Greetings

[Alex]

Hi. My name is Alex, and I am a long-time woodworker - although the professional part was a long time ago. I worked in a carpentry shop for ten years when I was in my twenties (pushing 60 now), and then again for a few years until about twenty years ago. Since then, I have been a schoolteacher (middle school - I get to be a smart aleck all day long and get paid for it). During that time, I have slowly built up a shop in my Brooklyn basement, and a secondary one in the garage here upstate. I have a bunch of old machines which I have restored, and have put them to good use, both for furniture for my family and for profit.

My current project is a kitchen island for my fiance. More on that in one of the forums.

I am looking forward to being a member of W.o.W.!

Alex

[old55]

Welcome to the forum Alex.

[Herb Stoops]

Welcome, Alex we are happy to have you as a member, It looks as though you are navigating the forum well, but if you have any questions just ask and we can help you. We are a friendly bunch and love to see pictures of your projects and progress pictures of the build, that lets members get ideas of how to use their tools to make things.. We hope you enjoy being a member.
Herb

[DaninVan]

Hey, Alex; welcome!

[Nickp]

Welcome Alex...glad you could join us...you're gonna love it here...

@Alex Quick question...how did you find us...? We're spending some time getting the word out and wondering how it got to you...thanks...

[Bushwhacker]

Welcome Alex. Never been beyond the air port in New York. Would like to visit one day. Maybe we could have coffee.
Would love to see some of your projects.

Bushwhacker (David)

[Alex]

by Nickp » Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:29 am
Welcome Alex...glad you could join us...you're gonna love it here...

@Alex Quick question...how did you find us...? We're spending some time getting the word out and wondering how it got to you...thanks...

I was browsing the Catskills Facebook Marketplace, and put in 'Woodworking' as a search term. An ad/invitation came up as one of the listings.

by Bushwhacker » Thu Dec 03, 2020 7:25 am
Welcome Alex. Never been beyond the air port in New York. Would like to visit one day. Maybe we could have coffee.
Would love to see some of your projects.

Come on by! I never tire of showing people around my city. Now, all that negative stuff that you have heard about New York, is probably true. But the reality is that it is a fascinating and lively place, with a never-ending amount of things to see and do. I feel that many people who come here and do the tourist route (Empire State Building, Broadway show, Times Square, etc.) miss what the city is really about, which is the neighborhoods, the cultures, the dining, the stores - the small ones, not the chain shops.

It has changed a lot since I was a boy, though. Manhattan has become a yuppie theme park, and you pretty much have to be rich to live there. It used to be a lot funkier and down-to-earth.

y Herb Stoops » Wed Dec 02, 2020 11:01 pm
... love to see pictures of your projects and progress pictures of the build, that lets members get ideas of how to use their tools to make things.. We hope you enjoy being a member.
Herb

In the next day or so, I will find pictures of my latest project - the kitchen island - and post them.

Alex

[Cherryville Chuck]

Hi Alex and welcome. What you said about parts of New York applies to most big cities. I drove through Eastpoint Atlanta years ago and was glad it was daytime. I lived in Portland for a few years and it was downtown Burnside street there. In Vancouver, BC it's East Hastings street. About 30 years ago wife and I took the wrong exit at night somewhere in Nashville off the Interstate and I couldn't get back on quick enough. It was like that Cheech and Chong spot in the first movie where the guy says "You must need a watch. Cause if you had a watch you'd know it's night time, and night time ain't no time to be in this part of town."

[DaninVan]

I may have mentioned, over at The Other Place, my unknowingly driving through Watts (LA) back in the late 60's. I got some very strange looks from the residents.

[honesttjohn]

New York = exxxxpensive. Use to deliver there, Boston, and Jersey. Couldn't wait to leave. Met some good people and a heck of a lot of a**holes, of which none were woodworkers. Thought my name was "Pal" after a while. Too crowded for my tastes. But I do ship a lot of stuff to the east coast, especially during the holidays. Welcome!!!

[Alex]

honesttjohn » Fri Dec 04, 2020 1:30 pm
New York = exxxxpensive. Use to deliver there, Boston, and Jersey. Couldn't wait to leave. Met some good people and a heck of a lot of a**holes, of which none were woodworkers. Thought my name was "Pal" after a while. Too crowded for my tastes. But I do ship a lot of stuff to the east coast, especially during the holidays. Welcome!!!

I cannot argue with most of what you say. (And if all they called you was 'Pal', then you are doing good!)
I am a born-and-bred New Yorker (although I have spent some years in some far-away places) and I love the place, but I am well aware of the negatives. Like a lot of places to live, you just have to focus on the positive points. And there are many.

"Cherryville Chuck » Fri Dec 04, 2020 12:38 pm
Hi Alex and welcome. What you said about parts of New York applies to most big cities. I drove through Eastpoint Atlanta years ago and was glad it was daytime. I lived in Portland for a few years and it was downtown Burnside street there. In Vancouver, BC it's East Hastings street. About 30 years ago wife and I took the wrong exit at night somewhere in Nashville off the Interstate and I couldn't get back on quick enough. It was like that Cheech and Chong spot in the first movie where the guy says "You must need a watch. Cause if you had a watch you'd know it's night time, and night time ain't no time to be in this part of town." "

I was not referring so much to the crime rate, which has gone down considerably in the past twenty years. I was talking more about what John was referring to: the expense, the crowds, and the large number of people with, shall we say, bad attitudes. When I was a teenager, you really had to look over your shoulder walking around at night. Now you see people walking around at all hours plugged into their obviously expensive earphones, and unaware of their surroundings. So in that respect, there has been a great improvement.

Alex

By the way - why would this not let me do a second quote?

[Nickp]

@Alex There is a separate icon (next to last on the right) that let's you do multiple quotes...but I thought you did that already...? Did it stop working for you...?

[honesttjohn]

My family room is probably bigger than most New Yorker apts. And my Ram Crew Cab would probably be parked most of the time. I don't like the crowds and having to walk all over. I know a couple of people there and it seems no one cooks. It's all go out or (now) delivered. One guy has his morning coffee delivered to his apt. Of course you pay plus a little tip. Taxes, tolls, and high expenses - not for this upper Michigan country boy. Don't even want to visit. But where your roots are means a lot. Somehow, being able to drive out and go hunting on the 360 acres available within an hour of the house takes precedence. Now, the closest I get to Detroit (which is a total pit) is when we go to the airport. Same conditions you guys have, only scaled down somewhat.
Wife's cousin lived in a brownstone in Brooklyn for a few years. Then got transferred to South Korea. Said he missed NYC right away. Son turned down a job offer in Boston because the cost of living was so much higher than NC where he's at, even though they offered to double his salary. I don't know how you guys do it. As said earlier - welcome!!!!

[Cherryville Chuck]

I cannot argue with most of what you say. (And if all they called you was 'Pal', then you are doing good!)
I am a born-and-bred New Yorker (although I have spent some years in some far-away places) and I love the place, but I am well aware of the negatives. Like a lot of places to live, you just have to focus on the positive points. And there are many.

I was not referring so much to the crime rate, which has gone down considerably in the past twenty years. I was talking more about what John was referring to: the expense, the crowds, and the large number of people with, shall we say, bad attitudes. When I was a teenager, you really had to look over your shoulder walking around at night. Now you see people walking around at all hours plugged into their obviously expensive earphones, and unaware of their surroundings. So in that respect, there has been a great improvement.

Alex

I grew up on the east end of Birmingham, Alabama but progressively moved to smaller and smaller places. I stopped when I got here about 45 years ago. Cherryville is near the bottom left corner. The rest of the picture is basically my back yard. Pretty much the polar opposite of what you are used to.

[Alex]

I am actually used to a lot of things! The way I maintained my sanity, growing up in the city, was by getting out all the time. An hour and a half north of the city, there are great places to go hiking and climbing, which I've regularly done since my teen years. Here is a picture of the area around my fiancé's house (the house with the kitchen island). Kingston is at our back, but all of the Catskill mountains are in front of us.

catskills.png

Alex

[Cherryville Chuck]

That looks like a nice area too and a lot easier to get around on compared to some of what's close to me. One oddity I saw is a town named Oneonta. Wiki thinks it's a Mohawk word but there is an Oneonta northeast of Birmingham too and it should have been either Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, or Cherokee.

[Alex]

You got me curious, so I Googled it. Here is a quote from Wikipedia:

"History
A post office called Oneonta has been in operation since 1889.[5] The city was named after Oneonta, New York, the native home of a railroad official.[6] In 1889, the county seat was transferred to Oneonta from Blountsville.[7]

During World War II, a small POW camp was operated outside of Oneonta.[8]"

The page also shows a charming covered bridge in Oneonta (your Oneonta). I thought that covered bridges were a northeastern thing!

Alex