Gentle Galoots,
after having lurked for about two years with an occasional
contribution, my bio is more than overdue. Moreover, I would like to
participate in the holiday exchange and buy tools under OT terms.
My name is Wolfgang Jordan. I live with wife and three kids (two of
them GITs) in Germany near Munich. I'm a software engineer by
profession, so when I started woodworking about four years ago, looking
for information on the internet was obvious. Through the help of some
people at rec.woodworking (in particular 'spokeshave' Jon Gunterman) I
soon metamorphosed from a Normite wannabe to a neander woodworker. The
need of cheap tools led to flea market visits and the first planes and
saws. You all know where this is leading to. My first tools were
strictly users. Now I find myself bying planes because of a specific
feature or a certain maker's mark.
Using or collecting hand planes in Germany means wooden planes, because
there were/are only few makers of metal planes. According to old
catalogs American tools were available over here since the beginning of
the 19th century. But German carpenters stuck to the traditional wooden
planes and they still do (if they use planes at all). Nevertheless I
found Sargent and Shelton planes on the flea market and even a small
Millers Falls hand drill. The bulk of my 100+ planes is made in Germany
and Austria, by the craftsmen themselves or by one of many tool
manufacturers. Professional planemaking in Germany started in the
eighteen thirties, more then hundred years later than in England and
over two hundred years after the first Dutch planemakers. To find out
more about this industry is one thing I am concerned with.
Buying old tools is not that easy, but usable planes can be found at
flea markets, and Ebay widened the accessibility. There are braces and
hand drills (my current obsession), but chisels and planes are very
scarce. There is not much known about old tools and their
manufacturers, at least there is no written information. I started to
show some of my tools and the information I gathered in my little
museum: http://www.holzwerken.de/museum/.
The list is a great source of information. It's not so much as reading
about tools I will never hold in my hand, but to share a common
interest with people all over the world. And there's more than old
tools like techniques, stories and the helpful attitude of the members,
that make reading the list enjoyable. Thank you!
Wolfgang
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