OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

7456 Sean & Corinne <spratz@f...> 1996‑10‑07 Bio: Apprentice Galoot
  Good day, esteemed ones.  I'm abaout as new as one can get, both to the
craft and to list.  Flea Market Monday.  Ach!  What a day to subscribe!
Anyway, a bit about myself, and then I'll immediately pump y'all for
information.  (Who said I was patient?)

  My name is Sean Pratz, I'm 28, and I've lived in Edmonton, Alberta for
the past 21 years.  I was born in Davenport, Iowa, within spitting
distance of that long watery flowy thing with all the S's in it's name.
  I was given an el cheapo kid's tool chest when I was 6, with a tiny
block plane, chisels, saw... all the works; all of which I promptly
ruined, having not been shown how to properly use any of it.  I remember
being frustrated by my inability to plane 1" thick strips of wood from an
old plank my father gave me, and I think this killed all hopes of my
becoming interested in hand tools for nearly 20 years.
  I must confess (don't you hate people with a compulsive need to confess
their souls to you) that what got me interested in woodworking again
was... (ready for it?) ... NORM.  I'm sorry.    I'd watched TOH
since the first season without missing an episode, usually switching away
after the credits to watch 60 minutes.  But one fateful evening I
neglected to pounce on the remote control soon enough, and this skinny,
sweaty, red-headed guy came skipping along my screen to a song performed
by The Red Clay Ramblers, and I happened to notice that he was carrying a
toolbox.  So I sat and watched, AMAZED, as Sir Underhill proceeded to do
with a leather thong and a bit of springy willow almost exactly what N***
had done a million times before on his $4000 Lathe of Doom.  And I was
hooked.  
  Yes, I still watched This Old House, and I eventually became a N**
Y***** W******* fan as well, but it was always Roy that made me sit
forward in my chair with glee, waiting to see what old treasure he'd bring
forward *this week, and use to make yet another treasure.
  I was torn.  I now worshipped two gods.  Sunday night became Roy & Norm
night.  Mike Wallace paled in comparison (sorry, CBS).  What to do?
Should I save my bucks and work *fast, sparks flying from my giga-rpm
router; or should I save my bucks and *feel the work, be honest to the
wood, enjoy the tool as much as the end result?  I dithered.  For about a
decade, I just said no.  I have a hobby, and it brings in a few bucks now
and then, and I'm typing on it right now.  I didn't have the time or the
inclination for another hobby, and for a good part of that decade, I
didn't have the money.  Microsoft had it.
  But then my life changed.  I met a wonderful woman, adopted four
children, and became a stay-at-home dad while she put her considerable
talents toward owning a local business.  But SWMBO must only be obeyed by
me, not by fellow business people, nor by employees and middle managers.
Those ****ards broke her business spirit, and she recently closed the door
on a successful venture to pursue HER lifelong interest.  Art.  She's an
incredible artist, and even those who must not obey her think so, so it
must be true.  
  This was the silver lining in both our clouds.  She can pursue her art
in the daytime at home just as easily as in the evenings.  And this means
she can now be at home with our young 'uns.  And... guess what?  I can
pursue MY dream.  I have just begun my cabinetmaker's apprenticeship.
It's fun, it's exciting, it's *honest work.  Yes!
  One catch.  The shop I work at is high-volume.  This means Norm-worship.
They look at me a little strangely when I show 'em my only prize.  You
collectors may snigger and point at my referring to a Stanley #3 as a
"prize," but when it's the only decent handtool of my grandfather's to
ever reach my hands, it's a prize to me.
  So, we'll work on our individual arts.  We'll save up our money and
spend some on brushes and pencils and canvasses, and some more on planes
and chisels and bit-braces (braci?  I failed Latin).  And we'll
lead happy, simple lives.

  I DO ramble, don't I?  :)

  Okay then, on to my question.  I've pored over Paddy's type study and
cannot seem to pin down one curious little detail on my #3.  It looks to
have all the signs of a type 17, but I can find no foundry marks on the
bed or the frog.  What I *do see is a large capital "U" underneath the
tote (when removed) and in front of the adjustment screws on the frog.
No mention of this in the type study.  Is it because *all of these planes 
have such, or is this unusual?  I also saw mention of a broad flat rib
around the toe and heel.  On my #3 I have *one broad flat rib on the bed
behind the knob, and just the one.  No ther "broad flat rib" anywhere else
on the bed at all.  Not being as familiar with these wonderful tools as I
eventually hope to be, I may sound silly when I assume that the other rib
would normally be found near the "Made in USA" stamp directly in front of
the tote. (?)  Not on mine...
  Any comments?  I'm afraid to "restore" this thing any further until I
know more about it's true value.  If it's a WWII era plane then I'll go
ahead and make it a user.  If it's something unexpected, then I'll seek
out further advice.
  Either way, in a short span of time, I've become hooked.  This is
fascinating stuff to read about, talk about, use, and feel in my hands.
If I will be forever labelled a neanderthal, then so be it.  I'm a hairy
guy.  I've been called worse.  :)

	-Sean

                                     email: spratz@f...



Recent Bios FAQ