My name is Robert and I’m a craftsman-woodworker, or at least I’m trying to be. My first passion is being a Disciple of Jesus Christ. I’m a youth minister in a small town in West Texas and have served in local churches since I graduated High School. I blog about my ministry and Christianity on my other blog Small Town Youth Minister.
My passion for woodworking came from a summer job in High School. One of my father’s best friends owns a construction and remodeling company. You see, in my family you worked, so as I was looking forward to sleeping in all summer my dad came in and told me that I started work next week and had to be there at 7:00AM. I knew how to use basic power tools from what my dad and grandfather taught me but I was far from proficient. My “position” at Cryer Construction was officially as a “gopher”. I’d spend all day going for a hammer, going for a board, going for more nails, etc. Like I said a “go-for.” I learned a lot those two summers, and started to love carpentry and woodworking in general.
After two summers of construction and remodeling, I had learned a great skill set. I’ve always love working with my hands and building things. I had A LOT of Legos growing up and loved to make my own designs. During College I really didn’t do much carpentry, aside from the occasional mission project. After I graduated my wife and I moved near her parents where my father-in-law had a nicely equipped workshop. It started as a way to burn off stress after work, and then grew into a hobby I loved. I built a 20x10ft Storage Building on their property, and helped them do some remodeling. Then I started doing some projects on my own.
In my Jr. High and High School days I did Competition 4H Shooting Sports (Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays). I was pretty good; my 3 man Team won third overall at the Texas 4H Championship. My grandfather (Papa) and I shared a passion for shooting and pretty guns. He bought me a nice Browning Citori when I first started. Well, when I first started 4H I was shorter than I am now. So in order to have the shotgun properly fit me, we had the stock cut down. Then I hit a growth spurt and we installed ugly black spacers to restore the length. Years later, my new wife bought me a replacement stock for my gun, the problem was my model was out of production and the finish didn’t match the forearm properly. When my Papa died from Alzheimer’s I set out to have my Citori rebuilt and the stock refinished. I found a gunsmith and took the stock and forearm to him and explained I wanted them refinished to match. “I don’t have time for that right now, and it will cost you too much,” he said. The next thing this gunsmith said set me down the path of woodworking permanently ; “Come in the back and I’ll teach you how to do this yourself, it’s easy.” He showed me the process and sent me on my way. After a few weeks of scraping, sanding, and finishing I had repaired the heirloom that my Papa had left me, and I was proud of the job I did.
After this, a website known as Pinterest started gaining in popularity. And my wife was really getting into it. I was at the point where I was looking for any small woodworking project and she helped by a never-ending list of things to make. Now I have a wood shop of my own and hope to build a small business to support my family, or at least buy nicer tools.
Check out my Etsy Store https://www.etsy.com/shop/DaileyWoodworks to see what I currently have for sale. I particularly enjoy making rustic things from reclaimed materials, and upcycling old furniture. You see it’s kind of like what Jesus can do in our lives. We come to him broken and busted, but He can give us a new life and remake us into something beautiful.
Robert Dailey 