Greetings to all from Tucson, Arizona!
My name is Blake Ashley I've been lurking for a while here,
absorbing,
learning, being sucked in by the rust addiction. And now it seems to
be time
to speak up and introduce myself. So here goes.
My Father was a woodworker. He always had a shop when I was a kid
and the smell of sawdust is deeply imbedded in my memory. He tended
toward power tools and rough home carpentry. I didn't
really "apprentice" with him much. But a seed was sown, apparently.
As I grew up, I only dabbled in wood, although I always dreamed of
being able to make nice joints and beautiful furniture with hand
tools. Then one day, about six years ago, I went out into the garage
and built a big work bench and started to work. I started reading -
Frid, FWW, Wearing - and started buying tools. At first I bought
modern hand tools, not knowing that most were c@#p. But I learned
slowly. I made a few things, bought some tools, made a few more
things, bought a bunch more tools, and so on.
I love the look and feel of wood. I love the look and feel of old
tools. I love the quiet in my shop. I love it when a hand-cut joint
fits tight the first try (or at least I assume I will). I love the
ingenuity embodied in traditional woodworking techniques and tools.
I want a Barnes hand-cranked circular rip saw REAL REAL bad. I guess
all of that put together makes me a Galoot. So here I is.
Blake
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