OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

149149 "Dan McCloskey" <dmccloskey72@c...> 2005‑08‑29 BIO Dan McCloskey
BIO:

Dan McCloskey  -- Ayer, Massachusetts

The BIO, long overdue and, what's worse -- it's from a long-time lurker
(really). But, no more.

Troops of Galoots!

I count myself among the fortunate of this world to have discovered this
list years back.  What a wealth of information and experiences are presented
here daily!  I recently moved out of Boston and now have a place to setup a
shop.  Being 54, married, two girls (out of college, out of the house) I can
pursue something that has always been in the back of my priorities list. But
with a balanced approach WRT SWMBO's priority list -- which, although, can
raise and extend itself automatically!

I am a product of a vocational High School in Boston:  Electrical and
Industrial Electronics. But..., starting as a freshman, I was introduced to
cabinetmaking.  I recall fondly making tapered legs for tables with the use
of a #5 plane with six strokes two inches from the end, five strokes four
inches from the end, four strokes six inches from the end ... until you are
back far enough to where the taper ought to begin -- turn the leg a quarter
turn and begin again, and Voila, tapered legs. Learned how to sharpen plane
irons, how to match up dowel holes with dead-on accuracy for table tops by
using a Stanley dowel jig and brace.  Cutting to length your own dowels and
then banging them through that plate of 'arn that fluted them in one
operation.  THEY DO NOT TEACH THIS ANYMORE at the high school level.
Through my years in HS I used to cut through the cabinet shop on my way to
home room and would linger asking my friends there how they made some
particular project as the time progressed.

Well, rightly or wrongly I was seduced by computers, and that is what I have
been doing all these years.

I drove to Sandy Moss' house to pay him for a beautiful Disston rip saw that
he sent to me; and it's my first rip saw.  At first it was difficult to spot
him in his garage as he was wearing his "Galoot Stealth hat" luckily for me
he must have bent over to pick up something when his hat fell off!  What a
friendly and knowledgeable chap (affable guy, Paddy) he is! Thank you again,
Sandy.

Some years past, Galoot Scott Stager came to town. And we hooked up and
talked about all kinds of stuff -- thank you too Scott.

I hope to meet other Galoots in the area someday, as I seem to be able to
tell from their posting locations that they are not too far away from me. 

OH yah, almost forgot -- every time I do something with a chisel, I find I
am making dead certain that I am well balanced for those awkward slices
because of what I learned from the thread on this list titled "IF IT SLIPS
WHERE'S IT GONNA GO"  remember that one.

You other lurkers -- and you know who you are.  Post a BIO, post a BIO!

Sincerely,

Dan McCloskey

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Recent Bios FAQ