OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

165470 paul womack <pwomack@p...> 2006‑12‑06 BIO: BugBear
Good grief; my old bio was from 1998;
that's almost a collectible in it's own right!

Anyway, I'm Bugbear, and I've been "doing tools" since
1994.

I started off trying to get enough woodwork tools
to relive my shop lessons from school, but the tools
rapidly became more interesting than anything
I could make.

I've ended up emphasising British tools in
my "working set", from cost, availability
and patriotism.

My planes are predominantly Record,
with a coupla' Marples/Hibernia mixed in,
although I have a general inability to
leave behind any attractive tool that's cheap
at a sale; this leads to a lot of tools.

I've spent the last few years buying and restoring
tools, and spending waaay too much time thinking
about the engineering and dynamics of planing,
and how to sharpen stuff.

Threads have come and gone...

I've also ended up with quite a selection
of old British woodworking books and catalogues
(these often cost more than the tools),
from which I sometimes quote.

I will admit to being "project challenged",
although I find restoring and making tools
adequate to keep me entertained in my workshop
for many hours...

I have a particular affection for Shop made
(or modified) tools, although I've never had
a good enough bargain to afford the ultimate example
of this - a patternmakers chest of tools. These
people had both the skill and motivation
to make exceptional stuff.

Some of the stuff I've done, that I think
might be relevant to other people is documented
and illustrated on my website:

http://www.geocities.com/plybench

     BugBear
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Recent Bios FAQ