`tis the season for the bio.
G'Day from Downunder. I have lurked for long enough... 2 years or more
since Steve - the Kokomo galoot opened my eyes. Thanks Steve, this list
has a huge body of knowledge, listening for the last few years has been
so informative. I have spoken with a few here over the years, now is the
time to come out from down below and tell my story.
I have 2 kids, and 2 step kids, the youngest is about to turn 20, and a
"step granddaughter", I guess that is the correct title for the lovely
little Isabella. Her Grandmother is my beloved Trish, the most tolerant
of all wives. Good friends around here just say I am blessed; my old
planes and tools live in most rooms of the house.
Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia during 1956 into a family that
valued the ability to make thinks with one's own hands. Our parents
always encouraged us, and provided us with basic tools to do things. I
can't recall the first time I picked up a saw, a hammer, screwdriver or
pliers etc. I studied Mechanical Engineering, but was never satisfied
with just drawing and designing. I always found that making things was
much more rewarding. Jewellery making was my hobby when I was a
teenager. I found it was a fast way to a girl's heart...if girls loved
bookcases, I guess I would've been a cabinetmaker. When I turned 21, I
decided it was the career for me. Making jewellery, using hand tools of
course, has been my profession for almost 30 years now. I have been a
self-employed Goldsmith / Jeweller working in Melbourne since 1980. I
use the traditional hand making techniques, working in gold and
platinum, setting diamonds and coloured gemstones such as sapphires,
rubies, emeralds and pearls, all with rich, fantastic colours. I love
designing and making all types of jewellery, including rings, bangles,
bracelets, pendants and earrings. I design individual jewellery with
each client, taking their ideas, contemporary or traditional, and
incorporating them into a very personal piece of jewellery.
After a divorce and all sorts of turmoil when I was about 30 that fine
woman called Trish came into my life. She knows me well, gave me a small
vice, took my kids to the store where they bought me a spokeshave for
father's day. I made a crude bench, fitted the vice and was able to
start some projects. A r*ut*r followed for my next birthday, and I
bought a compound *l*ctr*c mitre saw on the credit card. 18 months later
I installed a Jarrah staircase to the new upstairs extension.
http://www.petermcbride.com/woodwork/index.htm That was a huge project
and after that one, the rest seem to be simple problem solving and
research. Our kitchen is almost finished, take note: I recently
discovered that kitchen cupboard doors are a way to a woman's
heart!!especially if there were none for 2 years.
The antique and old tools really are a passion, and woodworking using
some of those tools is a joy. Making larger projects in wood gives me
relief from the minute size of my daily work. One of my brothers cuts
trees down, so I have a ready supply of exotic, and native woods to work
with. Timber salvaged from suburban yards that would otherwise have been
cut up for firewood. Like some others around the porch, I have the
tailed apprentices to get my wood into a manageable size. The old tool
passion started like this, my brother the tree feller, phoned one day.
"Do you want a lathe and a table saw? Rocky's father, Tom, is moving
into a retirement village. They are clearing out the garage." He then
said the words that must have awakened something buried deep in the
hidden recesses of my brain... "And there may be some old hand tools"
Old Tom is a gentleman; he re-trained as a Cabinetmaker after service in
WW11. His tools were in a chest, bought from an American Serviceman he
met on a bus. The American married a local girl and settled here after
the war. They were his Father's and Grandfathers tools. Tom went on to
become a teacher, then headmaster, and later The Inspector of Trade
Schools for the State. I bought the power tools for a fair price, and at
his suggestion I would make a pearl brooch in gold for his wife, and Tom
would give me the hand tools. There were 27 wooden planes, 13 iron
planes, the chisels, the marking tools, and more. I had no idea what
some of the planes were used for, they looked so strange, and I knew
even less about what they were worth. Trish and I went to a working-with-
wood show soon after, and we saw a Tool Club stand. I cornered one of
the older guys there and pointed to the display behind him asking what
each was used for. He gave me a basic explanation of fine cabinet making
and invited me to join the club. He suggested I bring some of the planes
to their tool sale in about 2 weeks; the knowledgeable guys would ID
them for me. I did just that, and 5 guys stopped me in the car park
before I got into the room. That set of the alarm bells in my head.
Apart from a fantastic set of moulding planes, chisels and marking
tools, this is a list of some of the treasures he gave me. Metallic
Plane Company Jointer, faucet wheel adjuster. Stanley #5 type 4, smooth
/ jackplane. Shelton #4, scrub plane, Chaplin's early patent #20 block
plane, Stanley #110 block plane Stanley #101 block plane Stanley #100
squirrel tail block plane Stanley #90 block plane Stanley #98, 99 side
rebate planes. Stanley #95 block plane (with a label on still) Stanley
#72 ½ chamfer plane with bull-nose and beader. Stanley #85 tilting
handle scraper plane (fine condition)
As you can see, this is a fantastic run-up-start to a hand tool
collection. It took me months to work out what I had, and with every new
reference book I bought, I realised just how lucky I was. The path down
the slope was slippery indeed, American patented planes were the first,
Chaplin's, then more of the Stanley tools, infill planes, levels,
gauges, etc. I have the rosewood and brass addiction, and boxwood and
brass addiction, and any number of other afflictions much too shameful
to mention. However my most prized tools are a box of mixed moulding
planes, my grandfather's set, bought second hand after he returned home
from Egypt in 1918 very ill. Sent home from the 3rd Light Horse
Regiment, never the same, and never to talk about it. Living in a
different State, we only saw the Grandparents on vacations. I remember
him as a quiet, distinguished man, who made lovely small furniture from
driftwood found on the beaches around Adelaide, South Australia. That is
enough of a tale for now, except for one more thing. I have a few tools
on the workbench that are treasured a little more than the others,
including a very nice Spiers smoother. They came my way because I often
tell people "I make jewellery for old tools"
Kindest regards.
Peter McBride. In sunny, hot Melbourne, capitol city of Victoria,
Australia www.petermcbride.com
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