OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

72338 "Paul T. Radovanic" <paulrad@c...> 1999‑12‑14 Bio
Gentle Galoots,

I posted my "bio" when I joined this illustrious Porch a few years
ago.  However, I neglected to put the word "bio" in the subject line
(I think), so it never made it to the official index.

http://www.mcs.net/~rallen/oldtools/html/galoots.html

 I kept meaning to rectify my error, but it was easy to put off.
Anyway, a number of people have requested bios from those of us
not on the index, so here it is.

I caught the bug from helping Dad & Grand-dad around the house,
and was lucky enough to have had some excellent teachers in
Industrial Arts and Woodshop through school.

Finishing has always been my first love, and I guess my favorite
tool is a good brush.  Finishing is aesthetically beautiful,
technically fascinating, and it's what really makes the wood come
alive.

I built a few small, Fugly projects through the years, using a
c*rc*l*r saw, a hammer, and a Workmutt (tm), but on the whole, it
was pretty frustrating.  I kept thinking "If only I had the space and
the equipment..."

There was a guy who owed me $300.  Out of the blue, he calls me
up one day.  His father had passed away and left him some
equipment that he had no use for.  Would I accept a TS, lathe and
powuh jointuh to settle the old debt?  This came right at the time
we moved into our current house, which had a large enough
garage.  Divine intervention?  After I returned to earth, I accepted
his offer.

So I butchered pine into something resembling bookshelves and
shoestands for a while, watched Nahm on TV, then stumbled onto
rec.norm, and my learning increased exponentially.

There was this not-so-little old (list)Mom from Pasadena who kept
proselytizing about hand tools.  I remember thinking he should get
out more.  But he made a lot of sense, too, so I kept listening.  So
I owe my hand tool fetish to Paddy, in a big way, and I'm proud to
call him a pal o'mine.  It was he that I sent my first plane epiphany
to; and he that guided me through the first, fumbling plane-tuning.  I
found this list, and my first impression was that rec.norm was a
raucous, epoxy covered beach bar, but the Porch was a French-
polished walnut gentlemen's club.  And ladies.  ;o)  The information
and camaraderie on the Porch is head & shoulders above the other
online sources.  Thanks for being here.

That was about twenty planes ago, not to mention various and
sundry braces, bits, hand saws, chisels and scrapers.  I'm just
getting into scrapers; I have a few card scrapers and a #80 that I
finally figgered out.  I have been mostly a bottom-feeder, but my
sights are rising daily.  I have attempted dovetails exactly twice.
The first attempt was a disaster in lacewood (duh) with a junk saw
(double duh); the second attempt with an old DT saw and walnut
was much better, but still nothing to write home about.

I've learned to build pretty good tables, mostly of the hall-table or
sofa-table variety.  I guess I've made four or five so far.  My M&T's
are tight, and my hand-planing skills are improving.

I doubt if I'll ever do much ripping by hand, but for every other
function, I try to do it the Galootish way.  I like the quiet solitude
and the connection with the craftsmen of yore.  When using my
various tools, I think of people I've known, based on the age.

I like the lathe best of all -- it's the feel of hand tools without the
labor.  ;o)

Like I said, thanks for being there, everyone.  I wonder how people
learned woodDorking before the internet?

Paul Radovanic
Dunedin, FL



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