Woodworking, sign making and lessons learned from more than 20 years in the workshop.
As a boy I was always fascinated by how things were made and how mechanical things worked. I started out making things from cardboard and sticky tape on my bedroom floor, then eventually moved on to working with wood and electronics.
It’s been a long journey with quite a few different jobs on and off along the way. I’ve been working with timber and making things for customers online for more than 20 years, and over that time I’ve learned a lot – often by getting things wrong first.
From a backyard shed to a woodworking business
I started AusWorkshop as a small Australian woodworking business in my parents’ backyard back in 2004. I only had a small 3 x 3 m shed (about 10’ by 10’ if you’re talking gibberish). This was the same year I launched my website, and it’s still going under the same domain name to this day – handcraftedtimber.com.
These days much of my work involves designing and making custom wooden signs, along with boxes and other handcrafted timber products.
I still love making custom boxes, although most of my income is from wood signs these days and I find it an easier way to get enough out the door each week and keep the bills paid.
My workshop is a mixture of old and new. I enjoy traditional woodworking and working with timber by hand, but I also use CNC routing, laser engraving and other technology where it makes sense. For me, they’re all just different tools for achieving the end result. I have a large collection of hand planes and vintage tools which I use every day. I’ll post about my favourites in future posts.
I’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge over the years that tends to stay in my head or disappear when a job leaves the workshop. It’s not until someone asks me a question in a YouTube comment or I read comments on other people’s posts that I realise how much I’ve had to learn along the way and how hard it can be for beginners just getting started. That’s one of the reasons I’ve decided to start writing here.
What I’ll be sharing from the workshop
I’ll be sharing projects as I make them, along with techniques I’ve picked up, tools and machinery I use, sign-making and CNC tips, timber finishing, and some of the realities of earning a living from a small woodworking business.
I don’t intend this to be a polished woodworking magazine. I’d rather show what’s actually happening in the workshop – including the experiments, mistakes and things that don’t always work the first time. WHINGE WARNING!
If you enjoy woodworking, make wooden signs, or simply like seeing how things are made or how I run a small home-based business, you’re very welcome to follow along.
I’m not sure how often I’ll post, but if I get enough interest it may become a regular thing and I’ll try to keep it interesting for you all. Reach out if you have any questions or ideas for what specific things you’d like me to write about.
Follow AusWorkshop
If you’d like to follow along with future workshop projects, sign making tips and other things I learn along the way, you can subscribe to AusWorkshop on Substack.
See you on here again soon. Stay safe and God bless.
Andrew
AusWorkshop