Welcome

Glad you could drop by and visit the first of my regular blogs for Woodshop News. Tod Riggio, editor of Woodshop News, and I have been discussing for some time adding this regular feature to the magazine’s Web site, and I have to admit that the prospects are exciting.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve never been one to shy away from making my opinions known. Before becoming a woodworking writer and editor, I used to be a radio talk-show host, the number-one requirement of which is that you have to be opinionated. The more so, the better. Well, I’m no longer on the air, but I’m no less opinionated. I have a small sign on my desk that was gifted to me by my wife many years ago during my radio days that reads, “Everyone’s entitled to my opinion.” She got it for me as a joke, but the real joke is that it’s true.

So, what will I be opining about in this column on any given day? Specific topics will be determined by what I’m doing at the moment, what I see in the news, what experiences I have, what I see and read on the many woodworking forums I visit, or even what I might hear from you. I’m sure I’ll cover safety issues, the wood markets, furniture design and sales, cabinetry and numerous other topics of interest to the professional woodworker. But really, what I’ll be addressing is woodworking, in and of itself. Pro or hobbyist, full-timer or just when you get the chance, the bond you and I share is a love of working with wood. It’s what we do, and it’s what we talk about. This will be the place to talk about it.

Hopefully, you’ll join in by sending feedback and comments on my thoughts. (Who knows, as unlikely as it may be you might even want to – gasp! – disagree with me on occasion.) In any event, I hope to make this an ongoing dialogue. You, and me, chatting over the workbench.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Disagreement? Confirmation of my (usually correct) opinions? Just let me – and everyone else gathered around my workbench – know what you think by leaving your comments.

Till next time,

A.J.