I grew up on a dairy farm in north central Pennsylvania. One of my earliest memories is building myself a small wagon out of scraps of oriented strand board (OSB or chipboard), then painting it light blue, (because that was the paint leftover from the trim from the enclosed porch) and adding tires from an old lawn mower.

 

Several wagons and bookcases later, I went on to build my first desk from a sheet of plywood that my Uncle Jimmy gave me and some scraps of wood I found in my parents barn.

 

In high school (in Troy, PA), I signed up for Industrial Arts classes with Mr. Leonard who introduced me to the wonders of power tools. With years of using hand tools, and the new found world of power tools, it was in high school that my skills really began to take shape. While in high school, I entered two turned lamps in the 4-H woodworking judging at the Troy Fair, which earned first place in the 4-H woodworking judging at the Troy Fair.

 

After high school I took a break from woodworking to pursue an engineering degree at Clarkson University, in upstate New York. After four years of school, I landed a job as a mechanical engineer in Connecticut. For the first few years I was eager to get settled and to finally start a woodworking workshop. To fill my time I helped people with their home projects, since it kept my skills fresh, and it was something I enjoyed then, as I do now.

 

After a few years working and saving I finally secured a location and had the time to build my workshop and get back into woodworking again.

 

In 2005 life took me in a new direction and has relocated me to my home state of Pennsylvania, where I currently reside. I decided in 2011 to move out of engineering and pursue refinishing/restoration and woodworking full time. I now have a new larger workshop and have been making things now as a full time career.

The skills I have in woodworking are mostly self-taught from reading books and magazines. I also study furniture I see, in furniture and antique stores (I don't recommend visiting one of those places with me, it can be time consuming). There was also major contribution from Mr. Leonard in high school. Without his knowledge and guidance I might not stumbled upon my talent and love for woodworking as soon as I did.