OldTools Archive
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119129 | "Richard J. Hucker" <colhuck@n...> | 2003‑06‑23 | Re: Bios from Singapore |
Very Interesting. Then I suppose a garage sale in your town won't net mu= ch in the way of old hand tools?=0D =0D Regards,=0D Col. Huck=0D =0D -------Original Message-------=0D =0D From: Kevin Tan=0D Date: Monday, June 23, 2003 1:45:32 AM=0D To: oldtools=0D Subject: [oldtools] Bios from Singapore=0D =0D Hello all,=0D =0D I'm Kevin Tan and I first saw daylight exactly 42 years ago (Today being=0D my birthday), and grew up here in Singapore, an island situated in=0D South-East Asia with a paltry landmass of 250 square miles, but filled to= =0D the brim with about 4 million people.=0D =0D My current day job is film/video directing & producing, and I've been=0D married for about 2 years, and have been involved with woodworking for=0D about 6 - 7 years.=0D =0D When I was a kid in junior high, I had a couple of years fooling around=0D the wood shop, but most of my wood working skills was picked up during my= =0D 2 1/2 years miltary conscription service which is compulsory for all male= =0D citizen of Singapore between the age of 18 to 21. A knee injury took me=0D out of active training and my CO gave me a choice of being the company=0D clerk or to take charge of the camp wood shop, and I chose the latter for= =0D the simple reason of staying out of the brass' sight!=0D =0D I'm not sure if I'm a galoot in the true sense of the word, as not all of= =0D the 150 odd pieces of handtools in my collection are of vintage origin.=0D Within this lot, about 50 pieces are hand planes with the rest being=0D chisels, saws, bit braces, drills and lay-out/marking tools. As mentioned= ,=0D this was collected over the past 5 years or so, some locally, some from=0D e-Bay, aome from familiar names like Patrick Leach, Bob Kaune, Martin=0D Donnelly, Tom Bruce, etc. The non-vintage tools comes from Lie-Nielsen,=0D Veritas, ECE and others.=0D =0D Before all this came to be, I'd started out as a DIY enthusiast with a=0D whole bunch of tailed tools, which I hardly use today, preferring the=0D relative silence and peace of non corded hand tools, and the obvious=0D pleasure of their usage.=0D =0D Being a wood-worker bent on working with hand tools in Singapore is=0D summed-up in one word; Lonely! To date, I've not met another tool=0D enthusiast here in Singapore who can be bothered with using fine hand=0D tools and absolutely nobody I can show-off my prized Stanley #85 scraper=0D or anyone who can appreciate my favorite pre-war Norris smoother. I read=0D with envy about handplane competition and meetings for tools auctions...=0D =0D Recently, I met Steve Reynold on the internet and he was intrigued that I= =0D might just be the sole Singaporean who'd qualify as a galoot and he urged= =0D me to join the porch, so here I am.=0D =0D It would be my pleasure to hear from anyone hanging round the porch who=0D would like to know about practicing woodworking in Singapore.=0D =0D Warmly,=0D Kevin Tan, Singapore=0D June 23rd 2003.=0D =0D |
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119128 | "Kevin Tan" <smooth-planer@e...> | 2003‑06‑23 | Bios from Singapore |
Hello all, I'm Kevin Tan and I first saw daylight exactly 42 years ago (Today being my birthday), and grew up here in Singapore, an island situated in South-East Asia with a paltry landmass of 250 square miles, but filled to the brim with about 4 million people. My current day job is film/video directing & producing, and I've been married for about 2 years, and have been involved with woodworking for about 6 - 7 years. When I was a kid in junior high, I had a couple of years fooling around the wood shop, but most of my wood working skills was picked up during my 2 1/2 years miltary conscription service which is compulsory for all male citizen of Singapore between the age of 18 to 21. A knee injury took me out of active training and my CO gave me a choice of being the company clerk or to take charge of the camp wood shop, and I chose the latter for the simple reason of staying out of the brass' sight! I'm not sure if I'm a galoot in the true sense of the word, as not all of the 150 odd pieces of handtools in my collection are of vintage origin. Within this lot, about 50 pieces are hand planes with the rest being chisels, saws, bit braces, drills and lay-out/marking tools. As mentioned, this was collected over the past 5 years or so, some locally, some from e-Bay, aome from familiar names like Patrick Leach, Bob Kaune, Martin Donnelly, Tom Bruce, etc. The non-vintage tools comes from Lie-Nielsen, Veritas, ECE and others. Before all this came to be, I'd started out as a DIY enthusiast with a whole bunch of tailed tools, which I hardly use today, preferring the relative silence and peace of non corded hand tools, and the obvious pleasure of their usage. Being a wood-worker bent on working with hand tools in Singapore is summed-up in one word; Lonely! To date, I've not met another tool enthusiast here in Singapore who can be bothered with using fine hand tools and absolutely nobody I can show-off my prized Stanley #85 scraper or anyone who can appreciate my favorite pre-war Norris smoother. I read with envy about handplane competition and meetings for tools auctions... Recently, I met Steve Reynold on the internet and he was intrigued that I might just be the sole Singaporean who'd qualify as a galoot and he urged me to join the porch, so here I am. It would be my pleasure to hear from anyone hanging round the porch who would like to know about practicing woodworking in Singapore. Warmly, Kevin Tan, Singapore June 23rd 2003. |
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119133 | Andrew Midkiff <annarborandrew@y...> | 2003‑06‑23 | Re: Bios from Singapore |
I'll add my warm welcome. I was in Singapore way back in '88 and it was a beautiful country. I do have two questions: 1. What kind of wood do you have access to, is most common there? 2. Where in the heck do you find space to work? I seem to remember that space is a at a bit of a premium and most people don't have much room in their homes. Also, since I'm being nosy, just like a new neighbor, what kind of video/film? Andrew __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com |
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119130 | "Noons" <dbvision@o...> | 2003‑06‑23 | Re: Bios from Singapore |
----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Tan" |
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119131 | "Peter Marquis-Kyle" <peter@m...> | 2003‑06‑23 | Re: Bios from Singapore |
Kevin Tan wrote: [snip bio] > Being a wood-worker bent on working with hand tools in Singapore is > summed-up in one word; Lonely! To date, I've not met another tool > enthusiast here in Singapore who can be bothered with using fine hand > tools and absolutely nobody I can show-off my prized Stanley #85 > scraper or anyone who can appreciate my favorite pre-war Norris > smoother. I read with envy about handplane competition and meetings > for tools auctions... Kevin, I'll join the others in saying Welcome! I can understand that good old hand tools might be hard to get in Singapore, but what about wood? Singapore is a major sea port not far from the (rapidly disappearing) tropical rainforests of Kalimantan and Sumatra -- so, do you see such timber on the market in Singapore? Peter Marquis-Kyle Brisbane, Australia |
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119175 | "Peter Byrne" <P.Byrne@a...> | 2003‑06‑24 | Re: Bios from Singapore |
Hello Kevin, Greetings from a fellow galoot in Perth - not too far from you (4 1/2 hours, which is nothing from this most isolated of cities). I have spent quite a lot of my working life around south east Asia, including Singapore, and understand your feeling of the loneliness of the long distance woodbutcher. Your message coincided with a connection I have just made here. Last week I responded to another Perth Oldtools member who has adapted a #4 plane to an infill - beautifully. We plan to meet soon and swap stories, check out each other's activities and workshops, maybe check out each other's planes! I come across a lot of collectors of old tools, but few who are committed to using them. Those of us who are regular users of hand tools may have smaller output than the others(but hey!, how many pieces of furniture can a house accommodate?) (or how many women who are desirous of jewelery boxes do we have in our lives?) but we understand one of the fundaments of life - that the journey is more important than the destination. I have just discovered the qualities of one of the woods from your region - kapur. Beautiful to work and can almost emulate European walnut. And you get better access to teak, which is almost unaffordable here. Happy Birthday! Peter Byrne Perth, Western Australia |
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