Greetings from an old (and getting older) Galoot!)

My name is Zach Dillinger.  You might remember that I have previously been
active on the List and that I spent a few years writing articles and books
for/during the Golden age of Popular Woodworking (I also did some work for
Fine Woodworking and, most recently, for Mortise & Tenon Magazine). My
interest was (and is) building 17th and 18th century reproduction furniture
with period-correct hand tools. I documented my work on my blog, The Eaton
County Woodworker, which I'm sad to say has lain fallow for years after
developing a pretty good following (and a couple hundred thousand page
views).

I'm 40 now, I still live in Michigan and have a wife, an almost-eight year
old daughter, a couple of dogs, a couple of cats, and a shop full of
severely underused hand tools. I'm hoping to change that "severely
underused" bit this year. Abigail (my daughter) is rapidly growing into her
own person and, consequently, the demands on my time have slightly
lessened. In addition, I have struggled with long-undiagnosed ADHD and
other personal issues, including a serious woodworking-related injury,
which made it difficult to gin up the will to go out in the shop.

Finally, after about four years, I'm feeling the urge again. I'm not sure
I'll still be able to cut dovetails or plane boards with the same level of
skill and (dare I say panache) I did previously, but I want to get back out
there and build something.... I'm not sure what yet but I'll be thinking it
over (I'm also a huge old time radio fan... I play Phil Harris in a Jack
Benny radio recreation group!).

Thanks for reading!
Zach
--
Zachary Dillinger
517-231-3374

Zach,

Welcome back! Glad to hear you're ready to make shavings again. Any chance
you'll attend the Great Lakes SAPFM meeting next month?

Say hello to Jackson for me, Wonga.   😉

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: oldtools@g...  On Behalf Of Zach Dillinger
Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 4:46 PM
To: Tools Old 
Subject: [oldtools] Updated bio (it's been a while)

Greetings from an old (and getting older) Galoot!)

My name is Zach Dillinger.  You might remember that I have previously been
active on the List and that I spent a few years writing articles and books
for/during the Golden age of Popular Woodworking (I also did some work for Fine
Woodworking and, most recently, for Mortise & Tenon Magazine). My interest was
(and is) building 17th and 18th century reproduction furniture with period-
correct hand tools. I documented my work on my blog, The Eaton County
Woodworker, which I'm sad to say has lain fallow for years after developing a
pretty good following (and a couple hundred thousand page views).

I'm 40 now, I still live in Michigan and have a wife, an almost-eight year old
daughter, a couple of dogs, a couple of cats, and a shop full of severely
underused hand tools. I'm hoping to change that "severely underused" bit this
year. Abigail (my daughter) is rapidly growing into her own person and,
consequently, the demands on my time have slightly lessened. In addition, I have
struggled with long-undiagnosed ADHD and other personal issues, including a
serious woodworking-related injury, which made it difficult to gin up the will
to go out in the shop.

Finally, after about four years, I'm feeling the urge again. I'm not sure I'll
still be able to cut dovetails or plane boards with the same level of skill and
(dare I say panache) I did previously, but I want to get back out there and
build something.... I'm not sure what yet but I'll be thinking it over (I'm also
a huge old time radio fan... I play Phil Harris in a Jack Benny radio recreation
group!).

Thanks for reading!
Zach
--
Zachary Dillinger
517-231-3374

Welcome Back, Zach! It took me a few months to reconnect my brain and my muscles
after a (something like seven-year) hiatus, but with some intention, I feel like
I’m getting there. I’m sure you’ll be back in fine form in no time. Glad to hear
you’re getting back out there.

Cheers,
Alex Moseley

Zach said…