Duke Herrero started woodworking in college. He had built a Heathkit stereo receiver back in the day when there were albums and turntables, and he wanted to put it all together in a cabinet. He asked his father, a contractor, to bring home a table saw. His father reluctantly acquiesced, fearing the worst, knowing his son was not the most careful human being: they had already had more than a half dozen trips to emergency rooms. Duke bought some walnut, designed his cabinet to fit his stereo components, and was on his way He then built a couple of jewelry boxes for “friends”, but dental school got in the way of more woodworking. Then diversions into jewelry making (natural for poor dental students), leaded glass work, and new home projects prevented any serious furniture building.
Thirty years later Duke was in a craft store in Truckee and saw a wood box to cover a Kleenex box. He thought to himself, “I can do better than that!” Ten boxes later, he found himself on the Internet searching for a class that would advance his skills beyond Kleenex boxes. Yeah, it was a running joke in the family. That’s when he discovered Diablo Woodworkers and Pleasant Hill Adult Education. It’s been at least a dozen years since he started Woodworking I and advanced to II, Jeff’s box making class, then on to Tim and Brian’s classes. Duke had the typical single-car-garage shop that expanded to push another car out. That’s when his son in law pointed to the back corner of his lot and said you could build a shop out there if you dig into the hill.
In addition to showing the shop, Duke’s tour will have a focus on shop organizers. He notes that regardless of one’s shop size, everything in the shop should have a place, and it should be in its place when not in use. (John Dz agrees with this in principle if not in practice, and is hoping to get inspiration to improve!)
