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269404 Abraham Hyatt <abrahamhyatt@g...> 2019‑11‑14 Bio
At the gentle prodding of The Elf Wrangler I realize I need to quit lurking
and send out a bio. I'm Abraham, I hail from Alameda, Calif., and I've been
mangling wood in one form or another for about 20 years. I'm lucky enough
to own -- and use -- family hand tools that span four generations (mainly
planes and saws). I have a tiny shop space so most of my tools are hand
tools. When it comes to woodworking I still consider myself to be a novice,
definitely a middle-aged Galoot-in-training. My most recent project was
making a bedside table. My goal this year was to get better at dovetails
and, eh, I'm still not quite there.

About five years ago I decided to learn how to restore a Henry L. James
jointer owned by my great-great-great grandfather. That lead to another
plane and another plane and now I spend some of my time collecting user
wooden planes and restoring them back to working condition. Doing a deep
dive into 19th century plane makers and planemaking has been really fun,
especially when I don't have time to get in the shop. Along the way I've
somehow picked up more than 100 woodies; my latest project was tuning up a
Winsted Plane & L Co. spar plane.

I work as an EMT and I'm about to go to back to college, about two decades
later than most folks do. Along the way I've framed houses, paved freeways,
and worked as a journalist and magazine editor. Most of my time is taken up
by my two little boys. I recently taught my five-year-old how to plane with
a little Sargent 106 and some soft pine and now he keeps asking to make
more shavings.

Best,
Abraham Hyatt

Recent Bios FAQ