I have a bandsaw, belt/disk sander, floor standing drill press, compound mitre saw, spring compressor and a ping pong table. I have a boat load of hand tools as I tend to collect them ever since I became a mechanic, and boat loads of small sanders, Dremel stuffs, saws of all shapes and sizes, files out the wazoo(ouch!), a roll away filled to the brim with tools and left over junk from various projects...I could go on forever, but I own no table saw, and no mill or lathe.....just never needed them, but as thing with me go, when I start a project and need a tool to complete it I buy the tools I need.
I was an aviation metalsmith in the military, and really like working with sheet metal. After leaving my career as an airline mechanic a few years back I found myself without a place to work my metal projects, so I picked up some wood and started doing home improvement projects. Wood tools are most definately less expensive than good metal tools, and it helps when you can tell your wife,"Hey, I think I'll do some built in shelving in here", she really could care less about metal projects, they don't help much around the house usually....sure makes buying tools easier when your wife gets something out of it:) Last year I bought my two oldest sons Red Ryders for Christmas, I liked shooting them so much I went and bought myself a RWS M92. Somewhere from there I saw some custom made grips for a Crosman 2240, I bought them and also bought a Crosman 2240 to put them on...they looked sweet, but I had this thought in my mind that for what I paid I coulda made 20 sets of grips. So I went out and grabbed a hunk of Pine I had left over from another house project and made a set of grips. Looked pretty good to me. About that same time I met Joel Lively from Airgun Artisans, and he introduced me to Steve Corcoran who is a master stockmaker. It's all been downhill from there. Those grips I made turned into a completely wooden 2240, then I made a few more for other people, made some Crosman 13XX grips and pump arm...etc... And a few weeks ago I cut my first stock...with alot of help from Steve:)
I shot air rifles when I was a young kid, about 11-13. I always enjoyed it alot. I really enjoy working with my hands also, so wood and air rifles just kinda "work" for me. I was also a mechanic for the better part of my adult life, so the inner workings of these things get me a little hot and bothered also. Such a beautiful simple machine with so many "tiny" little nuiances that can drive a guy nuts! It's a challenge for sure.
Ok, that's my story and I'm sticking to it:)
Dan