Welcome to the forum Michael. I must say the work you put out with your great hobby is nothing short of great! You can be very proud. I also understand what you mean about the obsessions; that seems to be easy to do with many things. btw, you turn 65 in a week or so and I turn 77 in a month so we have much in common starting with age. Retirement is made for guys like us! You no doubt will love that 261. I have one now and absolutely love it. In fact, I was helping a friend this morning cutting some tree tops and moving some for his hunting. Seems he put out some blinds and tree stands then the loggers came so I helped him so he can still hunt where he placed his stands. He really admired my 261 (also my Kubota). I think after seeing me use it he might be in the market for one too. You are a bit new to this so some reading might be a good idea. Might I suggest you start with this: Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage
I know that there are some who can’t find a way to enjoy retirement and search for WORK. We don’t use that word around our household. And thank you.
Welcome to the forum MFMc. Great to have you here. (i welcomed you a little while ago in another thread, but two welcomes are better than one! Those are really nice pieces you built. I love the end grain. What species of wood? Just bought a 261 in July (non mtronic) and have two tanks of gas through it. Loving it more and more. Used it a bit today.
Woodworking was a hobby. Evolved from building my house. The shooting was an obsession of the highest order. An extra 8 hour job everyday. Had set a goal for myself, seemed reasonable. Some of the best shooters in the world laughed their arses off when they heard it. Said it couldn’t be done. That was enough to put me in overdrive. Took about three years to teach myself the intricacies of putting bullet after bullet into one hole. Blew those goals out of the water. Spent another four years just going through the paces. The shine was gone I had done what I set out to do and I finally just stopped one day,,,,,,thank God. Firewood was always a chore to be done. One day I decided it would be better for the soul to make it a hobby instead of a mind numbing chore. Put the mind into it instead of just the back if ya know what I mean. A fresh face on my perspective if you will.
Thanks again. The end grain piece is white oak w just a bit of red maple. The bigger piece is entirely red maple. It’s great to work, and given the many samples I have to work with, wildly varying in color and grain. I avoid staining, love natural color.
As obsessions go, I could learn from you. I understand a bit of top competition myself, having similarly, but not to your level, immersered myself into pool tourneys by the hundreds. There was much satisfaction in it. I do miss it terribly - much of my social life was wrapped into it.
Yes, welcome again. Very impressive work, I helped my dad build furniture for several years. Glad you shared your talent.
