Hello all,
I came out of the woods and up near the porch last November, and
have really enjoyed the posts, they are a welcome respite from the
boredom I often feel doing nothing but computer graphics. BTW I'm in
Madison, Wisconsin--any galoots from here? I'm updating the bio I
sent then because it never made it into the bios list in the
archive...
I'm an amateur in these matters. I've always like hand tools, but
with the exception of watching a friend working in his shop and
acquiring a few tools during the heyday of the Maxwell Street Flea
Market years ago, I haven't done much with them. In art school I took
a woodworking class and worked with a friend on some picture frames
for my work in his shop, but didn't really take to p***r tools. I've
worked as a graphic artist since then, spending most of my work time
in front of a Mac and churning out brochures and research posters and
other digital stuff.
Last fall my wife asked me to make something for her 5th grade
classroom and I unpacked and sharpened tools I had and one thing led
to another--you know, I could have done that job so much better with
just a couple more tools. And of course I had to build some
sawhorses. Next thing I knew I was haunting Ebay, old tool web sites,
antique malls, garage sales...the sorry progression into something
that would resemble collecting if I hadn't brought things home and
cleaned and sharpened and tried to learn how to use them.
Without going into types, I've acquired a few user tools: Stanley
planes and scrapers -- #3, #4, #5, #7, #60 1/2, #60 1/2, #40, #48
and #49, #71, #78, #79, #80, #82, #98, and #191; a Sargent 1080
combination plane, a craftsman rabbet/fillister plane (like Stanley
#78), a no name rip saw, a growing collection of Disston D-8s,
crosscut saw, a couple of panel saws of dubious origin, a backsaw,
saw vise, jointer fence, brace & bits, Yankee screwdrivers, set of
scrapers, a set of Marples blue chip chisels, a few more older
chisels and gouges...well, you get the picture-- a growing user set
:-). My worst habit is not looking closely enough at those fuzzy
digital images of tools on EBay or asking enough questions before I
bid so I'm taking a break from bidding on anything but still like to
window shop. :-) My biggest lack in the shop is a proper bench. A
Workmate and a piece of 3/4 plywood clamped to a couple of sawhorses
just doesn't cut it.
Paying attention to the list archives and some very good books and
web sites, I slowly got better at sharpening and tuning the planes
and making finer and finer shavings, completed another little project
for my wife (interesting how a three-board shelf can require the
purchase of so many different tools!) I got a board pretty flat and
square last night. I tell my wife it's therapeutic woodworking and
she's fine with that. (I've been having some health problems for the
past several months and planing one pine board on four sides is
quite a workout for me.)
Since I first came out of lurking last November I've had a couple of
major surgeries that sort of speeded up the tool acquisition (too
much sitting in front of the computer with an idle mind) but cut way
into the shop time. First one last November took a chunk of my liver
out that had cancer in it and the second one January 28 was a liver
transplant, just in time we hope to prevent the spread of the
recurrent cancer. I've been doing what the doctors tell me to do, and
one of the things they recommend is to enjoy myself. So as soon as I
was able I was back in the shop, first doing relief carving, then
sharpening and tuning and testing each new plane acquisition, and now
building a Cajun pirogue (aka 6 hour canoe.) My dad built them when I
was a kid in Louisiana out of plywood, and his father would have
built them out of cypress boards. So now I am building one with hand
tools only and it's a lot of fun. It keeps my mind off of
fluctuating blood chemistry scares etc.
Recently met up with a few hand woodworkers through some classes at
the local Woodcraft store, and we've talked about getting a little
club started. I turned them on the this list so maybe we'll see posts
from them some day soon.
Thanks for all I have learned from y'all.
Lester Dore
--
Lester Dore, displaced Cajun and beginning woodworker and hand tool
appreciator.
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