OldTools Archive

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94835 "Roger & Gloria Nixon" <rgnixon@o...> 2001‑07‑04 Bio
Bio:  Roger Nixon

I'm a 49 year old male, born in Indian Territory, Oklahoma currently
residing in NE Kansas.  Does that make me a Neander bubba?
I'm married (28 years). I have one daughter and mini-galoot grandson
(aka The Light of My Life).  I am a Cost Estimator for a heavy
construction company.
SWMBO and I live on 13 acres near the Oregon Trail.  I built a 24'x24'
shop with the intent of making it a primarily hand tool woodworking
shop.  Then we discovered AUCTIONS!  In this part of the world there
are a lot of family farms started by immigrants moving westward pre
and post civil war.  SWMBO and I are fascinated by old things and soon
filled my shop with stuff from estate sales.  We are starting to get
the pile whittled down with help from eBay.
I was introduced to woodworking during the 80's by a coworker who was
(is) a Normite.  He worked primarily in solid wood and he made some good
looking stuff.  He had a wall display in his office of old woodie planes
but I don't think he ever used them.  After watching him, I decided I
would need thousands of dollars of tools and a big shop.  When I finally
got a shop building, I started researching what I needed to set it up.
Most books and magazines gave the same advice "First get a tablesaw". So
I did.  One other thing the books and magazines would mention eventually
is "You'll need a workbench".  So I got Scott Landis' "The Workbench Book"
and my ideas about woodworking were turned upside down.  When I saw how
the oldtimers accomplished marvelous things with hand tools, I felt I had
stumbled onto an advanced alien civilization.
I wanted hand tools but I didn't know about old ones.  I had the opinion
that tools were getting better because of technology, advanced metallurgy,
and ergonomics (ROFL now).  I bought an English made Bailey #7 (jointer,
Jeff)
and some English made Stanley chisels thinking I was buying quality tools.
Actually they are not bad tools, especially the chisels.  While buying some
hardwood at a local cabinet shop, I spotted and old #6C (fore plane, Jeff)
and the shop owner sold it to me for $20.  I was still on the wrong track
because I wanted it simply to swap the rosewood totes for the plastic ones
on my #7!  Fortunately, before I did the evil deed, I cleaned some of the
rust
off, sharpened the blade and tried it out.  The totes are still on the #6.
Now I had an old tools jones but still didn't know about them or where to
get them.
Some career changes put woodworking out of the picture for a few years until
I settled here and finally had the resources to start the shop I've wanted.
The only place I knew of to get old tools was eBay so I started there.  I've
made rookie mistakes but they were educational.  I've since discovered
auctions
and flea markets and I am starting to accumulate the basic tools I need.
The
galoot sites have been a tremendous help, especially The Galoot's Progress
(many thanks, Tom).
Other interests besides woodworking are history and blues.
So, here I am, hat in hand, asking permission to climb up on the Porch.



Recent Bios FAQ