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125063 "Steven Kubien" <kubienjs@p...> 2003‑12‑02 Bio - new and long
'Tis the season to write bios Fa la la la la la la la la

My name is Steve Kubien. I am 32 years old, married to Julie and father
of Marissa and Zoe (3-1/2 and 1-1/2 years old respectively). Home is a
townhouse in Ajax, Ontario which is about 20 minutes east of Toronto. My
workshop knew a past life as a 10x20 garage. I do not work in IT. I can
only barely spell it. I figure there are 2 types of computer people out
there...People who know about 'pewters and the rest of us. We keep you
computer people busy, employed and fabulously wealthy. Be nice to us.

My woodworking started fairly early in life building Cub Cars while a
Cub Scout. My Dad was one of the leaders and knew his way around a
toolbelt. He bought me a set of Fuller chisels with the transpaernt
yellow and red handles for my car work and I still use them today from
time to time. As I got older, Dad taught me how to use most of the
common power tools. It seemed that everything he built or repaired
involved his t*bl*s*w. My older brother got automotive knowledge from
Dad and I got the wood-sense. I got the better deal because cars are all
micro-chips now and nothing my brother learned applies anymore. Wood
still grows on trees.

When I moved out of the house, I took with me a small assortment of
tools. Basic handtools included a hammer, Sears combination crosscut/rip
saw, various screwdrivers and wrenches, WD-40, duct tape and of course...vise-
grips. I also had a jigsaw, router and cordless drill and it wasn't a
Millers Falls! I built some book shelves that still function but that
was it. I figure I needed a tablesaw to create anything. When I bought
my first (and current) house, it was the first purchase. Yeah, I would
be able to build all kinds of stuff now with that Craftsman contractor
saw! Things went slow but dust and noise were made. My projects lacked
pizzazz so I figured a table for my r**ter would make it more versatile.
It did. A whole new array of dust and noise were introduced to my
woodworking. The only problem I had was a lack of a bench. I had nowhere
to assemble and dry-fit anything. A couple of slabs of MDF and some 4x4
PT lumber and I had a bench. Things were great. I practically had a
cabinet shop. I could build anything!!!!

One problem...Nothing ever seemed to get built. I'm not sure why. Maybe
I didn't have the right r**ter bit. My s**nder never seemed to leave a
surface just right. I couldn't figure things out. Hmmmmm.

Then, in January of 2000, my Dad died. Our family has a pretty good
sense of humour and we joked (after the fact) that he wasn't Y2K
compliant. My family situation was a bit shaky for a while. I hated my
go-nowhere job and ruggrat #1 was on the way. Things were pretty
stressful and absolutely nothing came from my shop. Not even noise and
dust. We had to clean out my Dad's shop. It took a 15 cubic yard
dumpster (his was a 10x20 shop) to handle the load but we made it. Bits
of plywood, sawdust, defunct tools, scrap metal, more sawdust and such
became landfill.

While doing this, I came across a #5 Stanley knock-off (jack plane,
Jeff). I was intrigued. There was no cord attached. I started searching
the 'net for information on how to use this thing. Terms like,
"waterstones", "secondary bevel", "galoots" and "scary sharp" became
familiar. I honed the iron on a new 1000grit waterstone. It worked.
Curly shaves began to fly. A 4000grit stone was purchased. Wispy
shavings made an appearance. 5 micron and 0.5 micron paper were added to
the mix. Oh yes, shavings so fluffy you could stuff a pillow emerged. I
was hooked.

I soon realized that a #4 (smoothing plane, Jeff) would be an asset.
Darrel LaRue hooked me up with the Tools of the Trade show in Pickering
and a type 11 followed me home. I had met my first real, live galoot! I
was weepy with joy! A set of new Blue Chips, a dovetail saw, marking
gauges, engineers squares, more planes, dividers and a Warrington hammer
were added to the collection, err, essential set of tools. I sharpened
(somewhat) my Dad's old rip saw and ripped some 2" thick oak for parts
of my new bench (tail and shoulder vises and a softwood top). This
process took less time than it would've on my 1-1/2 hp ta**es*w. It was
safer. I could hear Frank Zappa on the stereo at the same time. I built
an infill shoulder plane (thanks Doug and Ben for a great time at the
Neander Meander).

Am I a pure Galoot? I don't think so. I still love my scrollsaw and
Bosch routah. I don't want to give them up. But, I am trying to become
less dependent on electrons other than for light, music and coffee
brewing. My quiver of handsaws has grown to 13 in less than a year. Yes,
Daddy may have a saw problem. The good thing is that I can quit anytime
I want to. Really.

So I am casting off the shadows of lurking under the Porch and enjoying
the light warming my face. I feel that with the help and guidance of the
you Esteemed Galoots, I may one day be worthy to polish the spitoon.

Thanks for listening, Steve Kubien Ajax, Ont.

P.S.  I still don't manage to create much in my shop. I think hollows
      and rounds would help. Maybe another saw. Hmmmmm....


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