OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

49479 "Echols, Scot" <Scot.Echols@E...> 1998‑09‑10 BIO of Scot Echols
Greetings Galoots,

I am returning to the list after a year and a half hiatus due to a very
strenuous workload, and a really anemic email system at work. I am really
glad to be back. My general info is... 38, Married, four children (up one
from a year ago), and (still) working in the computer industry in Portland,
Oregon.

I got started in the faith ust about three years ago, and have grown a
pretty nice collection of mostly user planes and saws with a few yankee
screw drivers thrown in for good measure. I did a lot of construction work
in my youth, and have been around tools and workshops all of my life. I do
some professional woodworking as a side line (primarily to justify buying
more tools and wood), and have recently gotten into gunsmithing to carry on
a family tradition of building our own hunting rifles, which my Dad has been
doing since his youth. Other vices include clock repair and restoration, and
designs on a home made mulie saw to start milling my own lumber.

The tool thing started because I had been coveting (which I understand is a
virtue in this religion) an old carpenters tool box of my Dad's which he
built and stocked in the 1930's while an apprentice to his Father. Dad had
several nice old hand tools, including a couple of planes and old saws of
Grandpa's that had facinated me since childhood. After several years of
trying to get Dad to part with the loot, I decided to build one of my own,
and began the quest for some old tools to occupy it.

I picked up my first plane at a flea market for 15 bucks. It was pretty old
looking, so I decided to do some research on the web and see what I could
learn about it. I stumbled accross Jay Sutherland's home page that was then
the repository of the B&G, and learned through my research that I had landed
a type 3 Bailey #5. I was pretty well hooked by that time, and began reading
everything I could about planes, and how to restore and use them. I became a
devotee of Scary Sharp, and continue to use it (although I had to learn to
use my eye instead of my finger to align plane blades- Ouch!) I use
handtools as much as possible in all my wood working just because it feels
right, and I like the results a LOT better.

I have collected a pretty nice set of users, and have recently gotten
interested in wooden planes and even tried my hand at making one (then I
promptly went out and bought a book on it). My best moment in tooling was
earlier this past summer. My Dad told me that he thought I was ready to take
care of my Grandpa's planes, and passed on a #62, a #45, and a #8 that have
been in the family even longer than Dad. They are not my oldest, nor
necessarily my most valuable tools, but they are definitely my most prized
and cherished of all; the 62 and 45 have places of honor in the living room
(how I got the spousal unit to buy off on tools on the mantle is a whole
nuther story ;-).

I am glad to be back on the list, and am looking forward to the interaction
again with a great group of people.

Regards,
Scot Echols



Recent Bios FAQ