OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

14918 James Hamilton <JHAMIL1@t...> 1997‑03‑11 bio. James A. Hamilton, Galoot wanabe
Well,  I've done it,  I went and posted something without submitting my
bio first. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity though.  I finally
had some information that someone else could use.  It was so exciting.

I promised to send the bio along shortly so here it is.

I'm 28, a programmer for Tandy Corporation, been married for 6 years,
out of college for 3 1/2 years.  SWMBO and I live in Denton, TX.  SWMBO
is supper She's never complained when I've brought home a tool.  That
might have something to do with the fact that I'm incredibly CHEAP.
Since college I've been slowly building my tool collection.  For a while
I was going down the Normie road but always had an inclination for the
quieter tools.  I'm also an incredible clutz (I'm a bad speller too) so
hand tools seem to be the better route for me.  I enjoy quietly working
in my garage/shop, gardening, and reading, and browsing through flea
markets and used book stores.  I used to enjoy watching the Woodwright's
shop on Saturdays until my local public TV station took it off the air.
Now, I'll occasionally tune in to Norm's show or the American Woodshop.
They're almost as good.

In the last few years, I've built "Jakes Chair" for my dad, a doll
cradle for my nease, nise, neise, aw heck! my sisters daughter,  (did I
mention that I can't spell) a Porch swing for my mom & dad and a tatter
bin for my wife, and a sawing bench for me (21" high, about 3.5' long,
about 10" wide it helps a lot).  I'm currently building my workbench.  A
few weeks ago I salvaged a bunch of scrap wood from packing crates at a
local glass store.  I got a few hundred board feet of 2" lumber in
various widths from 6' to 10' long.  That will keep me busy with some
garden and shop projects for a while.

The Oldtools list has helped me a bunch in knowing what to look for in
user tools.  One of my favorite stores is a little house-o-rust in the
flea market just down the road from my house.  I'll drop in once every
few weeks and pick something up.  Last month I got a not-so-old Diston
7ppi saw that I'll use for ripping until I can find something else.  I
also picked up about 10 auger bits, for my $5 MF brace, for $.50 apiece.
 I went to my first auction two weeks ago where I got a Dunlap (I know,
it's not the best) smoothing plane with a pipe cutter, a flaring tool,
and some lineman's pliers for $23.5.  The auction was fun and other
tools alone were worth at least what I paid and the Dunlap is actually
the best plane that I've got right now.  My father-in-law gave me most
of his great grandfather's Union #8C and Stanley #5.  They're both
missing the blade and chip breaker, he says that they're stashed away in
his shed.  They're rusty as can be, but I think that the Union can be
turned into a usable tool.  I've got the regular assortment of tailed
tools but use them very judiciously.  Handtools are just sooooo much
fun.

I've enjoyed this light hearted forum and am ready to take my place on
the porch.  I reckon I'll be doing a lot more learnin' than
contributin', but I'm here, relaxin on the porch.  

James H.



Recent Bios FAQ