OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

177882 Chris Slack <slackcc@y...> 2008‑02‑26 New Member Bio
Hi all,

In looking through the list archives I've noticed that new members seem
to generally post a bio. So here's a brief summary of who I am.

My name is Chris Slack, I'm 32 and married to my lovely wife Bethany. My
background is as a computer engineer, I worked for several years
designing CT scanners for GE Medical Systems, then spent 3 years
overseas as a missionary with the Christian aid organization Mercy Ships
(www.mercyships.org) where I served at the IT manager on board the M/V
Anastasis (if you like rust you'd have loved that old ship, built in
1953 in Trieste, Italy) spending time primarily in West Africa (also
occasional trips to UK, Holland, Germany, South Africa, and Spain) where
we provided free surgical care to people in some of the poorest
countries in the world (I was in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Benin, and
Liberia). I met my wife on board the Anastasis in 2004 and moved back to
the US to Virginia in 2005 where I worked for a year as a systems
architect for Rosetta Stone. This past summer my wife and I moved up to
S. Hamilton, MA where I am attending Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
working toward my master's degree with the intention of pastoring a
church after I graduate in a few years.

No longer being actively involved as an engineer prompted desires to
exercise the creative and design parts of my brain in a new way, in
addition to using my hands for something other than writting papers. I
had always been interested in woodworking and decided that now was the
time to make a start. Now, we live in a 1 bedroom, on-campus apartment
so some might argue that this was not the best time to decide to take up
an interest in woodworking, but I just see it as a bit more of a
challenge. So I began searching the internet to see what exactly one
needs in order to work with wood and began to find that there seemed to
be a thriving community of those who use only hand tools. This intrigued
me, so I began to build up an arsenal of hand tools (some new and some
old) and built a "portable" workbench (it's portable between rooms but I
don't look forward to the day when I'll have to move it down any
stairs). I'm currently still collecting basic tools to use and have
built the workbench (almost finished) and a shooting board and am in the
process of my first non-shop project which is a simple wooden toy train.
I'm quite enjoying the hobby and am looking forward to learning more and
getting to know those on the list, many of you have already helped me
greatly though your web sites.

Thanks,

Chris

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Recent Bios FAQ