OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

68223 "Big Frank" <frankie@h...> 1999‑09‑18 Bio for Frank Jordan (Big Frank)
    Well, I finally got around to posting a bio. I've been sneaking around
in here for a few months, receiving a whole lot more info than I've been
giving, and having a wonderful time doing it. I am sort of a beginning
woodworker, and very new to oldtools. I say "sort of " because I'm just
really starting to get serious about learning all I can, drawing on some
past woodworking experience with p**er tools.

    My name is Frank Jordan (I go by Big Frank, referring to my corpulent
stature and manly ways), and I am 26 years old, from Jonesville Indiana, and
have a growing passion for oldtools and traditional woodworking. I have a
beautiful wife, Ginger, and own a rare example of a rare North American,
pot-bellied, sticky-faced yard ape (2 1/2 year old son named Reid.) I work
at night as a corporate protection professional (security officer). (waiting
for the laughter to die down before I continue)

   My all consuming passion before I recently became interested in
traditional woodworking was (and still is) playing the guitar. I currently
am enjoying some small scale, local success with my blues band "The Frank
Jordan Group". We play on a regular basis in central and southern Indiana,
as well as some in Kentucky, Illinois, and even made a trek recently to St.
Louis. We get our music played frequently on a local radio station, and have
had some local media exposure. I enjoy playing and its a great outlet for my
long time love of blues. I've been on hiatus recently while we work in a new
drummer. I lost my last one (Not to death. Just stupidity).

    My interest in oldtools came about from my music playing. I became
fed-up several years ago by the money I was spending on guitar repairmen, so
I learned how to do it myself. Encouraged by my decent results, I tackled
building a complete instrument. It turned out well enough that I built two
more (all solid body electric's). Once again I became fed-up with spending
too much money, this time on the planing and thicknessing jobs I farmed out.
My father gave me an old Stanley type 16 # 4 and a Stanley #220 when I
mentioned an interest in possibly hand planing my work and told me "You'll
never be able get a board level with those things".

    Well, as soon as I got them tuned and sharpened and seen the short and
curlies spewing from the mouth of that #4 and seen the surface left behind
that could never be achieved with sandpaper, I was addicted. I used the #4
to practice leveling small boards, and now after a lot of practice can
almost always square up and smooth some stock without screwing it up
 although my first efforts looked more like doorstop wedges). The funny
thing is that I have not built a single guitar since then, instead gaining
an interest in building furniture and tools.

    In the past I have built a couple of over-the-window shelves, a sort of
Shaker style end table, a thing for my son that folds from a chair into a
step-stool, a marking gage, a bow saw, a sliding bevel gage, and various
other stuff. My current project is another workbench to replace my 2x4
based, plywood topped, Pony "woodworkers vise" stuck on the end contraption.
My new bench is going to be 6' x 2',  31 1/2" tall. It has four 5x5 fir legs
and 2x8 poplar stretchers. I am now constructing the top from face joined
red oak 2x4's for the front section with edge joined red oak 2x6's for the
rear section ( I hated to use the red oak but I got it pretty cheap). I
already have my L shaped tail vise partially constructed, and am going to
have a leg vise for the front. I can't wait to get it done, partially for
the great work surface it will provide, and also because I've put all my
other projects on hold until it's finished. This bench, as Scott Landis
suggested, has truly been an education in common jointery and woodworking
techniques. My next project is going to be an Underhill-style treadle lathe.

    My (quite modest) tool collection consists of a type 16 #4, a UK made
#4, type 10 #5, type 15 #5, type 15 #7, #220, all Stanleys, a Record #6, a
Diamond Edge #5 sized jack plane, Sargent made Craftsman 9 1/2, Stanley made
Craftsman 9 1/2 and an old Stanley 151 and a new crap Record 151R. I have 3
Stanley braces, a 965 and two 945's, and a no name MF style brace that is my
absolute favorite. I have almost a whole set of Irwin augers, a 1/2 a set of
Russell-Jennings augers as well as a bunch of other various brand augers. I
also have a MF #2 and #77 hand drills, a Mowhawk/Shelbourne hand drill,  as
well as 2 Dunlap hand drills ( I believe I like old boring equipment more
than any other oldtools). My 6 piece set of Marples, various old squares
 try and bevel), homemade and Veritas marking gages, Disston rip and
crosscut saws and a Stanley back saw and dovetail saw pretty much round it
out. I hit the estate sales and fleas as often as I can and am gradually
gaining a bigger collection ( I use every one of 'em).

    I greatly enjoy the quiet time I get in my small shop, building decent
things and learning this craft without a lot of noise and blades whirring
dangerously close to my fingers. I really am glad this list exists. I look
forward to reading it every day and can't express how much I have learned
from all the galoots in here. I want to thank all who have answered my
annoying questions in the past. I'm sure I'll continue to sneak around under
the porch, learning more than contributing, but loving every minute of it!



Recent Bios FAQ