Hello Kevin,

Greetings from a fellow galoot in Perth - not too far from you (4 1/2
hours, which is nothing from this most isolated of cities). I have spent
quite a lot of my working life around south east Asia, including
Singapore,  and understand your feeling of the loneliness of the long
distance woodbutcher.

Your message coincided with a connection I have just made here. Last week
I responded to another Perth Oldtools member who has adapted a #4 plane to
an infill - beautifully. We plan to meet soon and swap stories, check out
each other's activities and workshops, maybe check out each other's
planes!

I come across a lot of collectors of old tools, but few who are committed
to using them. Those of us who are regular users of hand tools may have
smaller output than the others(but hey!, how many pieces of furniture can
a house accommodate?) (or how many women who are desirous of jewelery
boxes do we have in our lives?) but we understand one of the fundaments of
life - that the journey is more important than the destination.

I have just discovered the qualities of one of the woods from your region
- kapur. Beautiful to work and can almost emulate European walnut. And you
get better access to teak, which is almost unaffordable here.

Happy Birthday!

Peter Byrne
Perth, Western Australia