Hi Everybody,

As requested I'm posting a quick bio about myself.  Having grown tired
of lurking I finally joined the old tool group.

I live in the Toronto Ontario (Canada) area and have been working wood
for about 3 years now. During the day I'm the CAD Administrator for a
medium sized firm (100 people) of Architects and Engineers.  In the
evenings however my time (when the wife allows) is spent in the "Man Area"
of the house trying not to waste the lovely pieces of Mahogany, Cherry,
and Maple that I revere so much.

My woodworking interest was brought on by watching you know who on PBS.
I should say that I still watch him but often cringe at the methods and
materials he uses.  Since this was my intro to woodworking I naturally had
to have every power tool known to man and soon my basement workshop was
full of large screaming beasts that produce so much sawdust (in spite of my
2 stage dust collector and shop vacuum) that I'm becoming concerned about
my health.  There had to be a better/healthier way to do some of these tasks
than 25000 rpm routers and 2hp planers.

Then I discovered the quite shaving producing beasts that occupy two cabinets
in my shop now. You see I'm in to designing and building clocks (preferably
tall case clocks), and while on a clock part gathering expedition in
Pennsylvania last year I stumbled into Lancaster County on a weekend that had
thousands of tabletop dealers flogging antiques along the Oregon Pike.  It was
there that I found my first plane.  A beautiful Stanley 26 Transitional Jack.
After taking it home and cleaning off the paint, I waxed the block, trued the
bottom and sharpened the blade according to some articles I read in FWW.
After the first shavings started curling off the board I was testing the plane
on I was hooked!

Since last june I have aquired 38 planes (as of last weekend).  Although none
of them are esoteric, they are all in woderfull condition and I try to use most
of them as often as I can.  While I won't be giving up my norm tools (I still
love my 2 hp Delta planer), I will be using the hand tools as often as I can.
Oh yeah, planes aren't the only tools I've collected, one of my most used and
favorite tools in my shop is an old hand drill from the Red Bird Manucaturing
Company.  I use it on every cabinet I build.  I bought it for $5.00 U.S. the
same day I got my 26.  To me it was one of the best purchases I ever made.


Nice to be here!

		Brent F. Parkin


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