Roland Rankin wrote:
> Well I read the FAQ, and I understand that I'm supposed to
> "lurk" for a while.
> 
> But, it feels wrong to Listen in on other people's
> conversation(s) without at least introducing your self.
> 
For any other lurkers, it isn't impolite when you are invited to
hang around the edges and see if we are really your sort (Roland
clearly is!)

> Now My father had always said, do a job you can be proud
> of. Which as a child I always took to mean do a job he can be
> proud of.  

Along in the story comes Dan and Jeff. If every
> there was such a thing as Hippy, New Englander Carpenters
> these two would be it. .
snip roofing per FAQ...
> 
> Dan replies, "You don't understand, I won't put my name on
> that roof." Long story short, we ripped the roof off and
> started over, under Dan's watchful eye this time. Jeff went to
> the hardware store with Dan's credit card and brought back the
> shingles needed to finish the job right, paid for on Dan's account.
> 
> Back to the story at hand. That's when I understood my father
> meant.. "Do a job I can be proud of, even if no one else can see
> difference "

This is a common story and useful for getting a certain kind of
pride and attentiveness into a child, but I think for adults there
needs to be a corollary.  Do the best job you can, but be patient
that there will be someone more experienced who can do it better
while you are learning.

My biggest problem in woodworking was that I started making my own
clothes at 15, and my pickiness increased as my workmanship did.
There are also a lot of clothes you can make without being a
Parisien couturier.  In woodworking my taste was far above my skills
and the problem became to figure out a project that when finished
would be acceptable to me while I acquired skill (and unlike sewing
I didn't have a mentor in the house).  One of the reasons I became a
Dunbar shill is my first sackback, when painted, was the first
woodworking object I made that someone who didn't know my hobbies
didn't realise was homemade.  I am still not up for a Queen Anne
highboy, but I can now see a path that direction.

Now he is trying to document his learning...

> 
> I was wondering, if maybe, when I get some lesson done here
> and there, If I could bring it to "the porch", have my betters,
> make  sure that I am not learning it wrong, or worse teaching
> it wrong.  Then I thought I could add comments from the
> porch, as a kinda  correction, and alternate way to do things,
> mayhap if you guys think it's worth reading, I'll put it in a web
> page, so that it could help along other disciples to the galoot
> cult.

Check out Robert Weber's page:
www.jlatech.com/rob/Woodworking/Knowledge%20Base.htm
You might save some time and energy in your learning.  Bring your
lessons to the porch, you get multiple varying opinions and
approaches that would never have occurred to you by yourself.

(personal rules, only human powered, will only buy tools
better than he can make)

Check out the Knowledge Base as above.  There are articles
on making various wooden and metal planes, bowsaws and
handsaws, a variety of benches and miscellany.  I suspect
you may have to buy boring tools (Wayne Anderson, got a sexy
racheting brace in the works yet???) but chisels are
comparatively easy (many can be done as stock removal without
forging).  To temper small parts like that, see the micro
forge at http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/forges/microfrg.htm
and see Rev. Ron Hock's treatise on heat treating on his page.

Welcome! (we are called the Support Group From Hell for a
reason, let me put a little more linseed in your path...)

-- 
Esther Heller
bench built Windsor chairs
www.estherheller.com

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