OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

60926 "John Quinn" <macandjp@h...> 1999‑04‑09 Bio hazard
Good day. Right now, I'm sitting in a branch library hoping one of my
students will come by, ardently pursuing the never-ending quest for
truth and knowledge.
     When I'm not hanging out in the library or teaching high school
English in San Francisco, I'm usually found across the bridge (the
orange one) in San Rafael, with my wife and our two cats.
     I grew up in Ohio and gravitated out here to California (via
Southern Arizona) in the early 1980s. During the summers, I always
painted (a trade my dad taught me) and did carpentry, which I learned
by reading, asking questions and more DAMHINT experiences that I
care to remember.
     In the late '80s, I spent much of one summer working for an
older widow in the East Bay, whose father had been a carpenter.
(Opps. Got interrupted. One of the my kids showed up looking for help
on her research report. I'm sooo happy.) Anyway this fellow had a
pretty interesting story, which came out in pieces over noon-day
conversations with the lady of the house. We got started on these
talks because I had come across the tool chest that he had made,
lying on the floor in the little shop that her husband had built for
his workshop. The tool chest had more than a few old tools in
it,including some old Bailey planes, some chisels and a few other
interesting tools. I was fascinated with them and the stories about
the man who owned them.
     Since, then, I've hunted for old tools and the old stories
attached to them. I love bringing them back to life, especially those
that look as though they have seen use for 50 or 100 years or more. I
feel as though tuning them up and using them somehow pays homage to
both the tools and their earlier owners. Anyway, I do the best I can.
     I've always liked fixing things, so I went to work restoring
furniture, something I really enjoy. It affords me the chance to use
my tools and once in a great while, I see very old or interesting
pieces.
     It's been great to find the list and the passel of
intelligent and good natured galoots that occupy it.

--John Quinn

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Recent Bios FAQ