Welcome to the Workshop!
I would like to take a moment to welcome you all to the B.P. Farms Workshop! Creating this standalone website and store has been a major step for me. And I won't lie, it's not something that I jumped into without any reservations. But here I am writing the first of what I only hope will be many blog entries about my work in the shop, along with some snippets of my life here on the farm.
I think the question I get most often from people is, "How did you know that you could do all these things with wood working?" And my response is always, "I usually fake it."
While there is a little bit of truth to that, honestly this all started back in middle school when each student had to take "wood shop" for one quarter.
The first thing I made was a simple gun rack for my father. With my new found skills I decided to make something at home, but since I wasn't allowed to use the power tools (except the drill, I had permission to use that) I came up with some plans and had my father come out to the garage and cut the boards for me. He wasn't allowed to ask any questions, just make the cuts and then go back inside. And from a pile of boards from some old cabinets I made my father his first gun cabinet. The best thing about it...he still has it. But today it holds the long tubes of gift wrap!
The next quarter that I took shop I wanted to make something for my mother, so I found plans for a jewelry box. I think I drove my shop teacher mad with these plans though. I learned early on that just because plans exist for something, doesn't mean those plans are accurate! With the help of my shop teacher, I managed to finish it...and this jewelry box is massive! It measures 14.5" wide x 11.25" tall x 8.5" deep and I think it tips the scale at about 400 lbs. ;-) That being said, just like the gun cabinet that I made for my father, this jewelry box is still being used to this day!
In high school I took shop again and built myself a desk. After many years of use it was decommissioned and made a decent camp fire.
20 years passed by before I picked up any power tools for anything other than hanging a picture or fixing something around my apartment. And in our first home in the suburbs of Seattle I set out to design and build a small backyard chicken coop. After a few years, a complete redesign of the small coop and a move to a bigger piece of property...I built what some consider to be a chicken mansion.
I realized that I wanted to delve deeper into woodworking...I wanted to purchase a lathe. So off I went to Harbor Freight Tools to pick up the first of many tools that now make up my workshop. I opened the B.P. Farms Etsy Store and started to sell French Rolling Pins. As I built up my confidence I decided to jump into the Antique Pepper Mills, and after taking a class at my local Woodcraft store, I started turning bowls.
Wood working has become an escape for me. I find myself in the shop listening to music while my lathe is turning. I will never tire of how wood transforms in front of my eyes with each cut. And how the grain dances when the oil is applied. No two pieces of wood are the same, and I think that's what is so exciting.
I hope that you find something you like here at B.P. Farms Workshop, whether it be this blog or even some of my handmade items. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you continue to not only return to my site, but also share it with those around you.
