Hi. My name is Steve, and I have an oldtools problem (which is=20
like Robin Williams saying he has hyperactivity issues).
Some background: I was raised in Kentucky (land of great bourbon,=20
pretty horses, and fast women), left to get a couple of degrees=20
at Clemson, then on to grad school (i.e., Reality Avoidance) for=20
another at Purdue. I then decided to GrowUpAndGetAJob; I'm now in=20
my 20th year at AT&T [Bell] Labs (soon to be SBC?) in central New=20
Jersey. (Yep,I've been practicing "Would you want those fries=20
super-sized, Ma'am?" since Monday). I got SWMBOed 15 years ago to=20
Steph, the most wonderful woman/wife/companion/friend/lover in the=20
world (and not just because she lets me sleep inside the house). =20
Steph produced a set of twins for us almost 10 years ago, one of=20
which demonstrates a proclivity for ThingsGalootish (thank goodness!).
While I've always been good at working with my hands, fixing things,
making relatively simple wooden things with TailedApprentices, etc,
I started down the Slippery Slope about a year ago. I was planing a=20
sticky door with what I now know to be a type 6 #3 StanleyBailey=20
(smooth plane, Jeff) that already had a crack, and I managed to break=20
it in two. Took it to a Neander buddy of mine who turns out to be a
Galoot, Dr. Carl Muhlhausen (who says hello to all you GGs, by the way). =
Carl promptly make me feel like a sack of gerbil scat for killing it,=20
then showed me his set of planes. I felt my feet begin to slide as
Carl spoke. I picked up one of them, and right then and there, in=20
front of Carl, his damn cat, and that collection of wonderful, majestic,
beautiful planes, I went scooting down the Slippery Slope. Looked
back once, only to see Carl laughing.
So with a little bit of prompting from Carl, Patrick Leach, and some
members of the SGFH, I now have a couple dozen metallic wood planes,=20
some wooden planes, a dozen or so handsaws, a dozen braces, and ...=20
well, you get the idea, you've all been there. These are virtually=20
all users. Really, I promise (he says, while still kicking himself=20
for passing on a Bedrock 606 for $30 because I didn't know what it=20
really was back then...*sniff*). =20
As I slide, I've discovered that restoring these old tools gives me=20
an incredible feeling of satisfaction. You folks taught me how to=20
do that, BTW. You've also taught me how to sharpen saws, build a
workbench (yes, square dogs at 2-deg angle) for my GITs, make a
hutch for SWMBO, repair chairs, and do far too many things to list=20
here. You GGs have also awakened in me something I haven't felt
for far too long: a sense of generosity, of fairness, of wanting
to share with others the joy of working with my hands. While
it's a hoot helping a buddy make his very first tight, wood curlies
from a piece of oak, then telling him to just take the plane home=20
with him because I have another, absolutely NOTHING beats watching=20
the pure glee in my son's face when he works in the shop with me.
He's still young enough that I get plenty of hugs and kisses, and
ain't nuthin' gonna beat that. Not by a longshot. I sure as hell
can't get that level of intimacy with a TailedApprentice howling in
my ear, threatening to give me a permanent fingernail trim. And now=20
the kids have their own workbench with a good stock of GalootTools=20
(but no chisels for a couple more years; I spend enough time in the
ER already).
Thus far my favorite finish is 3-4 coats of BLO, followed by 10 or so=20
coats of shellac, something even *I* can't screw up. Well, there was=20
that time I tripped over the dog with an open can of 2-lb cut shellac. =20
Ever see a husky with a spiked mohawk?
I also want to thank all the GGs who've responded to my questions=20
off-line, even w/o me posting my bio (not that you missed much). =20
You're all a class act. Come by the house anytime you're in the=20
neighborhood. If you like good sippin' whiskey, you get Makers Mark. =20
If you're gonna mix it, you get cheap ShopRite bourbon. Either makes
the stories almost completely painless!
Steve Shine, GalootWannaBe, Howell, NJ, USA
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