Impressive collection of little things .. for those of us who spend
more time figure out new ways of hanging their tools on the wall than
actually USING them, this has enormous appeal!!!

Welcome aboard... you're in some of the finest company you'll find
anywhere .. online or off!!

Slainte!!

Jim E #2 in Wisconsin

On 12/22/06, John & Carol Maki  wrote:
> Greetings to all,
>
> As a new Galoot, I am submitting my bio...
>
> I am a 66 year old Galoot, retired 11 years ago from 3M Company in St.
> Paul, Minnesota.  Although my education is in electrical engineering,
> most of my career was in the management of design engineering or product
> development functions.  Very soon after retiring SWMBO and I moved to
> the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, which has since been our happy
> home!
>
> I have always been a "hands-on" kind of Galoot, with two afflictions.
> First (like many on this board) I am an admitted tool-aholic!  If it has
> a sharp edge or a motor, I have to have one!  Second, I love detailed,
> miniature things. beginning with scale model planes, later to the
> collection of miniature cameras, with a short stop at scale steam
> engines, and then onto scale models of classic wood working tools.
>
> When I retired I wanted to learn how to operate a metal lathe and a mill
> ("Hi, my name is John and I'm a Tool-aholic").  I planned to build steam
> engines but soon found that they required lots of time to complete,
> which began to stretch my attention span.  I also found that completing
> an engine was not enough, because then you then needed to build a
> boiler, and then some kind of model which would be powered by the
> engine.  It was beginning to look like an arctic winter night.
>
> Somewhere back then I ran across an article on Paul Hamler, and his
> miniature tools.  The light came on!  I didn't have enough space to hold
> a collection of large tools and, further, I didn't have the cash to buy
> the exotic tools that I found fascinating in the first place.
> Therefore, I decided to build my own antique classic tools, but in a
> small and manageable scale.  I set my target at 1/3 scale, with the
> materials of choice being ebony, cocobolo, brass, nickel/silver and
> soft-steel (all items that machine nicely).
>
> It was all soooo right!  I could own a collection of "miniature"
> woodworking "tools" which were made using a small "lathe and mill" (so
> I'm
> a Normie!) with a material cost was almost "nothing"!  Further, I could
> produce a finished miniature in usually less than 40 hours (which has
> proven to be my personal attention span).
>
> During the past six years I have created about 40 different tools, all
> for my own enjoyment.  In the process I have met some great
> people.including an opportunity to spend face-to-face time with the man
> who started me down the road, Paul Hamler.
>
> Although I am not and will never be a fine machinist, learning to use a
> mill and a metal lathe has also forced me to develop a whole new thought
> process.  I have learned how important it is to carefully design the
> tool and plan the entire machining operation before making the very
> first cut!
>
> I have concluded my bio with an address to my photo file which displays
> most of my miniatures.  About 1/3 of the tools were copied exactly from
> their full-size fathers.  I have found I can now "justify" buying a good
> original example of a tool which will provide dimensions and
> construction details.  When I'm through with the copy, I have been able
> to re-sell the original with little or no lose of money.  The rest of my
> tools are based upon photographs from books,         , or museums.  This
> approach is much more difficult since the photos are often taken at some
> odd angle which defies accurate scaling.  Further, I have not yet found
> a way to get inside a photo to see how the darned thing went together!
>
> I have enjoyed exchanges with Scott Grandstaff for several years, and
> look forward to meeting other Galoots in the future.
>
> Happy Holidays to All!
>
> John Maki
>
> Port Ludlow, WA
>
> "Minitool"
>
>
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