OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

21808 John Hall <john@k...> 1997‑07‑10 Bio: John Hall
Greetings!

I have been gently chided for posting without providing a bio. My
apologies. Permit me to introduce myself.

I'm John Hall. I live in Rochester, New York (actually just outside
Rochester, in the Town of Irondequoit). I'm 47, married to a 
lovely French-Canadian named Joanne. We have no children.

I'm a software engineer at Eastman Kodak. I specialize in embedded
systems. I hold a Private Pilot certificate, but have been inactive
for several years.

When I was young, I remember my Dad usually had some woodworking or
carpentry project underway. His projects were functional - a play
house, a picket fence, a bookcase headboard, a kitchen island, 
and bookshelves - always more bookshelves. Growing up during the 
'50's I was usually around to "help" him. 

Back then he worked exclusively with hand tools. Hammer, saw,
plane, brace and bit. He didn't own a power tool until about 1965 
when he got a circular saw. I remember my mother was scared he'd cut
his fingers off with it. He was a surgeon, he made his living with 
his hands.

I really got started doing woodworking myself eight or nine years ago
when we bought a house with room for a shop. Of course, I went to
Sears and bought a bunch of p***r tools. Over the years I've come
to remember and understand the hand tool way of doing things. I
find sensual pleasure in planing. The feel of the plane, the 
sight of the shavings curling away, the smell of the wood, the quiet
sound of the wood fibers being sliced all work together to create a
very pleasant experience. Sometimes I'll go down to the shop and
turn some scrap into shavings, just for fun.

My tools are a mix of new and old. My most galootish treasures
are a LN skew rabbet block plane, a Stanley #7C with a #386, a
1900-era #45, and Stanley #80 and #81 cabinet scrapers. A lot of 
my stuff came from garage sales and flea markets and is functional 
if not collectible. All of my tools are users and get used except 
for the cranky old wooden screw-arm plow with crumbling screw 
threads that graces the top of my TV cabinet. My most-used old-tool 
is a #5C with a "sweetheart" logo iron..

I'm not gonna lie to you guys. I use and enjoy old hand tools.
I also use and enjoy new hand tools and power tools. In this 
forum, of course, I'll be restricting my discourse to the former.

I do a little of everything from remodelling to cabinetmaking.
I guess the classiest thing I've built is a chess table, a wedding
present for my brother. It had Shaker style legs and apron, with a 
top inspired by one of Krenov's chess tables. The table was maple, 
with a maple and rosewood game board. It had a drawer with 
compartments for the chessmen, and a secret compartment behind.

I've still got a lot to learn about wood, tools, and the craft.
I'm mighty glad to have encountered you folks on your porch.

John Hall
john@k...



Recent Bios FAQ