OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

101696 "Stephen Colebourne" <stephenco@o...> 2002‑01‑10 Bio; Stephen Colebourne
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Well ,Have been a subscriber to the old tools list now for well over two =
years and have never quite got around to posting a bio so this new year =
I made it one of my resolutions to finally climb up from under the floor =
boards and come into the light
Born in Derby, England, 4/11/58 ( yep that makes me 43 years of age) , =
Family emigrated to Australia when I was 4 and settled near Brisbane, =
Queensland an area where I seem to keep returning despite many escape =
attempts.My first woodworking experiences ,like many people ,came at =
school when I did the then obligatory year of manual arts in year 8 ,not =
a good introduction,these classes involved a series of exercises which =
increased in difficulty as the year went on starting with a simple =
sample piece which involved cutting a mortice, dovetail etc into a small =
block of wood,then making a simple teapot stand and so on until at the =
end of the year the more advanced students completed a small chest of =
drawers (students were left to work at their own pace) well at the end =
of this year I had the frustration of watching the advanced students =
leaving bearing their chests of drawers under their arms while I still =
struggled to stop my teapot stand from wobbling on any flat surface to =
which it was presented. ( to be fair to myself this school year was =
punctuated by a three month stay in hospital suffering from peritonitis) =
.needless to say that I finished that year with the firm conviction that =
woodworking was not for me!Fast forward 5 years in which the only timber =
I handled was the occasional stick to fend of vicious dogs, left school, =
left home and left Australia in pretty quick succession gave in to a =
hankering I had to see my home country and returned to England,to be =
more precise moved to my maternal home town of Ripon ,Yorkshire,While =
there I traded labour for lodgings with of all people a furniture =
restorer,Woodworking had returned to my life.Stayed in Ripon for about =
18 months punctuated by frequent backpacking trips and just as frequent =
odd jobs (mainly labouring ) to finance my existence ,By this time in my =
life I had also developed an interest in playing Guitar ,being unable to =
afford a decent guitar and being increasingly frustrated by my bargain =
priced cheese-grater I jumped at an offer of work from a luthier in =
Leeds ,the deal was a few hours labour a week in return for knowledge, =
seemed to pick up more knowledge of floor sweeping and wood stacking =
than anything else but this guy ( unfortunately his name now escapes me) =
was the first real craftsman I had the pleasure of watching work and for =
some reason seeing him quietly work in his unhurried and yet efficient =
way changed my opinion of woodworking forever.Killed about 4 years in =
England and Europe basically following the same pattern of working long =
enough to save enough of a kitty to move on to somewhere else and start =
the cycle again.Finally returned to Australia in 79 and settled down to =
the usual ,Steady job ( am now employed as a train driver in Q.R.) =
procreation (four children aged 8 to 16 and of course SWMBO) etc..Now =
when it comes to picking up skills I am sure that I am Teflon coated but =
enough of the wood dust must have rubbed of on me that I persisted with =
woodworking firstly in restoring old furniture that was available quite =
cheaply some years ago and then later in making some of my own and in =
restoring old Queenslander style houses( It may also be the Yorkshireman =
in me that refuses to pay someone to do something I feel I should be =
able to master myself).
.About 8years ago I developed an interest in old tools at first it was =
just the occasional tool picked up at the odd garage sale which I used =
to attend in order to find more restoration projects but it has now =
developed to the stage where the tools have taken over and I seem to =
spend more time refurbishing old tools than using them.Thanks to all for =
sitting through this ramble and thanks again to all those who in the =
past have gladly answered my queries despite my anonimity.The knowledge =
contained in the combined resourses of this list is indeed pricelees and =
the founders if they achieve nothing else should be proud of their =
achievement here
Cheers=20
Steve

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Recent Bios FAQ