OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

56109 Brandon Ford <bford@s...> 1999‑01‑19 Bio
GGs,
?Heres my bio as promised, Paddy.   I must confess to being a lurker
for about three years!  (I know this is not a record, but it may be
close.)  I have participated in a limited way -- buying a chisel plane
kit from Rob Kempinski and a hard black Arkansas stone and other stuff
from Keith, as well as a few private e-mails to members of the group
but it took Paddys shellac-o-rama to smoke me out.  Well, Im out and
glad of it!

My interest in woodworking took a serious turn when I owned my first
wooden boat 20 years ago.  Power tools dont help much when youre
swinging from a mooring, so I acquired an egg-beater drill, chisels,
handsaws, etc.

My descent down the slippery slope accelerated when I built a new mast
for one of my later boats.  A shipwright friend of mine advised me on
the project and loaned me a couple of tools I needed, which included a
Stanley #5.  While wading through shavings a foot deep I thought, I
have got to get one of these!  Now, 50 planes and countless other hand
tools later, theres no looking back.

I joined the Pacific Northwest Tool Collectors Club five years ago with
the intention of sticking around for a year or so until I acquired the
tools I needed.  It seems, however, that there are still a few items on
my list that I need.  (Some I really, really need.)  I have also found
that at every meeting I see some tool that I didnt know I needed.  The
club is also filled with a great bunch of guys (many of whom are on the
list or lurk).  I live in a great area to find neat old tools. Aberdeen,
Wash., was a great wooden ship building center from the 1800s to WWII
and there are still yards that turn out smaller craft.  Every once an a
while I stumble on to old shipwright tools for sale.  They are getting
harder to find, however.

The tools I buy are with the intent of using them.  So I am pleased when
I find a needed tool thats in user shape.  The NIB stuff holds no
interest for me.  One of my favorite planes is an old, no-name English
shoulder plane with a depression in the rosewood infill where the users
index finger rests.  How many generations of woodworkers did it take to
do that? If I was guessing, Id say this plane is more than 120 years
old and it still does the job it was made to do like nothing else can.
Amazing!

In addition to messing around with a boat, I have a century-old home
that always needs some TLC.  I envision cranking out great woodworking
masterpieces from my basement shop but most of the time the shop is
reduced to This Old House Maintenance Department.  Still, I have built
several pieces of furniture of which I am proud.

I must confess that I occasionally use a 1938 Delta Unisaw and a
pre-1938 Walker Turner lathe. They may plug in, but they are still
OldTools (hey, they are 60 years older than your L-N planes). Dont
worry, Paddy, I wont extol the virtues of p*w*r t**ls in public.

Well, now you know all my secrets.  I promise to keep quiet unless I can
contribute in a
meaningful way.

Brandon Ford, Aberdeen, WA, 20 miles south of Humptulips, if ya need to
know.



Recent Bios FAQ