Stool as gift Chinese Character for Longevity as gift As a DIYer, I design my own furniture based on my needs. The style is not pure western, but the combination Chinese style with western. My purpose for woodworking DIY is not for making money, but for fun, for better life, and for making friends. 注：这篇博文最早为zuojiaju.com网站上的DIY参赛文章（2012年2月），并获得第三名。