learn carpentry

I grew up in a pretty generic middle class lifestyle, never doing much but chores that require basic manual labor. I graduated from college a couple of years ago, and since then have mostly worked office jobs or other jobs that encourage a sedentary lifestyle or generally lack of developing any specific skills.
I am very interested in learning a skill that is both marketable, but more importantly can be valuable for various community organizations.
I realized most of my actions up until now have set me down a path towards a 9-5 job thats indoors. Right now I’m working for AmeriCorps which affords me a good deal of flexibility and a variety of tasks. My job is in a one-year program (although I just signed on for another year), and I generally can’t imagine finding any kind of job like this that I could do long-term. On a side note, AmeriCorps jobs’ pay is generally pretty atrocious. At any rate, its becoming glaringly obvious that I need some sort of actual skill. Being an independent skilled laborer seems like a really appealing career choice.
It seems like its always useful to have someone who knows how to build things and fix things in the ‘movement’. More specifically, I have been tossing around the idea (and sometimes pursuing it more seriously) of forming a collective space with friends for years. First, I wanted to help create an infoshop or radical organizing & meeting space. More recently-largely due to the collapsing real estate market, especially here in Sarasota-I’ve pursued creating a collective house for organizers and like-minded radicals. Carpentry skills seems particularly useful for these types of endeavors.

So I am not really sure where to start, and how much time I need to set aside if I reasonably expect to learn these skills.
I am completely new to this site, but already the few recent entries of other people that I’ve perused I’ve found useful and inspiring.

It seems ridiculous to have this goal on my list when I have no tools other than my extremely basic toolkit, and no room in my current home to try and build things. When I get a house – hopefully soon – I will get some basic equipment and start picking up a few odd carpentry jobs, but for now this goal is just a waste of space on my list. Hopefully I can add this back on my list in a year!

i want to learn carpentry

I volunteered to help at the building of a new playground at the neighborhood elementary school. I told them I wanted to work with tools but I didn’t know anything. No problem, they’d teach me.

I was given a white name tag(for UNSKILLED labor)and a router. After being shown how to use it, for the next 4 hours I routed wood – every size, every length. There were runners to take away the routed wood and bring me fresh ones. It was great!

I was covered in sawdust but smiling all day. If I go back this weekend, they said I’d get a red name tag for I am now SKILLED!

Something about being able to build something from scratch…Hmmm. I’ve always wanted to learn carpentry. Don’t really know how to go about it. I can’t just buy myself a saw and start, can I? That would be wrong. Is there any online help you can find? Because I already have a carpentry kit at home (which is old, but can make do with it).

When I have my place painted, 1 of the painters is doing some other work, specifically rewire my cables for TV/Internet. The cable co did an awful job.
Today when we met to discuss the job, I asked him to explain what he’d be doing. He gave me basics then I said “tell me more”. And he did. It sounds so cool to be able to do that kind of work.
Maybe I can be his shadow when he does some of this so I can see if I really have to tolerance for carpentry.

I went online to check out what clinics Home Depot may be offering. Maybe I could find something on basic carpentry, or even tools – like the knife class for cooking. No such luck. Nothing in July – unless I want to learn how to install a retaining wall…I don’t think so….

They do have some Kid Clinics, ages 5 to 12, for do-it-yourself projects and tool safety. Maybe I could sneak into one of those…?

I want to be good with hand tools so i can make things

There’s something about building something, putting it together, or fixing it that speaks to me. I’ve always enjoyed puzzles and carpentry feels like that to me. I watch home improvement shows but I need to take action toward this goal.

Not quite carpentry, but along the lines of what I want to learn. Basic stuff that everyone should know but because we sit behind computers all day we don’t. I wish I could have taken a shop class and home ec. That would have been great. Suprisingly the fan took about two and a half hours. Thank god my dad’s a carpenter.