OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

52484 John.S.North@V... (John S. North) 1998‑10‑30 Obligatory Bio
This is way overdue and  is submitted  as a compliance measure. If I liked the
idea I suppose I'd have done it long ago.

When I was seven  I was given the choice of taking either piano or woodworking
lessons. A real no-brainer even for a kid.

To make a couple of extra bucks during the depression an old guy in my hometown

set up a  woodworking classroom  in his basement where he taught the basics of
using  handtools. I got off to a great start,  but blew it by not following up
until recently.

Between then and now I worked a variety of  jobs:   the black gang in the
Merchant Marine; gandy dancing in Alaska;  the Navy in which I actually did see
a lot of the world; worked construction in New England; taught at a Mid-Western
university; worked on an oil refinery, a  railroad in New Jersey,  a national
food company and a big communications outfit, among others.

These jobs paid OK, but they didn't do much for building woodworking skills;
and between work and raising a family there wasn't much time left over.

Retired now, living in the country, raising a few critters, growing apples, hay
and trees, which fortunately grow without much help from me, I can spend some
time on fun stuff.

I'm looking to fill some empty slots in my  tool chest, and a whole lot of gaps
in my woodworking skills.



Recent Bios FAQ