OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

2067 Stephen Turner <turner@c...> 1996‑07‑08 Bio of a Lurking Galoot


"My name is Steve T., and I have not purchased an old tool for 3
days..."

Well, on to the important stuff:

Also sprach Listserv:
> New subscribers are strongly encouraged to make themselves known right
> away by posting a quick biographical sketch describing who you are, what
> you do when you're not making big heaps of shavings, your primary
> woodworking/collecting/restoring interests, and anything else you might 
> think interesting about yourself.

Lessee...  I'm Stephen W. Turner (it sez so right in the email message,
doesn't it?), and I'm a computer scientist.  I've been working in
industry for a short while, and I've decided to teach instead.  That's
my occupation when I'm not hunting for tools and/or making shavings.

I was an advanced graduate student for many many aeons.  That's like a
disease.  One of the symptoms of which is a lack of money.  Thus, I did
a lot of Usenet reading on rec.norm until I graduated.  I still do
that, but I've been paying more and more attention to the listserv
website.  So I'm relatively new to actual use/collecting (only been
doing it about a year), but I've acquired quite a bit of 'book' knowledge.

That book knowledge is what got me into old tool hunting.  Without any
epiphanies (sorry!), I simply perceived old tools as a Better Way (tm).
Since I've actually acquired and used some stuff, I've found that it is
true, in my opinion.

Ok, another reason is that I'm still paying on school debts, as SWMBO
is more like SWBMTI (She Who Buys More Than I), and she's a doctor, so
we're talking about some REALLY BIG school debts.  Old tools are
cheaper, and the hunting is especially fun when you find something.

I've also found that I really like hobbies/recreation that have nothing
to do with computers.

In just a year, I've been able to impress my wife and relatives with my
modest cache of planes ("Don't you have enough planes yet!!??"), most
of which I found around Detroit, a couple of which I've purchased from
MofA.  So I'm getting there.

Ok, I'll conclude with a couple of things that may or may not be
amusing:

1) Recently, I 'restored' a redwood picnic table that had been out for
many years.  Planed it down, etc.  etc.  Neighbor looks at it and asks
me if I need to borrow his power sander before I apply finish.  Heh.

2 (long)) In keeping with the Spirit of the Gloat, I was at a garage
sale recently, and they had a bunch of stuff that looked suspicious, in
the sense that my tool radar went on, but there were no woodworking
tools evident.

So I ask the lady sitting in the chair "you wouldn't happen to have any
old woodworking tools, would you?"  She says "you mean, old handplanes
and stuff?"  (Schwing!)  I give her my hippest, most neutral,
nonchalant possible reply:  "yeah." She says that her husband has a
shed full of stuff like that, but they didn't have time to prepare for
this sale.  She tells me to wait while she goes and asks him (he's
inside eating lunch).  She comes back out and tells me that he'll be
out in a few, so I go across the street to another sale to look at the
old glass stuff (ugh).

I come back over, and he's rummaging in his garage.  He brings out two
boxes.  In the large one is an almost MINT type 17 #5.  I mean, this
would be brand-spanking new if it weren't for a few paint spatters, and
a little bit of just plain old corrosion from age (you know how metal
gets just a wee bit more grey?)  100% japanning.  I mean, it's G* (G
with a repeating '+').  And, to top it off, the iron, which looks like
it's been used maybe three times, is in upside down.  Now, I'm sure
that this guy is not the original owner, so it's not his fault.  I
think he just buys old tools and sells them at garage sales, swap
meets, etc.  But looking at this plane's iron, I had to think "Thank
God for idiots!"  Just another data point to add to the other stories
I've seen here about upside down irons.

The other box has an old Craftsman low-angle block plane with
adjustable mouth, etc (sorry, can't remember its number).  (much like a
60 1/2 but wider and longer, and the blade's adjustable side-to-side,
even).  I don't know much about Stanley planes, and even less about
Craftsman stuff, but this one is really very nice, especially for the
money.

Well, I got them both for a very nice price - so nice, that I didn't
even bother to haggle, and I still felt guilty.

-Steve Turner (90 lines!)



Recent Bios FAQ