Our Story...

Hello!!  My name is Todd Shortt and I am the founder of Shortt Family Woodcraft.  This is the story of how I became interested in woodworking and what finally drove me to pursue it.

When I was 12 my mother bought my father a wood lathe from Sears and Roebuck for Christmas.  That wood lathe was the beginning of my fascination with wood working.  I remember watching in amazement as he took a branch from a pine tree in our back yard and turned it into a baseball bat.  And with that, I was hooked!!  I would spend many nights in our basement turning wood on that lathe.

A few years later, when I was in the 9th grade, I had an open elective available and decided to take wood shop.  My teacher was a man named Mr. Neal.  I will never forget him, It was his instruction that further cemented my love of wood working.  He was the one who taught me to use a Table Saw, a Band Saw and a Planer.  He was also the one who taught me how to cost out a job.  Our class project that year was a Lazy Susan.  He had us cost out all of the materials and the time put in to each one. From that we came up with a selling price and we went out and presold dozens of them.  Then we came back and made each one and delivered them.  Who knew a simple Lazy Susan made of Cedar would have such an impact on me. But it did...

Then again, when I was a Senior in High School I had a open elective and I took wood shop again.  This time my teacher was a man named Mr. Fulton.  He too had an impact on my love of wood working in much the same way Mr. Neal did.  

After I graduated from High School I entered the work force and the years flew by.  Marriage and the birth of my two boys demanded that I focus on a career and that left little time to pursue wood working.  Then, in 2020 two significant events took place that had a profound impact on me, neither of which were Covid.  Cancer took two people who were very dear to me, my Father and my Brother in Law.  The loss of those two affected me in a lot of ways. But, one significant way was to show me that life was both short and fragile and that if you have something that you enjoy, you should pursue it while you are still able.  It was then that I decided to put in the shop and start wood working again.  The years since then have been a bit of a blur.  I've started passing down the skills that I have learned over the years to both of my boys and they have started to develop their own love of wood working.  For me, wood working is a hobby that I love.  It's where I go after a hard day at work to de-stress and clear my head.  It's something I do in my spare time where I can pour my heart and attention to detail into creating something beautiful.  I don't think it will ever become a full time job and I don't think I want it to.  I am blessed to have a full time job that I love.  And by not making it a full time thing it can remain something that is enjoyable and not a source of stress.  And I believe that shows up in the quality of our work.

So, why the website then?  Well, one of the byproducts of our wood working has been a genuine interest from people in our creations.  And, lo and behold, people have actually been willing to pay us for them. So, I decided what better way to market our creations than thru a website.  And thus, Shortt Family Woodcraft was born.  We hope you enjoy your time browsing our creations.  If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us thru the contact page or contact us directly at shorttfamilywoodworking@gmail.com.