New Members: Please Introduce Yourself!

[KregRep]

Welcome to the Kreg Owners' Community!
 
This thread is the best place to introduce yourself and let other Community members get to know you. Please include your name, where you're from, your experience building with wood, why you joined this Community, and any other interesting facts about yourself. Also, feel free to share links to your blog, personal website, etc.

Once you've introduced yourself, be sure to check out Helpful Tips for New Members.

We hope that you find great use and enjoyment from the Kreg Owners' Community!

-KregRep

[Will Guenthner]

Hello all,

New to the site, but have been messing around with a Kreg jig for a while now.  I don't claim to be a master of anything as I work with metal as well as wood.  I always tell people that I do this because I am a "cheap German like my father".  Oh the projects he could have made with Kreg.  Anyway, I do most projects from a drawing on a sheet of paper and modify it to work along the way with the materials I have, seems to working for now.  I have two projects in the works and hopefully I will be building all my new kitchen cabinets within a couple of years.  Hope to learn something new by joining up. 

Have fun,

Will

[Leon Perniciaro]

Hello Everybody...I have been interested in woodworking for years. I have some experience as a framing carpenter but there is a world of difference between rough work and fine woodworking.  I also did some home repairs a long time ago.  This however, wasn't what I did for a living.  I have been playing around building cabinets for my little work shop and I just built a bench for my miter saw.  It came out ok considering I did not have any good plywood to build it out of.  But it came out right as far as the measurements to be able to add additional for my material that I am cutting. I am retired so I have plenty of time on my hands now. My name is Leon but my friends call me Lenny. I live in the New Orleans area. I guess that's about it for now. Thanks for listening. 

[Robert Brennan]

Hello and welcome Lenny

There is not much difference technically wise from cabinet work and framing work, it just physically more demanding in both space, the size of materials, your fitness and the variation in and the size of the comsumables used.

Add a lot more attention to detail and then  finishing aspects and you should have do problems with the transition.

There is lots of interesting items here lots of inspirational ideas and a wealth of knowledge from the members if you need it.

Regards

Robert

[Leon Perniciaro]

Thanks Robert!

[Jay Boutwell]

Hi Lenny, welcome to the community and I am glad that you are indicating that you have a desire to become an cabinet maker.  I am also glad that you recognize that there is difference between rough framing and fine woodworking and since you were in the framing industry I am sure you have seen the amount of work that it takes to frame and hang a door and or window and that like the difference between a rough carpentry and a cabinet maker there is a large difference between the framer and trim carpenter.  Different theories apply as to the whole picture of how to logically go about the task as you are dealing with different elements of wood movement and what 1/8 of one inch in framing compared to 1/8 of one inch in trim carpentry is like comparing the length of a foot ball field to the thickness of a playing card in trim carpentry.  The same applies to trim carpentry compared to the cabinet maker.  They are all three trades of skill in different classes and dealing with different sets of rules and practices.

To add to the complexity of the three, is the type of work they preform day to day.  Is the framer one who frames simple frame construction or one who frames complex buildings and is it residential or commercial.  Is the trim carpenter one who frames out paint grade work or stain grade work.  Is the cabinet maker one who builds simple cabinets with face frames or is he one who frames European style cabinets.  Maybe to add to the complexity of the cabinet maker, is he one who builds high end custom cabinet work and is it paint grade or stain grade.  My point here is that regardless of the comment that "there is not much difference between building cabinets and rough framing" is a very broad statement.  All three trades work with different sets of rules and some become very critical in the final product.  

Now for what the Rough carpentry and Trim carpenter DO NOT SEE  in their trade that the cabinet builder has to deal with.

What has happened these past few years is the DIY shows that have become very popular with the public and they fail to see the reality of the trade.  Here you have women in dresses and wearing high heeled shoes that are hanging cabinets or cutting down a wall.  You have the men who have no knowledge of the trade doing such things as framing when they can even hold a hammer and you see them pounding the lumber to pieces  and maybe hitting the nail once out of five swings. 

To top it all off this has portrayed the trades to be something that is quick,simple and easy to do. This has hurt those who practice the trade and is one of the reasons that there is no such thing as craftsmanship anymore.  It has gone to the way side allowing the " fly by night" business to come in and  steal from the public with poor workmanship and inferior products. The arrive upon the scene armed with nail guns and staplers and set up a business building wall paper the area with business flyers and business cards and solicit some business by undercutting other established businesses and begin building up a client list for a short time and then after they begin getting faulty work returned, they are gone and out of business.  Just like one to the last jobs I recently had where a guy had some cabinets built and the doors began falling off the face frames.  the guy went back after he was told to bring in the doors and upon arrival the business was locked tight and a sign on the door read out of business. 

 The reason for the falling doors was workmanship.  They were European hinges that install with the 35mm cup hole and two 8mm dowel pin holes.  The dowel pin holes were bored oversize and then in an attempt to tighten them into the holes, the cabinet maker used a power driver and continued to spin the dowel in the hinge until it wore out the already oversized hole.  With in less that a month at least 3/4 of the doors had fell off the hinges. 

The next problem for the cabinet maker is dealing with the competition from the big box stores who put together an attractive package of junk.  The advertise their cabinets as being custom but they are not,  The only thing custom is the "price tag" and the word "custom".  They advertise them as being "all wood products" but this includes paper but the customer is so tuned into getting these fine shinny cabinets for the "Special discount price" that the do not allow the full meaning of "all wood products"  Now  they would  take notice if the advertisement said, "wood and paper".  So what happens they get this new price and they want to shop as is always the trend  and they come to me and want a price.  I figure it up and give them the price and they suddenly are in a state of shock and my high price.  So what has happened is the DIY show has convinced them that it is "easy to do" and everything is in a "spray can" mode of just "pick your color and spray it on and it is done" concept . It makes the business of being a cabinet maker a life of walking on egg shells.  So the DIY viewer now has to either pick you and if they do you may win and you may loose depending on how bad they beat you up on the price and if they pick the big box store cabinets you might be asked to install them and if that is the case you will loose again as more than likely have the biggest and time consuming time of your career. 

So if you want a challenge and love working with wood then welcome.  It will take a lot of patience and dedication and I will guarantee you it will be much more rewarding but you will find it like you said" A world of difference" and there is nothing that is the same between the two. 

 
Leon Perniciaro said:

Hello Everybody...I have been interested in woodworking for years. I have some experience as a framing carpenter but there is a world of difference between rough work and fine woodworking.  I also did some home repairs a long time ago.  This however, wasn't what I did for a living.  I have been playing around building cabinets for my little work shop and I just built a bench for my miter saw.  It came out ok considering I did not have any good plywood to build it out of.  But it came out right as far as the measurements to be able to add additional for my material that I am cutting. I am retired so I have plenty of time on my hands now. My name is Leon but my friends call me Lenny. I live in the New Orleans area. I guess that's about it for now. Thanks for listening. 

[Robert Brennan]

There you go Lenny I said there were lots of knowledgable menbers here,

Jay has replied and covered just about everything you will experience and every word of what he says is true.

You couldn't get a better virtual mentor!

Regards

Robert

[Leon Perniciaro]

Thanks......Jay you don't have to worry about me taking any work away from you...lol (jk). I am just doing it as a hobby. I have some projects that I want to do for myself and as I stated I am retired now so all I got is time. I do have a friend who is pretty decent at building cabinets and such, so I get a lot of tips from him.  This is something that I have always been interested in and am sorry I waited so long to experiment with it. I do appreciate the knowledge you have and I better get busy so one day I can be as good as you seem to be.  :-)

Thanks!

Lenny

[Jay Boutwell]

Lenny I would love to give you some work,  I have more that I can handle.  I wish we lived close enough as I would enjoy working with you.  You know this is my second career so it is never to late to begin,  It will grow on you and you will feel young again.  I was able to do some rough framing in my younger years and then when I started my business I did a lot of finish trim when business was slow.  But it did not stay slow very long and soon it was booming and has been good all these years. If there is ever anything I can do for you to help you accomplish your dream, please contact me.
 
Leon Perniciaro said:

Thanks......Jay you don't have to worry about me taking any work away from you...lol (jk). I am just doing it as a hobby. I have some projects that I want to do for myself and as I stated I am retired now so all I got is time. I do have a friend who is pretty decent at building cabinets and such, so I get a lot of tips from him.  This is something that I have always been interested in and am sorry I waited so long to experiment with it. I do appreciate the knowledge you have and I better get busy so one day I can be as good as you seem to be.  :-)

Thanks!

Lenny

[Danny McDaniel]

Hi all, 

I live in Queensland, Australia. 

I've finally got a bit of free time ( I just created time, amazing what can be created when there is a will...!), and have decided to finally pursue one of the things I've always wanted to do as a kid but didn't have the opportunity: woodworking!

I was kicked in the butt to take action after spending a fair bit of time on youtube learning how to paint the exterior of my timber garage and how to renovate my crappy bathroom and kitchen. So, from caulk gun to painting to woodworking :)

What really kicked me into woodworking was Kreg. I saw the tools somewhere on the 'net and was very intrigued. I've been subscribed to the newsletter for a few years now to remind me to look into these tools when 'I have the time'.

It seems to me that those Kreg tools  will help make things a whole lot easier for me. Being a total beginner in this, I'm looking at getting the Kreg DYI Project Kit. 

Question for the more experienced folks: other than the DYI Project Kit, is there any tool I really should also have because it really truly should be in my tool kit and makes so many things easier?

I plan to get a circular saw. Any recommendations? It needs to be lightweight since I'm a weakling ;)

I aim to build side board, bookshelves, bathroom basin stand ( for my bathroom reno project), a work bench for my projects. 

Can't wait to get started :)

[Kenny Caincross]

My name is Kenny but everyone calls me DOC

not because I was a combat medic in Iraq and Afghanistan

it was because Sleepy and Grumpy was already taken

the Kreg system is awsome

[Brian Berry]

My name is Brian and I recently purchased the Kreg K5.  First project was creating a drawer in a cabinet that previously had a sink in it (you know...the fake one under a sink).  I use it in my garage for storage and thought it would be more useful if it was a drawer.  Im just getting in to wood working...and this K5 I can tell will take my finished products to the next level.

I have sooo many ideas of how to use this thing...just need to get the time and money to get some other projects started.

Can't wait....

[Bill Fleming]

Hello all, I am Bill,I live in North Arkansas,I just bought my first Kreg tool,it is pocket hole tool K3,I sure like it,it made my first project so easy to put together,all came out perfect. I plan on buying more Kreg items

I am an avid woodworker building cabinets and furniture and making jigs. Right now I am in the process of building an old rustic farm dining table and chairs,I also just got a beadlock tenon maker to use loose tenons.