My name is Dan and I'm...I'm a...a galoot.  I really didn't mean to become
one.  It all started so innocently with a pocket knife and a peice of
basswood.  I was just going to whittle a couple of things in my spare time.
But in no time I found myself buying hand drills and drawknives from
back-alley antique shops.  From there it was a short hop to braces and
augers.  But after a while even they didn't fill the craving.  When the tool
pusher at the flea market showed me a jointer plane I couldn't resist.  Now
if I don't get a plane fix regularly I get the shakes.

Is there any way out of this madness?

I hope not!!!

Actually I've been a hardcore computer geek for the last 15 years or so.
I've never really done much woodworking.  Oh, I've got a scroll saw out in
the garage, but mostly it just sits there and mocks me.  Anyway, earlier
this year I decided I needed to do something creative that was completely
unrelated to computers to alleviate stress.  I bought a pocketknife and
began doing some carving.  After getting comfortable with that I decided I
wanted to build some boxes and small furniture.  I've never really liked
power tools much (the scroll saw was an attempt to convince myself I did).
While searching the net for carving patterns and such I ran across the
Electric Neandrethal and shavings.net.  Hmmm...there's some pretty cool
stuff here, thought I.  Well, I'm sure you know how it goes from here...buy
a few tools...boy, these are expensive...wonder if I can make some...and
there I was...a galoot.

Now to be truthful, I haven't made a whole lot yet...I've got lots of plans,
but it seems there's always one more tool I need before I can start.

Cheers
Dan