5 questions answered by Rick DuVall

How did you get into Woodworking?

I was always a tinkerer as a kid and built all kinds of things.  Started making furniture after I got married.  Got pretty serious when we built our house 15 years ago.  I did a lot of the finish work and built a few things for the house.  Made a lot of things for family and used to joke that my family had more of my pieces than I did.

I’m actually starting to make some money via word of mouth from previous customers.

What is your favorite tool?

It depends on what I’m making, but I would say my new Laguna F2 table saw and 6” jointer are my favorites. I got both of those last January.   I got a Domino 500 a couple of months ago and am using that quite a lot.

Who has influenced you the most in woodworking?

Norm Abrams of New Yankee Workshop and This Old House.  He did a lot with a minimalist set of power tools.  He did start to add some newer specialty tools towards the end of the show but still used the old school technics.

What has been your biggest stumbling block?

I think it has been taking on projects or pieces I wasn’t really ready for.  But that also forced growth and provided learning opportunities.

I need to balance my family and shop time better.  I have a lot of things I’m involved with and each grabs a chunk of time.  Some are seasonal and don’t overlap, but woodworking is a year ‘round activity.

How has the internet influenced your work?

I’ve learned a lot of technics that have been using on new projects.  I was self-taught with no real training so seeing “classic” technics in on-line videos has expanded by available options and skills.