Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 20, 2002 04:46am | #1

   Indigo1557 (Alison) is moving there at the end of this month.  I'll shoot her an email and suggest she get in touch with you!  She'll be thrilled to know at least one other WWer there.  She's going to Tampa also.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   dhpascoe | Jun 20, 2002 11:41pm | #2

   Been in south Florida for 30 years. Got overwhelmingly crowded so I just moved to north Florida.

   Not only is the outrageous humidity hell on furniture, it really does a job on tools also.

   I solve the problem by sealing ALL surfaces of my work with urethane varnish.

   Yes, there are jobs for woodworkers though you'd certainly do better around the big money areas where fine woodworking is in much greater demand than around retirement areas.

   Good luck.

3. 
   Indigo1557 | Jun 21, 2002 09:04am | #3

   Be still my beating heart!!! A Woodworker in FL, Tampa even!!! Forest Girl, thank you for your email!!

   Chad, hello...I'm moving to Tampa next week after living in Portland, OR (Land O'Wood) and have been looking hard for woodworkers in the Tampa area, so I was delighted to hear your news.

   I was down in Tampa a few weeks ago and looked for lumber and woodworking type shops etc, I was a little dismayed at what I found..there is definately an "open" market there.  Nobody seems to be doing much "craft"/"artisianal" stuff and while I got a lead on potential lumber distributer it was only one.  The general feed back I got was "if you want stuff, you mail order".

   However, that said, there does seems to be some rather "well heeled" homes, so perhaps the opportunity is there.  I have also heard that there is a Tampa Woodworking Club that meets on the 3rd Thursday...don't know where, still looking.

   Be glad to share notes/thoughts any time.

   Alison

1. 
   MikeR | Jun 21, 2002 10:50pm | #4

   Hey folks,

      I'm in Tampa, Florida.  I'm a building contractor here who also does custom projects here and there (mantles, ent. centers, range hoods, etc).  I usually hang out at the FHB forum but when I saw your post figured I'd write.

      Humidity here is HELL.  I just built myself a shop and am already considering ACing it.  Lived here all my life and still its a pain when you're sweating all over your projects.  But I guess you get used to it?

      Personally, I would say the market here is poor to good.  Not anything to brag about like I hear from guys in other parts of the country.  I do alot of estimates but lose a lot of jobs to the "Wow, it'll cost that much?!" reply.  That said there are some high-end communities (1 mill. dollar homes and up) where if you can get your foot in the door, you can make a nice penny.  I haven't gotten my foot in any of those doors however.

     I am considering looking for another career however due to the conditions and temperatures if that means anything to ya.  Don't be fooled, the summers here are downright oppressive!!!  It definitely equates to indoor work over the summer months.

      You can email me directly if you'd like.

   Mike

1. 
   dhpascoe | Jun 22, 2002 10:54pm | #6

   I agree that wood is not the problem, it's the effect of humidity on anyone doing labor work in non airconditioned enviroment. The table tops of all my machines are a mess from touching them with sweaty hands and dripping sweat on them. All my hand tools are equally ugly, and there's nothing you can do about it. There are times when it is simply too oppressive to work for very long (like May-Oct). Ask any employer of labor and he'll tell ya you'd be lucky to get three hours honest work for eight hours pay. Even lots of big fans in the shop are of little help. If you're serious about getting any work done, you need think seriously about air conditioning.

   Setting up a window unit or two with shop-built primary filtration is not too difficult or costly, and will pull enough water out of the air to make work bearable. One tip I could give is to buy portable AC units where the condensor is easy to get at because you'll need to hose 'em out periodically because no filter is going to keep all the dust out. I had to hose mine about every 60 days even with good filtration.

4. 
   JSchoenberg | Jun 22, 2002 04:02am | #5

   Chad: I'm replying from MI, where I spend the summers. I have lived in FL since 1953. I haven't ever had a problem woodworking in that humidity. Let the wood acclimate in your shop for a coupla weeks b/4 machining. As for work, I can't answer (retired)

   Good luck, Jim