OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

80517 Greg Hoffart ghoff@a... 2000‑07‑01 Bio
Hello all,

My name is Greg Hoffart and, at the recomendation of Dan McCloskey, I have been 
lurking on the porch for a week or two.  After reading innumerable messages and 
learning a great deal I have come down to one inevitable conclusion:  you folks 
are just too cool for words (unless, perhaps, the words were carved into somethi
ng :-)

I suppose I would characterize myself as a potential Galoot and Neanderthal wann
abe.  While I have some experience working as a carpenter for a couple different
 general contractors, most of my woodworking experience is in theatrical carpent
ry - a craft in which one is encouraged to use any tool, material, substance, or
 technique so long as it is used in a way for which it was never intended. . . .

Actually, I have found the theatre to be a place of extremes in terms of both th
e traditional and the unconventional.  One minute I will be hand scraping a piec
e of antique furniture or chopping the corners off a beam with an adz, and the n
ext I will be hanging 25 feet off the ground in a bowsun's chair using a chainsa
w to carve a rock face out of styrofoam.  One of the more interesting ways I hav
e learned to make large cove molding in the theatre is to run lengths of laminat
ed particle board or MDF across a tablesaw at a diagonal (it also works rather w
ell with extruded polystyrene if you need the molding to be light-weight; just m
ake sure to wear a dust mask so you don't get pnumonia when it gets into your lu
ngs).

Presently, I am a scene and lighting designer potentially looking to get back in
to the computer industry, which is far less stressfull and more lucrative than t
heatre.  Though I have a fair collection of hand and small power tools, only a f
ew of them are appropriate for the fine woodworking and hand craftsmanship that 
I am awed by.  I love the history and workmanship that a quality, well used tool
 represents.  I recently dropped my first chunk of old tool change on a Stanley 
#55.  I got 44 cutters and all the plane pieces except the cam rest for $250. It
 is in good structural condition with a lot of dirt and a small amount of rust. 
 I have no idea where that falls in the price range; can anyone clue me in?

Anyway, I look forward to learning from and contributing to the discussion.  I'l
l be asking plenty of questions soon.

-Greg Hoffart
==================
        Gregory Hoffart
      ghoff@a...
==================



Recent Bios FAQ