David Hinkston grew up on a farm in near Shabbona in DeKalb County, Illinois and like most farm kids, learned a little bit about a lot of different things. What he especially liked was building things, specifically out of wood. He had two uncles who were carpenters, and he worked with them whenever he could in the summers. He learned basic carpentry skills, but when he found an old Craftsman wood lathe his father never used, his interest in woodworking really took off. He taught myself how to turn wood and how to build simple furniture. He loved woodshop in high school where he learned how to use more power tools and refined his woodworking skills. His first turned bowl exploded in the high school shop. Fortunately, no one was hurt but three windows were broken. A valuable lesson learned!
When he left for college, his woodworking was put on hold. For many years he didn’t have the time or the space to outfit a proper shop, so he did what I could on the weekends and built jewelry boxes and carved Santas.
He knew that when he retired he wanted a proper shop with a nice lathe and all the other equipment he would need to turn wood and build furniture. After retiring from his job of 42 years with a civil engineering firm, David and his wife Debra moved to their current home east of Amboy. The property came complete with a separate building built as a shop. He outfitted the woodworking shop he always wanted and spends time working in it everyday.
“I build furniture for our home and whatever else interests me, “says David. “Most of my projects are based on a specific skill or technique that I want to develop. I love working with wood and learning new things. I consider it a successful day in the shop if I built something new or learn something new.”