Q. How did you get started in woodworking?
A. I don’t have any formal training, nor did I grow up in a trades family. In fact, I never even had “woodshop” in high school, although I certainly wish I had so I could have realized sooner how much I enjoy working with wood.
I stumbled into woodworking quite late in life, due to a happy mix of circumstances. I was a new homeowner who suddenly had the desire (and need) to fix and build things. I happened to have a garage (which was a bonus), and suddenly had a little more time on my hands with a less demanding job. It wasn’t long until I got hooked on building things with my own hands and wanted to learn more! I read books and magazines, and of course turned to YouTube, and did a lot of research to gain confidence and knowledge before taking on my first builds. I still do today.
Q. Is woodworking / content creation your full-time job?
A. No, at least not yet. For now woodworking and creating project tutorials on my YouTube channel, website and Instagram is still a part-time hobby, but takes up as much time as a full-time job! I invest a lot of time and energy into woodworking, which has become a passion, and do dream of being able to do it full-time one day.
Q. What tools do you use?
A. My tool collection didn’t happen overnight. I started out with the basics, like a Ryobi jobsite saw and miter saw, and an orbital sander, all bought second hand on Kijiji. Slowly over the years I got to know each tool, especially what I didn’t like about each of them. I upgraded many of the tools in my shop over the years with the knowledge experience I had gained to know what to look for in a tool, and what each was worth to me, given my usage and my workflow.
For a list of all my tools, accessories, dust collection setup, and more, check out my tools & gear page. I also did a recent shop tour video, if you want to learn more about my single-car garage woodshop.
Q. Do you take on commissions? Can you build me a…. ?
A. This being a part-time gig for me, I don’t take on commission work at the current time. I have decided to spend the limited time I have focusing on tutorials, in order to inspire and teach others to build things with their own hands, and share my knowledge as I grow.
Q. Do you sell your work?
A. I have an online store where I sell build plans for many of my furniture builds and shop projects. From time to time I will sell the piece I built in a given video, so don’t hesitate to contact me to enquire.
Q. Where do you buy lumber in Montreal?
A. I have a few lumber sources around Montreal, but ultimately the answer is: it depends. Here are a few of the places I’ve been to, as well as some I’ve heard of but have never been to myself.
- Home Depot St-Henri: For plywood (I use mostly Sanded Aspen or Maple plywood).
- Langevin Forest: They have a great selection of various hardwoods that you can pick out yourself in store. They also sell Baltic Birch plywood. Their prices are on the high side, however.
- Scierie JTM: Great place in St-Lazarre for common hardwoods. Decent prices. Can select your own pieces in store.
- Rona St-Patrick: Large outdoor lumber yard next to the store carrying various softwood, hardwoods and even sheet goods like maple or oak plywood, as well as Baltic Birch.
- Robert Bury: Hardwoods, sheet goods, and more. I’ve only been once, but it did not seem DIY friendly. Unclear if one can walk around the warehouse and pick out lumber, or if you can only order at the desk.
- Bois Idéal (St-Laurent Boul.): No personal experience
- Bois Maron (St-Eustache): No personal experience
- Bois SD Malo (Longueuil): No personal experience
Q. Where can I learn woodworking / Where can I use tools in Montreal?
A. When I first started woodworking, the only class I took was one to learn to use power tools safely. They used to offer this course and a few more evening classes for hobbyists (not sure if they still do) at l’École Nationale du Meuble et de l’Ébénisterie de Montréal.
People sometimes ask me if I can cut a piece of wood for them or if they can come use my planer. Unfortunately I can’t assist with that, but I do know of a few makerspaces around Montreal where you can have access to various tools and work on your own projects. Most of them also offer classes. Be sure to check out: Les Affûtés, Helios Makerspace, MKRLAB & CollectivLab.
Q. Since you live in Canada, and Canada uses the metric system, why do you use imperial dimensions?
A. I get this question a lot! And it even seems to make some people angry that I talk in inches. First off, yes, Canada uses the metrics system. Absolutely! We’re all about centimeters, milliliters, grams, Celsius, etc. – except when it comes to anything that has to do with building materials. Why? Well, I guess we have our US neighbors to thank for that, and the fact that we used to use the imperial system until the 1970s so everything was built in feet and inches, which kind of makes it hard to switch.
Still confused? I think the chart below sums it up perfectly.
Q. You’re French Canadian, right? So why don’t you make your videos in French?
A. I am indeed French Canadian, and proud of it! Well, technically I am. I guess. I was born in Quebec, raised in Ontario, then returned to Quebec as a young teen. I grew up in Toronto watching Anglo TV surrounded by English speaking friends, so while I’m perfectly bilingual, I have a preference for English. I just comes more naturally. And of course, making videos in English allows me to reach a greater audience.