Women's Carpentry Basics

"Carpentry's not my thing!"

I've declared this often, usually after attempting a build that crumbled/split/went wonky (my first attempt that I remember was a 2x4 boat in Jacksonville--before I was 8!).

Yet the desire make something useful with my own hands remains.

Last year, to fulfill that desire, I registered for Wild Abundance's Basic Carpentry for Women.

The first day alone was amazing! If you've had carpentry experience, you would have wondered at our ignorance.

For us, the sessions were enlightening:

1. How to measure using crow's feet (the V) and putting the pencil in place and THEN setting the ruler!

2. How to use a speed square (this will make my leather working so much better)

3. What torque is on a drill and why you would change it

4. Countersinking (I knew what that is, but now I KNOW what it is)

5. Using the miter, circular, and table saw

I appreciated the women's only aspect. I love men (I do!), but collectively, we all sort of hung back--uncertainty, a lifetime of feeling inadequate in this area, a sense of self-preservation.

Yet, we HAD to step forward and try the saws and the tools and the math. So we did, and we did awesome!

Major lessons learned: I'm definitely buying an impact driver, and carpentry + geometry is a MUST in schools.

By the end of the week, I had created my own shoe shelf, learned how to order from a lumber mill, and felt far more empowered to live life.