My shop was established in early 2019, although I've been interested in woodworking since I was young. My dad was a gifted woodworker, and when I came home from Iraq in ‘05 we both used woodworking to bond and overcome my burn injuries. Woodworking has a special place in my heart for not only the memories I made with my dad before he passed, but because my job in the army was infantry, and my duties were pure unadulterated destruction and I find comfort in creating, conversely.


My shop also doubles as outdoor gear storage for myself, my wife Catherine and three kids, Audrey, Ava and Noah. The workspace is roughly 300 sq ft, and the center of my shop is my workbench, which my son and I built out of reclaimed railroad timbers and a full sheet of plywood.


I prefer to make stuff by hand, the old school way, so my power tools are more of an afterthought. I do however have a nice 10" Rigid table saw, which outfeeds onto a radial arm saw table. Being on a disabled veteran's salary with a wonderful family of five has obvious financial limitations on both quality and quantity of tools and materials, but that's the point I want to express to my kids; it's not what you have, it's what you can do with it.

You can email John at john_chrzanowski@icloud.com.