OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

76300 "Wendrzycki, Raymond D" <WendrzyckiRD@n...> 2000‑03‑15 Bio time.
Hello All,

Allow me to introduce this lurker who usually hides in the dark dampness at
the north end of the porch.  Wow, what is that big, bright orange thing up
in the sky?

I'm Raymond Wendrzycki, and I like old tools.  There, I've said it. (Don't
worry about the pronunciation....no one else does).  Here's the proverbial
nutshell: For the past 18 years I've been a mechanical engineer working for
the US Navy and married to my best friend (LOML).  I'm currently restoring a
1924 Craftsman style house and I like old tools.  I enjoy designing and
making furniture.  I wish there was more 'making' than there is, but Oh
Well!  Did I mention that I like old tools?  I still use a slide rule at
work to stay in practice.  Said it was for the Y2K disaster, well I'm
looking for another excuse.  I'm building a users assemblage of grunt
powered tools that will never be complete.  End of nutshell.

I was always interested in old stuff and building stuff.  It just tool a
while to realize that the two belonged together.  While growing up in a
metalhead household (Dad was a machine repair journeyman, and a genius at
it) I learned a lot about the importance of accuracy, setups, shop practices
and above all modifying what you have to do what you want.  I cut my teeth
working metal, wood was just something metal stuff was shipped in.  But
slowly, very slowly, wood started talking to me.  Thinking back it's funny,
I was convinced I liked working metal, yet every science project was wood
related.  Go figure!  Slowly metal became less and less personal to me.

For me, I don't think there was an epiphany of sorts, no great awakening or
lightning bolts.  I just slowly became more and more aware of the beauty of
wood.  I started getting serious about WW about 8 or 10 years ago.  I tried
to learn all I could through reading, my schools did not have shop, so I had
no basics or foundation.  I found Roy on TV and devoured every show till it
was gone.  :~(  Then along came the N-man and I learned more.  Including I
didn't want to have a screaming machine do everything for me.  But I did
learn more about wood.

My real transformation (not epiphany, remember) came in Sept '97.  I took a
two week Basic Woodworking class at the Center Of Furniture Craftsmanship in
Maine with Peter Korn and Lynette Breton.  This is where I learned the true
value of a sharp edge and of handtools.  I designed and made a step stool
there, borrowing a lot from shaker design.  Did my first hand DTs and MTs
there and did half blind DTs and through MTs on the stool.  That classroom
experience really got me psyched and directed...I've never looked back.

In the summer of 1998, I was selling stuff at a flea market and I started
talking to a guy who was looking at my lathe centers.  I only started
talking to him because He was holding an old #4 (smoother, Jeff) iron.  That
lead to me finding out about, and joining, the Central Jersey Woodworking
Association.  There I met Carl Muhlhausen, Dave Wolverton and Matt Prusik,
among others.  Through them I learned of this list and started lurking about
a year ago.

Not being one to jump into 'new things' (engineers are like that) I wanted
to see what this was all about.  Well, I can say that I have enjoyed and
learned very much from this list, and would like to be an active
participant.  I don't pretend to think that I will have much to say that
someone (or two or three) hasn't said already.  'Lurker chiding' in a
private correspondence from Dave got me thinking about the rite of
passage...the dreaded bio.  Thinking on it, I felt that I had finally found
an eclectic group that I finally wanted to be part of.  So please consider
my dues paid with this March, 2000 posting of my bio.

Thanks for listening,
Raymond



Recent Bios FAQ