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127566 "Blake Ashley" <BAshley1@c...> 2004‑01‑15 Bio
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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