OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

53438 "John L. Odom" <jlodom@h...> 1998‑11‑17 Bio of John L. Odom
Esteemed Galoots:

My name is John Leo Odom, I am a 62 year-old white male. I was born of
missionary parents in Spain and grew up in the post WWII Philippines. I
live with my SWMBO. My children are grown, one granddaughter is senior
aeronautical engineering major at Georgia Tech. One son is a finish
carpentry contractor for high-end homes, He is a "Normitimus Maximus".

I am fortunate enough to have been taught basic hand woodworking in the
Philippines at a time and place where power tools were unavailable.
Unfortunately in the intervening years I have forgotten a lot of what I
was taught.

I am a chemist and physicist by education and have worked both as a
consultant to industry and as a teacher. I am currently teaching at the
high-school level  and working as a consultant on the side. I love
teaching high-school kids because I feel that I can make a difference in
their lives. I am glad I am not a teen-ager today. I am also a certified
fire and explosion investigator.

My main hobbies are blacksmithing and machine work. I am just
re-entering woodwork.

I am building a 28' X 36' shop, got the roof finished this week-end.
It sounds big, but there will be smithy, machine shop, foundry and
woodworking areas, as well as space to fix cars and tractors or
whatever.

I have read the YMBAG and am not sure. I use a motor to drive my 1948
LOGAN lathe with a flat belt. I have a bandsaw but I built it. I
blacksmith at a coal forge but I use a propane forge for "quickie jobs.
I have a drill press, and a hand powered postdrill for big holes. I
forge weld but I also use acetylene or arc. I have a wirefeed welder but
prefer my 1948 Lincoln two-cylinder engine driven machine.
I have a 1984 Snapper riding mower but use my 1948 Gravely on my 3.9
acers of woods and small lawn. I have no Taiwan or China iron, except
for some "C" clamps I bought in an emergency.

I led a student teacher exchange group to Japan in '96 and got some
Japanese pull saws and a smoothing plane. I also visited both
traditional all hand and modern high production Japanese woodworking
shops.

I have already had a cordial off-list exchange with the Galootimus
Maximus, and look forward to getting to know more of you.

John  (jlodom@h...  or jodom@v...)

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