Interview
Intro
My name is Matt Vanderlist and I’m the creator/host/entire crew of Matt’s Basement Workshop Podcast. I’m a husband, father of two amazing kids (don’t all dads say that CHORTLE?!), a woodworker and a podcaster in my spare time. I also have a day job is working in a hospital laboratory
Stats: I consider myself a hobbyist woodworker with the occasional paying client.
Shop size: My current shop is located in the basement. Thankfully it’s on the side of the house opposite bedrooms and the living room, so while it can get noisy while I’m milling stock (especially with my thickness planer) my family claims it’s not as bad as it was at our previous house.
 The floorspace in my shop is about 25-30 feet in length and varies from 10-15 feet in width as I have to share it with our forced-air furnace & water heater. This is something that really freaks out a lot of people when they watch my show or hear about it for the first time (especially since both are natural gas versus electrical) but as I’ve explained numerous times, if you have a semi-decent dust collection system and don’t let the sawdust piles accumulate you’re all fine.
The only significant issues I have with being in the basement is when I have to move large quantities of materials or heavy tool in or out. Thankfully I have some good friends to help and a neighbor with a strong back and who is easily bribed with beer. And because of the height and width of the basement stairwell I am limited on the size of the projects I can build. Yes…I have actually built projects and then discovered too late that they’re too big. Thankfully there was usually a component or two I could temporarily remove to make it fit (sometimes removing something as small as moulding will do the trick.)
Also I don’t do a lot of finishing in the basement. I’ll apply dyes and shellac in the shop, but just about any other finishing technique needs to be moved out into the garage.
How long have you been woodworking?
I’ve been a serious hobbyist woodworker for about 15+ years. Like a lot of folks I discovered a passion for woodworking when I bought my first home and started doing so DIY projects around the house.
What is your day job if you don’t do the youtube thing full time?
My day job is working in a hospital laboratory as a Cytotechnologist (in a nutshell I sit at microscope all day.) It was suppose to be a stepping stone on to medical school, but it turns out I liked receiving a steady paycheck more than going back to school.
Unlike many hospital lab jobs, the field I’m in typically only works Mon-Fri and days only. So this made it very easy for me to dabble in woodworking on weekends and nights.
Can you remember your first project and what it was?
My very first project in my own shop was a shoe shelf for our closet. I used some scrap wood the previous owners left in the basement (the father dabbled a little in woodworking) then nailed and glued it together. It was shortly after it fell apart that I decided it was time to start watching shows like “The New Yankee Workshop” and buying some books on woodworking before I tried anything else.
What made you decide to start producing online content?
It all started when my wife gave me my first iPod for my birthday and then I discovered podcasts. When I searched for woodworking related content there was nothing at the time. Coincidentally I was listening to someone I call the “Podfather,” Adam Curry, and he was a huge advocate of people getting into podcasting and creating shows and communities based on their passions.
Since there was nothing out there on woodworking I thought I’d take the plunge, start sharing my own experiences and seeing what came from it. I’ve always been the type of person who learns more by trying to teach others, so it was a perfect mix.
The original show was audio-only (and there’s still an audio-only version of the show available for listeners to subscribe and download.) The same year I started podcasting was the same year Apple introduced a video iPod and shorty afterwards I started producing videos using a little point-and-shoot camera my wife had.
It took a little while to produce each video considering each individual clip was limited to 60 seconds. So I’d have to splice together a number of clips to create a single video. But because of the feedback, support and education I was getting from the audience, I didn’t see it so much as work as it was just fun.
By the end of 2006 the number of woodworking podcasts went from zero to two (some other guy who I co-host another show with jumped in the mix a few months after I did.)
It wasn’t until much later that I decided to start utilizing YouTube for content. It wasn’t what it is now back then, and even today, it’s just one of many resources where I post content. You can’t believe the number of places that were huge sources of shows that one day simply decided to call it quits and left content producers scrambling to figure out what to do with their shows.
What was your first video project?
My first video project was a cherry-wood dresser for my son. I seriously kind of forget to finish recording the second-half of the construction process. So it went from rough construction to entirely finished with nothing in between.
Do you only do woodworking or do you work with any other materials?
I only do woodworking for now.
What is your favorite project you have made so far?
My all time favorite project (built before I started the show) is our dining room table. It’s a big Ash-wood trestle style table and I love it because we sit and play games, eat, work and just enjoy each others company at it since I built it shortly after my wife and I were married.
 
Do you have a favorite tool, if so what is it?
I’ve had several, but for the interview it’s my table saw. Probably the number one reason is because of how much work and joinery I can get done on it. Once it’s tuned up and aligned, it’s amazing what you can do with it.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everywhere. When inspiration hits, it hits! Typically it comes from my wife who inspires me to build things by saying things like “we need…” and then I build it.
What do you have coming up in the near future?
This year I want to make some stuff for the outdoors. Benches for around our fire pit, maybe a planter’s bench for my wife, stuff like that. During the summer we like to be outdoors, but it’s not easy when there’s no place to sit or work.
What advice would you give someone that may want to start making things?
Don’t over think it, just find something you want to build and jump in feet first. A lot of people over think projects and assume they have to be complicated or listen/read all the hype about “traditional woodworking” and then shy away from the challenge. I tell people all the time to simply start building and then you’ll discover how to actually accomplish it.
The more you let the voices in your head (or online) persuade you that you’re doing something wrong the more likely you’re not going to ever try to complete it. Obviously you need to work safely, but that’s true for everything, so just build something and see how it goes. The worst thing that can happen is you have something you hide in the closet or burn at a bonfire.
Fun Fact about yourself
I’m deathly afraid of making chairs, especially Windsor-style chairs. I keep imagining myself getting it completed, sitting down on it and then having it fall apart underneath me. Just like the scene in “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson.
Matts Basement Workshop Website: http://mattsbasementworkshop.com/
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/
Wacky Wood Works would like to thank Matt from Matt’s Basement Workshop for his time for doing this interview. We hope it will inspire others to just get out to their shop and make something.
Regards
Nighthawk
All photo’s on this page are the property of Matt’s Basement Workshop, Wacky Wood Works has written permission to use them exclusively for this interview.
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Matt Vanderlist from Matt’s Basement Workshop the first and the longest running woodworking podcaster. His first episode was posted in January 27, 2006. Matt covers a variety of topics on his podcasts with various projects and builds to reviews of various tools and jigs.
