OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

133779 "Keith R. Fieldhouse" <galoot@f...> 2004‑05‑26 Bio: Keith Fieldhouse
If you folks would pardon the intrusion, I'd like to take a moment to
introduce myself.

After 8 years riding the Internet bubble (I'm a software engineer) up
and down in Seattle, my wife, 2 GITS (Erin, 4 & Maureen 2) and I returned
to our roots in upstate New York (USA).  We've been back about a year
now, tucked into a small apartment while the house we're building on
some acreage in Ballston Lake is finished.  For those far and wide,
Ballston Lake is about halfway between Albany (the state capital) and
Saratoga (site of battle -- your pardon, Jeff -- and thoroughbred racing
in August).  To fill your mind's eye discard what you know of New York
City/Brooklyn/The Bronx and replace it with your visions of Vermont and
you'll not be far off, especially if you remove a measure of quaint.

With the move comes a position which leaves some room for the pursuit of
interests beyond work and family, and so while I'm temporarily relieved
of the need for home and yard maintenance I've been researching those
interests.  Which leads me to the porch.

I've long had an interest in woodworking and started to look into
what I might do to set up a small shop in my forthcoming basement.
I started looking at the traditional path (yes, that's an ironic term in
this context) of powered jointers, planers, table saws and everything
else. All leading to dust collection systems and extra circuits and
sound proofing and dollars.

Coincident with this was research into boat building (another long time
interest). Primarily I'd been looking into building a stitch-and-glue
kayak but I was also raiding the Southern Adirondack Library System for
books on more traditional boat building techniques and plans.

And these "hand planes" and "spokeshaves" and "draw knives" and "caulking
irons" would show up.  So more raiding of the library system.  And Google
searches.

And so, to the porch.  Let me just take a moment to say to you all,
collectively, "thank you".  What I've learned by lurking here these last
several months and by working my way through the truly well presented
archive (a gem and then some compared to most on-line archives) has been
truly special. That coupled with a wondrously congenial atmosphere makes
this list a refuge and a resource that has become quite important to me.

And so instead of dust collection systems and many dollars, I wander
through flea markets on occasion and that certain kind of "antique" store
(you know the sort: they don't smell of furniture polish, but rather of
other things probably best left unnamed) looking for the small set of
hand tools that'll be required to build "Bob and Dave's Good, Fast and
Cheap Bench" and just few dollars now and again. I've already found a
smoothing plane and a jack plane (Stanley, Type 11s) that with a little
care should make "good users".  And a brace and some bits. I poke through
saw barrels now and wouldn't mind finding some chisels.

I also took a Blacksmithing class with William Senseney at Hancock Shaker
Village, scratching another long standing itch. So the post drill and
anvil I picked up (really cheap and reasonable, respectively) aren't
evidence of this slope I hear tell about, are they?

I really do think I'd like to build a pole lathe someday as well.

We'll see what life brings, but in the meantime I thank you all for your
time and your indulgence.

With best regards,

Keith Fieldhouse



Recent Bios FAQ