OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

124833 "Alice Frampton" <oldrusthunter@h...> 2003‑11‑27 Bio - Alice Frampton
As bios seem to be the thing of the moment, and in the hopes that I
can slip in unnoticed with the crowd, here goes. I don't think I
qualify as a mysterious stranger, but I've lurked long enough. I'll
try and get the shocks out of the way early on.

Yes, I'm female. No, I don't work in IT. Gasp, I'm under 30. Horror,
another Brit. Okay, you can settle down now, that's the scary stuff
dealt with... I live in Cornwall in the southwest of England, and
on a clear day I can pretend to see the far distant shores of tool
heaven. Up until I found The Porch I was a woodworker, and have been
since pottering about in my dad's shed from the age of 9. Tools I
was allowed to use comprised a Surform (shudder), a junior hacksaw
and a Stanley eggbeater. I learnt two things; hand drill gears and
white shirts don't mix, and Surforms are cheaper than proper rasps
for a reason. My dad, bless him, kept his Stanley #4 (Hello there,
Jeff. You know that one I'm sure) and Record #043 mini grooving
plane from my tender grasp, so they're still in a state to be used 
now. Which I do. Frequently. Having finally crawled online about 3
years ago, I typed in a link provided by Jeff in Good Woodworking
magazine which mysteriously mentioned strange beings called galoots.
No warning of slopes mind you. I've been lurking ever since. Now
I'm a long practiced remover of rust, fitting in the woodworking
in my spare time. No other group of people I know of could have got
me from the stage of "two planes is an elegant sufficiency" to "how
many planes do I have? Erm, hang on. I'll have to go and count them.
Would you like a cup of tea while you're waiting?" in so short a 
space of time. Great, isn't it? :~) Incidentally, has anyone else
suffered the embarassment of buying a plane from a flea market 
regular and being asked "Don't you have enough of these yet?" Or do
the dealers round here just lack ambition?

When I do get round to making things I tend to use native hardwoods
such as ash, oak and beech. The usual stuff on the "honey do" list,
except I have The Powers That Be (my folks) rather than a single
SWMBO. They gang up and make me feel bad for not starting on the
coffee table project for instance. It's only been on the list for
4 or 5 years for goodness sake, and turning chisel handles won't
take long... I share an old granite-built barn with my father as a
workshop, about 13x23ft. It contains the usual tailed tools, plus a
couple of benches, a hand-cranked bench drill and a treadle wheel
that's waiting for something to power. 

So anyway, as it's Thanksgiving for lots of you it seems appropriate
to crawl from under The Porch and thank you all for the knowledge,
the humour and the good fellowship you display throughout the year.
I hope I may be able to contribute something myself, even if it's
just a good shine to the spitoon. I've brought my own Brasso.

Cheers, 

Alf
Cornwall, UK

Alf, by the way, are my initials. I will answer to Alf, Al, Alice
and D'you-want-this-plane. But then I expect you'd all turn round
for the last one :~)


Recent Bios FAQ