First Things First

49 years old this year and the proud father of three. Living in
Medford, OR with my college sweetheart, SWMBO, and her two daughters.
=20 Reconnected with her after a twenty year break, but that is a
different story. Moved around the US and Europe for years in
Armyassignments of my own and my ex-wife=92s. Filled the roles of
soldier, single parent, husband, stay-at-home dad, teacher,
professor,realtor at one time or another.

How Did I Get Here?

After months of lurking, I=92ve decided to come out from under the porch
and post a bio. Roy Underhill=92s dedication in The Woodwright=92s Guide
aroused my curiosity about the use of the term Galoot and a search on
the Net led me to the porch. Since then I have enjoyed the banter,
shared wisdom and creativeness tremendously. I=92ve been sliding down
the slippery slope for most of my life. Blame it on genetics.

My dad owned a small welding and machine shop which provided ample
opportunity to learn about using tools and a good dose oftool making to
boot. He grew up on a farm in Kansas during the 1920s and 30s when you
made your own, fixed what you had andlearned to build what you needed.
As a teenager I discovered his homemade lathe, forge and several tools
in the shop at thehome place. My uncle even kept a box of tin cans that
had handles soldered onto them so they could serve as drinking cups.
Nothingshould be thrown away that can be reused, rebuilt or repaired was
an underlying principle for my father. He passed both philosophyand
skill to his children and we have benefited from it our entire lives.
Dad operated a wonderful learning lab, smiling at mysuccesses and
letting me learn by making mistakes. Our family lived on a small farm
too, while the welding shop produced most ofour income. We did most of
our own repair and remodeling on the 100 year old farm house, rebuilt
our main barn after it was destroyedby a tornado, in large part with
hand tools. Working with both of my parents at home and Dad at the shop
I learned a lot of practical problem solving, woodworking, metal
working,mechanical and machine skills which served me well during my
years in the US Army. While the the Army continually moved to morehigh
tech and expensive solutions, the people that could actually fix things
rather than replace a component became rare over time. My years in the
Ordnance Corps were successful, largely in part to the knowledge that
was planted in my brain as a kid. This made mea bit of an oddity as I
was frequently called =93unconventional, independent and opinionated.=94
That=92s ok because I like thinking for myselfand being known as a guy
that can get things to work when others can=92t. At the end of my 24
(combined active and reserve) years I wasglad to have an opportunity to
spend more time with hand tools and build or repair something that
wasn=92t designed to destroy, maim or kill. I=92ve worked in a number of
white collar jobs since hanging up my uniform. Those occupations which
required daily submission to four officewalls and a computer being my
least favorite. Loved teaching at the high school and college levels but
these days I am happy to concentrateon my own lab work with wood and
rusty metal. Currently, the challenge of making furniture, tools and
restoring some antiques fillsmy days; along with spending lots of time
with a local Boy Scout troop as an adult leader. =46rom my point of view
there seems to be something=20 healthy about having dirt under your
fingernails, mud on your boots and sweat on your brow.

While I have had plenty of powered tools at my disposal, I=92ve had a
deep and abiding fascination with the way that craftsmen have used
their=20 own hands to make everything humankind needed. I studied
history as an undergraduate and visited every living history venue that
I couldfind as I traveled the US and Europe. Blacksmiths, joiners and
gunsmiths shops have been my favorites. Being rather frugal, my ex-wife
wouldcall it something else, I love to haunt flea markets, garage sales
and auctions in search of tools that need a little TLC to get them back
to=20 user condition. There is a great sense of satisfaction in taking
another person=92s junk and making it valuable again. I=92m sure you all
understand that. The bonus is being able to peddle my surplus on e**y
from time to time.

In a roundabout way I am back to where I started. It has been great to
find some Galoots with similar interests and I am truly grateful for youron-
line lessons, humor and brotherhood. Thank you for sharing you talents
and knowledge so freely. Hopefully, I will add something ofvalue to you
in return.

Yours Clay Silsby claysilsby@m...-----------------------------------------------
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