Hi all,
I shouldn't be here. First, I'm violating the recommendation that
newbies lurk while reading the archives and I've only done that for 3
days. Second, I shouldn't be reading msgs from guys who coll&%! and
use hand tools; they'll just give me ideas.
In my defense I can only present myself as a weak, undisciplined guy
can't resist his urges. I spent several hours reading everything on
the Galoot website and I can't say I've felt so 'connected' to a
website before. After wandering the various Yahoo woodworking
conferences the website was like a breathe of fresh air.
So..by way of introduction, I'm a guy who's got a bit of gray on the
roof and 54 years behind him. I've got a supporting wife and an
8-year old daughter that is my center of attention. I've spent time
as a research scientist (ecological processes) and several years as
editor-in-chief of a major model airplane magazine. These days I
write and do translations, having given up the hectic world for a
French world that I mostly don't understand :-)
To more pertinent stuff...
When it comes to woodworking, I'm mostly a model builder. I've built
models for roughly 40 years and I'm still not good at it. I do have a
sense, however, that the next one will be perfect. These days I'm
interested in building 1/12 scale furniture and the most impressive
thing about it is how many 1/12 scale board feet you can get for very
little money :-) I also build Native American flutes and, of course,
do all the honey-do projects around the house. An upcoming project
is a new bed for my daughter. I would be remiss if I didn't mention
the most important recent project - a large crayon box my daughter
and I made last weekend. It was her first experiences with a saw and
she became an accomplished nail-driver.
We're in the process of moving into a house (again), having lived in a
small apartment for way too long. This will allow me to have a shop
again. I've got a bunch of power tools in storage, some of which I
miss dearly. BUT, I've spent a while without them and found that
working wood with your hands is...well very enjoyable and a whole lot
more quiet. My table saw got sold during our last move and I've sort
of decided not to replace it.
So, here I am, more interested in hand planes and chisels than in what
sort of gizmo Norm Abrams is using. To be honest, I have few of the
tools that you discuss regularly, partly because most of my hand
tools are small to fit the models I build and partly because I've
been caught in the mental vortex of 'cutting = power saws', 'drilling
= drill press', etc.
Moving from that vortex to the one where you feel drawn by some
irresistable force to any piece of rust sitting on a flea market
table seemed so easy, so seamless. I picked up a Disston D-8 (24",
10-tooth) a couple weeks ago, a Stanley type 15 (I think) the week
before that and, [whisper mode]...I think I'm hooked. I hope you
will accept me and my feeble attempts at woodworking.
Cheers --- Larry Marshall (GIT)
Quebec City, QC
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