Paid for most of college, working as a carpenter during my summers off. Took up wood working to do something with my hands while taking all those science courses. Built my wife a pencil post bed as my first wood working project. It paid off when we built the addition to our house a few years ago. Worked as a crew member on it 5 days a week for nine months. Woods more forgiving than steel. Wish I had half the tallent I have building stuff out of wood when it comes to building any metal stuff!