Hey there! I’m Scott, the DIYer here at Saws on Skates®
I’m betting since you clicked on this “About Scott” page you’re probably wondering “Who is this guy and what does he know about DIY?”
Before we get into that, be sure to click here to sign up for my FREE weekly newsletter loaded with helpful pocket hole tricks, space-saving workshop ideas, clever DIY tips and more!
The Early Years
I started out as a self-taught woodworker. I learned how to use my first table saw by building small furniture projects in my parent’s basement.
Years later I bought my first home and took a break from building furniture to focus on house projects like installing floors, replacing the roof, repairing windows and taking care of all the other chores that come along with home ownership.
Woodworking Classes
I turned my attention again to building furniture and my workshop after I had a handle on the house projects. Let me tell you about my workshop. It’s tiny! It only measures 10′ x 13′.
I quickly learned that I needed to put all of my tools on wheels in order to maximize the small space. (You’ll see why this is important a little later.) I was determined to build quality pieces of furniture despite having a small workshop.
I wanted to improve my skills so I started taking some classes. First I enrolled in a How to Make a Shaker Table Class.
Then I enrolled in several multi-week furniture making classes. Here I learned traditional furniture building techniques like how to hand cut dovetails, make mortise and tenon joints, how to make veneers, steam bending wood and more.
I also attended a week-long timber framing class where we turned a pile of logs into a frame for a small barn.
Discovering Pocket Holes
Later on, I went to a woodworking show where I saw a demonstration for the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig. I’m pretty sure I heard angels singing as I watched how easily and quickly furniture could be made with this amazing piece of blue plastic. I immediately bought one! Sure, hand cut joints are cool, but who has time for that?!
I went home and searched for furniture plans that could be made with pocket hole joinery and found a warehouse of pocket hole furniture plans at ana-white.com. I built many projects from those plans and shared several “brag posts” on the site of the projects I built.
Designing My Own Plans
Next, I enrolled in a two-day SketchUp class at a woodworking school. Then I started designing my own furniture plans. I also shared a few of those original plans on ana-white.com.
Saws on Skates® was Born
In early 2015 an idea hit me like a hammer to the head. I need to build a go-to place where I can share my years of experience with other do-it-yourselfers. A place where I can help DIYers improve their skills. A site loaded with helpful pocket hole tricks, space-saving workshop ideas, clever DIY tips, free furniture plans and more!
In March 2015 Saws on Skates® was born! The name was inspired by my small, mobile workshop!
Just between you and me, I had no idea what I was doing! Sure I could build stuff and explain how to do it, but I soon realized I also needed to be a tech wizard, a photographer, a graphic designer and a bunch other things you need to do when you run a blog.
A lot has happened since the first post in March 2015. In January 2016 I was selected to be a contributor to Domestically Speaking, in 2017 I became a contributor to Remodelaholic and Saws on Skates projects are also featured on Build Something.
I’ve also published a handful of posts that have been really helpful to DIYers like 9 Pocket Hole Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make, 7 Miter Saw Tricks Every DIYer Should Know and 9 Clever Ways to Make Your Small Workshop Feel Bigger.
Let’s Stay in Touch
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Thank you for stopping by and please skate back soon!