OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

112096 "Matthew M Davis" <mmd@d...> 2002‑12‑03 Finally, a BIO [long]
I'm such a slacker.  I've been meaning to post a bio forever, but have just
been too unfocused.  Here goes:

My main hobby has always been collecting expensive hobbies.  Over the years,
I've had several.

I came upon my latest obsession because of the magic of TiVo.  For those of
you unfamiliar with that magic box, one thing TiVo does is harvest shows you
might like, leaving them on the disk drive for you to watch at your leisure.

So there I was one day, checking out the list, and there was Norm, the
master of the tailed demons (leave your boos for the end...).  I remembered
the fun I had in shop class 15 years or so ago, and decided I had to make
some stuff.

Of course, I had some constraints in my drive for the ultimate satan-powered
shop.  I had no space, and I had no money.  So I dug up a toolbox I had
inherited from my great-great-grandfather, and began to supplement its
meager contents with some real tools (great-great-granddad was cheap...).

By now, of course, I have little to no interest in ever acquiring any power
tools, having made some stuff the hard way and enjoying it quite a bit.

So, here's my homemade bench, which I whipped together outta 2x4s from the
Borg (Bob Key of course providing the inspiration, if not the actual plan),
and which is so small that the Veritas twin-screw vise covers almost half
its length:

http://www.mode3.com/mmd/Tools/bench.jpg

Here's my toolbox, which holds my growing collection of old and new-old
tools:

http://www.mode3.com/mmd/Tools/toolbox.jpg

And here's a little table that I made so that SWMBO would have a place to
put stuff while she nursed SWMBOette (who is currently 5 mos. old):

http://www.mode3.com/mmd/Tools/table.jpg

You may note that the bench and toolbox, and in fact my whole 'shop' are
outside.  I've managed to make all this stuff on a balcony that is at most
30 square feet.  One of the advantages of living in Old Tool Hell (Southern
California) is that the weather is always good.

Soon, I will be moving to Old Tool Heaven (or close enough, Philadelphia),
and then I plan to really build my arsenal.

Sorry for the delay in complying with the bio rule.  You've all been
amazingly tolerant of all the questions from a guy too lazy to get his life
story together.

Best,
Matt



Recent Bios FAQ