I posted my bio last in 2008, since then...

I'm still married to my first wife of 41 years. My son has moved to
Lafayette, IN, where he works in a restaurant, my oldest daughter (a
nurse) in Asheville, NC is busy working full time, parenting 2 1/2
year-old twins, and going full-time to graduate school; and, my youngest
daughter now lives in Asheville, NC as well, it getting married next
Spring, has bought an old house, and still works as an Occupational
Therapist.

Redoing the interior of our house is completed (new kitchen, bathrooms,
floors, paint, etc), a new patio and screened in porch are built, and a
stacked-stone terrace wall in the back yard has completed the
landscaping.  Maintenance and gardening are now my primary jobs in this
regard.

I continue to focus on woodworking related to my hobby of participating
in 18th century (American Revolutionary War) living history
reenactments. I have completed a folding four-post field bedstead, a
rectangular leather-covered trunk, a round leather-covered campaign
trunk, and a packing crate (re-purposed into a box). I'm almost finished
making a folding walnut Chippendale side chair. My next related projects
will be a folding table, a writing slope, a liquor chest, a tea caddy,
and a small metal-lined icebox. I need a triangular hat box, but haven
decided if I'll do that in wood or leather.

As I look forward to making the writing slope, liquor chest, and tea
caddy, I hope to learn how to use 18th century style sawn veneer, so
this will be my new learning effort moving forward.

I did not teach summer school this past summer and took advantage of the
available time to take a class in using hollows and rounds from Matt
Bickford, and a woodworking hand tools essentials class from Lonnie
Bird. Both classes advanced my woodworking skills quite beyond my
expectations. My new-found skill in cutting dovetails (Thank you Lonnie
Bird!) has sharpened my need for a Moxon-style vise, so I've got that
project on my list for immediate action.

I have stepped down as Director of Assessment for the College of
Education where I work, but I still administer the Early Childhood
Education programs and teach. I hope to retire in May 2013!

This past spring, summer, and fall have been full of wonderful 18th
century living history events in which I've participated as a 1770's
Loyalist landowner in PA/VA, or a French & Indian War period French
Marine, and have included lots of wonderful music (I play mandolin--
mostly 18th-early 19th century Celtic and American/British folk music).

My primary focus in using tools at this point is in building the camp
equipage I need for my 18th century impression. I also have projects in
mind to give to my children (tables, chests, and the like). I've got a
long (Queen-sized) end-of-bed mahogany blanket chest body that I made
back in the early 70's, but never finished, so I've got that high on
the list as a wedding present for my youngest daughter.

While I realize this is complete and utter blasphemy, I have begun to
realize that I have most of the tools I need or will ever use the rest
of my life. With the exception of handsaws (I Do have a serious
collecting problem there), I have one each of most of my tools (barring
those where multiples are really needed, e.g. marking gauges,
turnscrews, dividers, etc.).  While it's nice to know that I can reach
for almost any plane I need, in reality I find that I use the same few
for most of my work (ditto chisels, spokeshaves, saws, hammers, layout
tools, and the like).

Cheers, John

John M. Johnston