Hello Gentlemen and Ladies,

I've been lurking far too long and since I'm old enough not to heed my
father's warnings I'll just open my mouth and let fly. John Allen is who
I is, 46 years along the path to my maker. I have 2 GIT's a boy, 5 and a
girl, 9. My Christmas present from SWMBO of a LN #1 fits in her little
mitt just perfect. I'll post some pics of her planing the headboard on
the 4 post bed for her American Girls doll. As far as the little guy, he
loves working out with the brace and bit, and the magnifying loupes. In
the other bits of spare time I have I act on stage and do some chamber
choir singing.

Living in Helena Montana has been great but the master of the house has
taken a new position and we are moving to .....Berkeley, California.
I am about to ask for permission to become a Bay Area Galoot. Can I
   join ya guys?

I currently do political research for a non-profit during the day and
hide in the basement after reading stories to the chilluns. SWMBO
travels alot so I have to spend a good amount of time down in "The Shop"
. Bummer, huh.

I used to colle.. er acquire fountain pens and have since given up that
silliness after going to extremes. I'm selling off the collection to get
us out of debt so we can afford a new worksh,..house in California,
where for $400.000 I can have a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo to set up my
Workmate in the laundry room.

Being diagnosed last year as having obsessive/compulsive disorder( no
shit, doc that's why I have this urge to buy all this stuff?) and ADD
and being suicidal and depressed I have found my way out through a
return to woodworking(well, some Prozac, too). I stopped for a while
after nearly severing my left hand with a Skil model 77 wormdrive saw(
Jeff,a tailed demon of the highest order. Truly an angel of death). A
better than great surgeon sewed me up and here I is 6 years later making
sawdust in the basement.

I am really not a collector( liar) but since they make planes in #1
through #8 I have to have them all, otherwise it is out of order and
that's not right. And then there are the specialty planes you have to
have to make joints fit and saws and chisels and....... I am not quite
as obsessive as the character "Monk" on the USA channel; really, that
guy is screwed up.

I have to transport my stuff soon and need to make some decisions on
what stays and what goes. If it can rust it will have to go, right? I
recently acquired? a glue lam beam 18"/45 cm x 10"/25 cm thick x 60"/150
cm long. Yeah it weighs a lot and I have some 6 x 6 beams for legs. I'm
thinking this could be a stout bench for my "new" shop; I just need to
figure out how to connect the legs to the beam??

Anyway, thanks for listening, the Support Group From Hell is hopefully
open for a new member and I think I can spit with the best of you given
a chance. I'll bring a rag just in case I miss. Cheers, John in
Montana(for 45 more days)

John G Allen In Helena,Montana for the time being

On 3 Jul 2003 at 9:12, John Allen wrote:

> I've been lurking far too long and since I'm old enough not to heed my
> father's warnings I'll just open my mouth and let fly.

Welcome to the topside of the Porch, John!

> I have to transport my stuff soon and need to make some decisions on
> what stays and what goes. If it can rust it will have to go, right?

Oh - at first I wasn't sure what you meant by "stay" and "go" - do
you mean "go" as in "go with" you to CA? Or as in "go away" to get
rid of it?

If you mean the former, then by all means, yes, of course, all rusty and
potentially rusty objects must accompany you on your cross-country trek.

> I recently acquired a glue lam beam 18"/45 cm x 10"/25 cm thick x
> 60"/150 cm long. Yeah it weighs a lot and I have some 6 x 6 beams for
> legs. I'm thinking this could be a stout bench for my "new" shop; I
> just need to figure out how to connect the legs to the beam??

Well, ackshully, with a slab that massive, you don't need to "connect"
the base to the top. I'd make a base for it, and then put a large dowel
in each end, pointing straight up, bore matching holes in the underside
of the slab, drop it on there, and gravity will do the work. The dowels
just keep it from sliding around while you plane. Makes it easy to
disassemble and move (if "easy to move" can properly be said of a
glue-lam bean 18" x 10" x 5 feet!).

Give us some pics of that bench when done, man!

- Bill Taggart
- At home and beginning to ponder some potential revisions to mine own
  bench, in Glen Allen, VA, USA

Hi John Allen, and welcome aboard. We appreciate your candor but some
things are better left unspoken. You are well aware of the taboo of
discussing various tailed apprentice helpers we have. Similarly,
discussion of physical and mental disorders are verboten! Not that your
admitted ailments are at all unique in this group. Why, I know for a
fact that most Florida galoots moved to that state in search of a cure.
There are quite a few in the south of Lalafornia, too. Better to live
with the maladies, taking sustenance from the occasional absorption of
fresh rust than to spend exorbitant amounts of money on ineffective
therapy (boats, golf, fly fishing, bass guitars, there are many
others...)

John Allen wrote:

> Hello Gentlemen and Ladies,
>
> ....Being diagnosed last year as having obsessive/compulsive disorder(
> no shit, doc that's why I have this urge to buy all this stuff?) and
> ADD and being suicidal and depressed I have found my way out through a
> return to woodworking(well, some Prozac, too). I stopped for a while
> after nearly severing my left hand with a Skil model 77 wormdrive saw(
> Jeff,a tailed demon of the highest order. Truly an angel of death). A
> better than great surgeon sewed me up and here I is 6 years later
> making sawdust in the basement.
>
> I am really not a collector( liar) but since they make planes in #1
> through #8 I have to have them all, John G Allen In Helena,Montana for
> the time being....

And all the rust must go, as in 'go with', right?

Best regards,
--
Bill W. Woodworkers visit me at: http://Highland_House.tripod.com/

Hi John, 

Welcome to the Bay Area, John. What brings you here? Too many good
parking spaces in Helena? Lots of good things in Berkeley and beyond,
though. You'll enjoy it. Let us know when you get settled, maybe we can
get together. 

John Quinn
Santa Rosa and, formerly, of Grant Street, Berkeley