I have always been fascinated with making things and have also had a love for tools and the skill sets to use them.
My dad gave me my first set of grown-up tools at age 7. The set came inside of an old rusty toolbox. At first, I was disappointed because they were all so rusty, the wrenches couldn’t be adjusted, the hammer handle was broken, and the hatchet wouldn’t cut. He then proceeded to show me how to clean them up like new with Marvel Mystery oil and a wire brush and some emery cloth. I put new handles on the hammer and sharpened the hatchet on my dad’s grinding wheel. I taped the grips for comfort and painted what needed to be painted. After the tools & box were refurbished, I realized my dad had taught me a good lesson in repairing and appreciation of one’s tools. I have taken care of my tools ever since.
In Junior high school I learned mechanical drawing and the following semester I used that skill to design a coat rack which my class produced and sold. We formed a company of which I was the president. We created stock certificates which the sale of enabled our newly formed company to purchase materials and then set up a production line. By the semester’s end we sold all what was made and delivered the coat racks, then paid back the cost of the stock with a dividend. The remaining profit was spent on a Pizza Party for the shop class.
As my life progressed, I made a dozen or so of something for Christmas presents each year. This practice kept my skills intact. I like to make at least ten of something because you get better each time you make something. If you’re not aware of this fact, the 1st time you make something it takes 3-5 times longer than your 5th or 6th, and by the 10th you can consider yourself an expert and you will never forget how to make it. The things that I have made through the years ranged from cutting boards, bird Houses, dovetail box coffee grinders, wooden miniature flexible flyer sled replicas, laminated carved bowls, benches, coffee tables, spool tables etc.
I often took on side work through the years doing odd carpentry jobs like installing doors, building decks, a pole barn, adding interior rooms, installing attic fans, attic stairs, ceiling fans, tongue & groove paneling, raised paneling etc.
At 22, I bought an abandoned house, renovated it entirely, and sold it before turning 30. A year or two later, I bought another piece of property, then designed and built my center hall colonial home with little help from others.
I did this all the while being employed full-time as a technical field representative selling custom components to OEM’s, which in its own way enabled other people, mostly engineers, to meet the requirements of whatever they attempted to make. I always got along with engineers as they could sense my general understanding of what the task at hand was and were appreciative of my pertinent questions. My job exposed me to several hundred manufacturing operations which taught me manufacturing techniques and quality control.
I now have a great workshop attached to my house and I am ready to fulfill my dream of working daily with wood making commissionable artful projects for sale as I exit the corporate world.
Best Regards
Anthony Reed