In rec.woodworking,
John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Eli the Bearded" wrote in message ...
I love a good handtool, but I have limited space, limited money, limited
time. And no source of tools to inherit. I'm going to have to content
myself with never finding the craft Langlands admires in myself.
I used the term "inherit" loosely...

I suspected as much.

All that said, I'd let people know you are interested in old tools to use.
You are not a collector and aren't looking to sell them... You may be
surprised how much stuff will come out of basements and garages for free.

Best I've gotten for free, so far, is a bench grinder in nearly new
condition. Probably ten years old, definitely under twenty. Only thing
"wrong" with it was missing a bulb for the work light. It was literally
being thrown away -- probably not because of the bulb though.

I live in San Francisco, in a house that's been in my wife's family for
long time. None of my neighbors seem to own as much as a hammer. People
in the city lack basements and attics and get rid of things quickly. My
father-in-law did leave some tools here, but not many or that exciting.
Screwdrivers and wrenches. A miter box and saw.

We all started somewhere... I don't know anyone who came out of the womb as
a skilled woodworker! Keep at it!

I don't have good photos of it, but I made my bedside table as well. I
wanted something fairly tall and narrow to fit the space, and clipped
the corners of the top (making an octagon) for lamp and charging cords
to fig nicely. Also plywood with dado cuts for pieces to snap together
(at least until the glue dries), but half inch, not 3mm.

On the large scale, I built a shed for myself, roughly 8x8x10. No
foundation or power, just balanced on concrete blocks, because that
makes it kinda-sorta within no-permit-needed building code for the
area. It keeps the rain out and is solid still ten years later, so I
think I did an okay job with no experience and making it up as I went
along.

Elijah
------
did have to replace the first roof, learned a lesson there