Getting started in woodworking

I have a lot of hobbies. Some (including me) might say too many, since there's not nearly enough time in the [day|year|arbitrary amount of time] to enjoy all of them. So ,what have I done in the past few months on top of moving/preparing for a family visit/starting a new teaching position? Picked up another hobby, of course!

Yes, that's right. I haven't mentioned it yet in part because I've been so busy, but back in December I started trying my hand at woodworking. It's not entirely new to me – I did some woodworking in 4-H in my teens, and helped out with carpentry jobs around the house growing up – but it's certainly been a long time, and I had to relearn some of the fundamentals pretty quickly.

I also hadn't said anything about it yet because I wanted a few finished projects to show off. Between the aforementioned things keeping me busy my progress in getting things done has been somewhat uneven, and I wanted more to show than a bunch of in-progress photos. (Although having watched a number of woodworking videos now, I'm thinking it might be fun to make my own showing off the process of building something.)

My very first project, completed around mid-December, was this end table/nightstand piece. Following a plan I found online I built it out of pine with little but a circular saw, a power drill, and an impact driver. It was something of an achievement in ignorance; given what I've learned since then it's remarkable that I only ended up wasting one board while making it and that it came out as good at it did. There's a lot I would do differently now (especially now that I have more specialized tools), but for what it was it came out remarkably good.

Making that piece was sort of a trial-by-fire learning process, as I re-learned concepts like kerf (how much wood is removed when sawing), cutting straight lines, and joining wood pieces together. It was simultaneously confidence-boosting and confidence-draining, as I realized the extent of my ignorance. Thankfully, my brother Joel (who's been woodworking for years) shared an online course with me, The Weekend Woodworker, which introduces key concepts and techniques through a series of directed projects. I've been working through it since then and it's been really helpful as I learn and refine new skills.

The first thing I built from the course was this mobile workbench, which has been essential for everything since. For my first project up above I'd used two old sets of shelves which I found in the downstairs workshop as a working area, but this workbench (and its large surface) makes things so much easier. It's sturdy, and the ability to roll it around to wherever I need it is incredibly helpful. (I had to upgrade the lighting in the workshop as the bulbs down there when I moved in weren't really up to the task of illuminating it, and being able to move my working area around for better light is great.)

Using that workbench (and some new tools), I managed to get this little patio table finished before my family arrived at the end of December. This was an exercise in getting to know the miter saw, which makes cross cuts a whole lot easier than a circular saw! I used Douglas fir for this project, as I quite like the look of it, and chose to leave the table unpainted. Some people find softwoods undesirable to look at, but I think they can be quite beautiful when properly finished (though hardwoods have their own allure, too). Actually, writing this reminds me that I bought a dowel to use to add the look of some fake dowel joinery to the legs as part of an optional enhancement, which I should get back to one of these days (though functionally, it's finished).

The next project from the course was this bench, which is also made of fir and pine, but stained to look like hardwood. This was another lesson in precision and accuracy, since it's made of interleaved slats with spaces between them that all need to join precisely together. I started this project between when my family left and when I started teaching in early January…and it then took nearly a month to finish between how busy I was getting up to speed teaching and how many coats of pre-stain, stain, and finish it took. All of which were annoyingly difficult to apply, due to the large surface area of all those slats and the constrained volume between them. It came out looking pretty good, though! I was skeptical about the stain at first, but it's grown on me.

I have a few more projects I've completed (plus some on the way), but I need to cut this post short in order to head off to an observing run on the UH 2.2-m telescope tonight. I'll definitely have more to share in the future, though. I'm really enjoying the process of woodworking; it's a good fit for my 3D spatial reason capabilities, I love the smell of freshly-cut wood, and I love the idea of making things that are both beautiful and practical. I've felt the siren song of building practical things call to me in the past on the rare occasions I'd visit Home Depot, and being able to finally indulge it is an incredible feeling. A few friends have even expressed interest in commissions, so we'll see where this all goes in the future. A hui hou!

Visiting Papakōlea Green Sand Beach

With everything happening so far this year I haven't had time to talk about my trip to Papakōlea Beach while my family was visiting in January. Papakōlea Beach is one of two green sand beaches in the world (the other being in the Galàpagos Islands), with papa kōlea meaning “plover flats” in Hawaiian. It's located about three miles east of Ka Lae, or South Point, the southernmost-point on Hawaiʻi island, in the state of Hawaii, and in the US.

Windmills near South Point (facing north). They're on top of a huge scarp falling off to the west.

I'd never actually been to South Point before so visiting it was a new experience. I was once again struck by the vast amount and array of microclimates to be found around this island. The southern tip of Mauna Loa is windswept and barren, with only low grass or scraggly trees blowing fitfully in the ever-present breeze. 

Sea cliffs at South Point (facing north up the west coast).

Beach at South Point (facing south, towards Antarctica).

I knew there were sea cliffs at South Point, but didn't realize there were also beaches within the space of half a mile or so. It's interesting to think that, looking southwards, the next land is Antarctica, almost half the globe away! (And if you get swept out to sea, the current will take you straight there…) The eerie solitude of the place definitely instills a respect for the ocean. There are no lifeguards here, so while you can swim, it's definitely “at your own risk” (emphasis on risk). People have absolutely been lost to the sea here (I think there was one just last year).

Papakōlea Beach, within a volcanic tuff cone (facing east along the coast).

It's a few miles from the parking lot to the beach, and takes about an hour and ten minutes to hike. As I went along, at some point I remember looking down at the ground and thinking that the sand was starting to have a definite greenish cast to it. The trail passes very near the point where the photo above was taken, which provides a fantastic vantage point to see the partially eroded volcanic cone which provides the olivine crystals that give the sand its color.

View from the top of the path looking down to the beach.

I didn't get a great view of the path down, but it's not the easiest walk. Some old metal ladders near the top provided a start where the path is steepest, after which we carefully made our way down sloping, eroded tuff cliffs. It was slightly dicey, but it's not a long path and once down on the beach it was fine.

Sand up close! (Hand courtesy of my brother Joel.)

The color is a little hard to bring through in photos (I wonder if the camera is doing some color balancing), and it's not exactly a vivid green, but it's definitely not your normal sand color either.

View of some of the eroded parts of the cone on its eastern side, from down on the beach.

Looking back west from near the highest point of the cone.

Overall it's a very interesting beach to visit. Even if it weren't for the green sand, the topography and the way it exists inside an old volcanic cone is fascinating, and very picturesque.

One thing noticeable in many of these photos is the weather. The day we visited there was a winter storm over much of the island, and the clouds were fairly thick in the sky with a constant, stiff wind blowing. (Our timing couldn't have been better, though, since literally as we reached the car on our way back it started to rain.) This was probably about the best weather we could have asked for, in terms of hiking, as the exposed trail would be brutal under a clear sky or without a cooling breeze. If you go, definitely make sure you have good sun protection and plenty of water (and maybe try to go early in the morning).

I'm glad I finally made it out to the beach (it only took twelve years…), and hopefully I can get back there sometime with my drone in better weather when the wind isn't blowing constantly and get some aerial photos. We'll see! A hui hou!