After a year of mostly lurking, some posting and always enjoying, it's
been brought to my attention that I should introduce myself.

Born in Wisconsin, which is just north of Chicago (Paddy) and south of
the Great White North (Jeff).  After an uninspired time in highschool, I
cast about for meaning at the local university and exited with a degree
in physics.  This gave me the confidence (i.e. diploma) so
necessary-but-insufficient when fishing for jobs.  This search led me
out West where experience wasn't so important as having lots of money to
pay the exhorbitant rents.  Eventually landed a short term software job
working for some astronomers in the desert, where I decided I should
forstall a midlife crisis by changing careers and going back to school. 
 I met my wife and kids in gradschool, where we both studied soil
science and botany.  Life is good.

So with all this sciencey background, I still lacked a clue as to how
some people with little or no understanding of vector calculus could
make things like houses, furniture, horse shoes and plumbing that didn't
leak.  How did they know that 2x4 was doug fir without an
electrophoretic examination? And what makes all those different wood
planes look so exotic, so durn coool, and -mmmmmm- so that's what it
feels like to make a shaving.  That was really nice.  Thank you. Ten
bucks for the bench plane?  You got a deal...  So now I'm hooked. 
Haven't made a thing other than blood stains yet, but I know I'm hooked.
 Not sure what avenue I'd like to persue -- dovetailed cabinetry,
rustic/green woodorking, boat building, timberframing, or something
along that line.  I imagine I should figure that out soon, with
assistance from the porch. Thanks for your patience, fore and aft.

Curt Seeliger
Corvallis, Oregon

GG,
 Welcome Peter, jump on in its cheap, after all its just old tools...(hey
hey hey).
roy,Broken Arrow,Oklahoma USA

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Peter

Welcome to the porch.  We are speaking better British English all the time. 
You can help us improve.   I smile at the UK e-bay listings that are now 
"translated".

I agree, I get a thrill in taking a rusty old beater tool, and making it 
look used and loved again, and actually using it.  I'm still a tool user (he 
says furtively stroking the #5 Bedrock plane he was gifted with this 
Christmas.)

My ancestry is Scottish.  My grandmother's ancestors came over from Scotland 
by way of Ireland just in time to fight on the wrong side of the 
Revolutionary War (disagreement about taxes, Jeff) and to have to move again 
to Canada at the end of it.

I find this a wonderful place of wit, wisdom and trivia.  Hope you do to.

Pull up a chair (if you can find one without piles of tools on it) and set a 
spell.

Walt C

Peter wrote:

Ok time to delurk I think, so I'd better introduce myself to the porch.

I'm a Scottish born New Zealander who currently resides back in
Scotland, I'm a biological scientist who shreds wood for a variety of
reasons (SWMBO step forward) and became a convert to hand tools for
both financial reasons and the challenge to see how good I can make
myself with that #7 jointer...
 

 I can see that this take old 'user' tool
and make it work again thing could become a habit....

 From the above you may gather that I am not yet, quite a collector
(he says, teetering wildly on the edge of the precipice, arms
cartwheeling). But if it wasn't for the combination of my heritage
(Father was a Yorkshireman, I'm Scottish), SWMBO and the lack of
money I'd take the plunge, the water looks nice in there.

Peter
Dundee Scotland

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GG,
 Welcome to the porch Roland, I think you'll find you are among like
minded friends here.
roy

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