4 ms·

That's me! It also generated a rather large discussion here and if you want to read how things were going up to that point, I posted a lengthy comment there: h

That's me! It also generated a rather large discussion here and if you want to read how things were going up to that point, I posted a lengthy comment there: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24541964 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24541964 How am I doing now? Still good, still grateful to be married to somebody who gets good health insurance through their job. Still need to update my website a bit (is that work ever really done?). Still working on the mix of building stuff and rustling up new business. Please feel free to reach out if you have a furniture need or a furniture windmill to tilt at (email in profile). I do sculptural light pieces too.

mabbo 4y ago
I need you to understand that I think about this comment all of the time. Every time someone asks for something ridiculous, I think "I could be making furniture out of wood". I doubt that I am alone in that.
- ncr100 4y ago
  You are not alone @mabbo. https://youtu.be/E0uRr_5zTQg https://youtu.be/E0uRr_5zTQg Follow what makes you happy. You don't get a second life. How long are you going to be dead.
- mauvehaus 4y ago
  I am continually surprised by how much that comment resonates with other programmers. I'm glad it brings you some joy and provides the idea of a different path should you decide to make a career change. Since HN has a lot of Bay Area folks, I feel that I should mention that The Krenov School[0] is but a short drive up the coast from you lot. I haven't been, but the student work I see from there on Instagram is a source of inspiration to me. [0] https://thekrenovschool.org/ https://thekrenovschool.org/
- cryptonector 4y ago
  You're not remotely alone in that; this thread is full of people thinking the same. Save up money, buy land, build a small home, become a small scale farmer. That's a fantasy, but quite realizable. OK, first the kids have to grow up and leave the house if you have kids -- if you're not going to have a large income, then you'd best not have large responsibilities. Maybe you can supplement with consulting. Or maybe you'd take a job for a few years then semi-retire again.
OliverGuy 4y ago
Do you still have all your fingers?
- greenpeas 4y ago
  Have you mastered 9 finger touch-typing?
  - mauvehaus 4y ago
    Hven't hd enough prctice yet.
- mauvehaus 4y ago
  Sure do!
Merad 4y ago
Out of curiosity did you go into woodworking with the intent of making a living from it? Or were you in the position where you had enough savings/passive income/whatever to keep the lights on if woodworking didn't provide a steady income?
- mauvehaus 4y ago
  I do it for money and am not financially independent. My partner is the primary income earner in our household, and I would expect that she will retain that position for the foreseeable future. Our goal is definitely that my contribution to our household economy grows to a more equal role, but she works an professional job and has been at it for a while and moved up over time.
aarghh 4y ago
You are an inspiration - the chandelier on your website is a thing of joy. I may reach out soon, my wife and I have been talking about a side table that she has very definite ideas about. (I'm working my way through the Anarchist Design book and thinking about getting started on the stick chairs).
- mauvehaus 4y ago
  Thanks for the kind words; I had so much fun building that chandelier! Please do reach out; it's always a lot of fun working with people who have a strong vision and working with them to figure out how to realize it in wood. Regarding stick chairs, I put one together from an accumulation of scrap pieces recently (hey, this could be a leg some day! throws it in the stick chair pile). Putting one together out of random pieces and letting the pieces you have "inform" the design is about as close as it gets to the sheer hackery joy of banging together some wild one-liner (if I use awk this way and pipe it to sort it'll do what I want) in the shell and hitting enter. It's like, there's no way this could possibly work, and then you're sitting in it marveling at the fact that it only wobbles a bit. And then you level the feet (or fix your quoting), and damn if it doesn't do just what you want it to! It's also a cool opportunity to make some of your own tools. Jennie Alexander has a great article on making your own tapered reamer[0] (which does sort of require a lathe), and Tim Manney has one on using your reamer to make a tapered tenon cutter[1]. [0] https://www.greenwoodworking.org/steel-saw-tapered-reamer-plans/ https://www.greenwoodworking.org/steel-saw-tapered-reamer-pl... Dunno what's up with the certificate error, but the site is legit. You don't have to get picky about the compass saw. I did this out of one I picked up at my local large home improvement store. [1] http://timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.com/2015/06/use-your-reamer-to-make-matching-tenon.html http://timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.com/2015/06/use-your-rea...
freedomben 4y ago
I haven't seen your comment before, but I've literally considered this exact thing a few times over the last several years. I built a few pieces (a table, a bench, a fireplace mantle) and found it was super rewarding in the same ways that building software is, but despite being physically harder was ultimately a stress reducing activity. I've got a handful of young kids and a mortgage so it's stayed in the back of my mind. If you don't mind, can you share a little about what the pay really is like? And how do you go about finding gigs? What are typical gigs like? i.e. do you build stuff and then try to find buyers, or do you find the buyer first and do heavy customizations? Do you use your own plans/designs or do you use others? How high was your skill level when you went full time? What would you recommend for someone who is largely self-taught and therefore has blind spots with some things?
monroewalker 4y ago
Oh I think will reach out about purchasing some furniture actually! I've had an idea in mind I'm hoping you'll be able to help with. It's a combo dresser / RSS client that could hold not only all my clothes but also any recent updates to my subscriptions

mabbo 4y ago

I need you to understand that I think about this comment all of the time. Every time someone asks for something ridiculous, I think "I could be making furniture out of wood". I doubt that I am alone in that.

ncr100 4y ago
You are not alone @mabbo. https://youtu.be/E0uRr_5zTQg https://youtu.be/E0uRr_5zTQg Follow what makes you happy. You don't get a second life. How long are you going to be dead.
mauvehaus 4y ago
I am continually surprised by how much that comment resonates with other programmers. I'm glad it brings you some joy and provides the idea of a different path should you decide to make a career change. Since HN has a lot of Bay Area folks, I feel that I should mention that The Krenov School[0] is but a short drive up the coast from you lot. I haven't been, but the student work I see from there on Instagram is a source of inspiration to me. [0] https://thekrenovschool.org/ https://thekrenovschool.org/
cryptonector 4y ago
You're not remotely alone in that; this thread is full of people thinking the same. Save up money, buy land, build a small home, become a small scale farmer. That's a fantasy, but quite realizable. OK, first the kids have to grow up and leave the house if you have kids -- if you're not going to have a large income, then you'd best not have large responsibilities. Maybe you can supplement with consulting. Or maybe you'd take a job for a few years then semi-retire again.

OliverGuy 4y ago

Do you still have all your fingers?

greenpeas 4y ago
Have you mastered 9 finger touch-typing?
- mauvehaus 4y ago
  Hven't hd enough prctice yet.
mauvehaus 4y ago
Sure do!

Merad 4y ago

Out of curiosity did you go into woodworking with the intent of making a living from it? Or were you in the position where you had enough savings/passive income/whatever to keep the lights on if woodworking didn't provide a steady income?

mauvehaus 4y ago
I do it for money and am not financially independent. My partner is the primary income earner in our household, and I would expect that she will retain that position for the foreseeable future. Our goal is definitely that my contribution to our household economy grows to a more equal role, but she works an professional job and has been at it for a while and moved up over time.

aarghh 4y ago

You are an inspiration - the chandelier on your website is a thing of joy. I may reach out soon, my wife and I have been talking about a side table that she has very definite ideas about. (I'm working my way through the Anarchist Design book and thinking about getting started on the stick chairs).

mauvehaus 4y ago
Thanks for the kind words; I had so much fun building that chandelier! Please do reach out; it's always a lot of fun working with people who have a strong vision and working with them to figure out how to realize it in wood. Regarding stick chairs, I put one together from an accumulation of scrap pieces recently (hey, this could be a leg some day! throws it in the stick chair pile). Putting one together out of random pieces and letting the pieces you have "inform" the design is about as close as it gets to the sheer hackery joy of banging together some wild one-liner (if I use awk this way and pipe it to sort it'll do what I want) in the shell and hitting enter. It's like, there's no way this could possibly work, and then you're sitting in it marveling at the fact that it only wobbles a bit. And then you level the feet (or fix your quoting), and damn if it doesn't do just what you want it to! It's also a cool opportunity to make some of your own tools. Jennie Alexander has a great article on making your own tapered reamer[0] (which does sort of require a lathe), and Tim Manney has one on using your reamer to make a tapered tenon cutter[1]. [0] https://www.greenwoodworking.org/steel-saw-tapered-reamer-plans/ https://www.greenwoodworking.org/steel-saw-tapered-reamer-pl... Dunno what's up with the certificate error, but the site is legit. You don't have to get picky about the compass saw. I did this out of one I picked up at my local large home improvement store. [1] http://timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.com/2015/06/use-your-reamer-to-make-matching-tenon.html http://timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.com/2015/06/use-your-rea...

freedomben 4y ago

I haven't seen your comment before, but I've literally considered this exact thing a few times over the last several years. I built a few pieces (a table, a bench, a fireplace mantle) and found it was super rewarding in the same ways that building software is, but despite being physically harder was ultimately a stress reducing activity. I've got a handful of young kids and a mortgage so it's stayed in the back of my mind. If you don't mind, can you share a little about what the pay really is like? And how do you go about finding gigs? What are typical gigs like? i.e. do you build stuff and then try to find buyers, or do you find the buyer first and do heavy customizations? Do you use your own plans/designs or do you use others? How high was your skill level when you went full time? What would you recommend for someone who is largely self-taught and therefore has blind spots with some things?

monroewalker 4y ago

Oh I think will reach out about purchasing some furniture actually! I've had an idea in mind I'm hoping you'll be able to help with. It's a combo dresser / RSS client that could hold not only all my clothes but also any recent updates to my subscriptions