Using Pinterest for Woodworking Research

I recently signed up for Pinterest.  I've got to admit it straight out; I'm not a big social media user.  Sure, I have a Facebook account and I read it sometimes but seldom post.  And I'm on LinkedIn as a passive presence.  I don't Tweet.  So frankly, I wasn't sure why I'd want to be on Pinterest.  All that said, I decided to give it a go.

My first idea was to post links to my business, Shenandoah Tool Works, and I created links to photos of the woodworking mallets and birdcage awls my partner Jeff Fleisher and I produce.  But then, upon looking around, I began to see photos of things I'd like to build for myself.  So I created boards in Pinterest for several projects--a cabinet to store hand tools, saw tills, a rolling lumber cart, table designs and decorative boxes.  After creating the boards, I searched each of these topics, scrolled through what I found and pinned the photos I liked best to my boards.

Already I've used the photos to design a rolling lumber rack that combines several features I saw in the Pinterest photos--racks for boards, storage for plywood, bins for offcuts, a panel saw and clamp storage.  I can already see that it will reduce the clutter in my shop and add functionality as well. 

If you haven't tried Pinterest yet, you may find it useful for designing projects.  The good thing is, it is not only easy to use but it's free!  If you like the project boards I've set up, you can always follow me.  My site is my name--Norm Reid.  If you decide to use Pinterest, let me know how it works out for you.

Norm

Update on 2014

Well, so far this year, things haven't turned out as I planned in my last posting.  Early this year I was diagnosed with cancer in a couple of places and in February I had an operation to remove it.  The operations was, by all accounts, successful, but it did take me out of the shop for the better part of four months.  As a result, I haven't gotten very much done on the goals I set out for the year.  Needless to say, when next January rolls around, much of what I planned will remain undone.

Still, I have done a few things.

• Jeff Fleisher and I introduced our new birdcage awls and began selling those via the web.  Sales have been very good.  We continue to sell our Shenandoah Mallets as well.
• Jeff and I are signed up to have a vendor booth at this year's Woodworking in America, which will be held in Winston-Salem, NC, September 12-14.  We will be busy this summer producing enough stock to meet the expected demand for our awls and mallets.
• I built a bird's mouth fixture to use with my turning saw.  I purchased that from Tools for Working Wood at last year's Woodworking in America.  I can't say I've learned to use it effectively yet; that remains an objective for this year.
• I built a pair of shop bents to go with my sawbench.  For these I used salvaged Douglas fir from stairsteps that were replaced in our house.
• I resumed teaching at Woodcraft the other day with my Handplane Basics class.  That is a milestone for me on my road to recovery and I will now be able to teach the other classes I'm planning to conduct.
• I installed my new General router table.  I got the one with the cast iron table.  The router is also new, the 3 1/4 hp Porter Cable router, which should give me all the power I'll need.

I'll still work on the other projects I proposed for this year, though my emphasis will be on preparing to teach several new classes.  For those, I need to first build the projects we will be building in class so I am fully prepared to teach them effectively.  I do want to finish the bedside tables and the natural edge walnut coffee table, at a minumum.  And, I'd like to build a Greene and Greene style clock based on plans from a November 2010 Wood Magazine article.  Other projects may simply have to wait until next year!

Norm