OldTools Archive

Hello Galoots,

I have been lurking for only a short time, but I have a couple questions
on issures I would like to bring up and figured it was about time I
started participating.

I joined the Army in 1997 after having spent a bit of time as a band
director in the public schools. I enlisted as a trombone player and was
sent to Germany. (This all seems a bit off-subject, but stay with me, it
gets relevant. OK, maybe not, but if I can't ramble here, where can I?)

The post I worked at had a woodshop available to Soldiers to work at and
there was a retired Sergeant Major who worked there by the name of Don
Mann (sadly, now deceased).

Don was a character, but a good teacher. I wanted to build some
furniture for my barracks room, and didn't know fine furniture from
knock down junk, but he educated me on using good designs and good
joints. I would go to him with an idea of what I wanted to do and
somehow he would get me to change my mind to make something that wasn't
junk, but instead quality furniture. All the pieces I built there I
still have.

This was definitely NOT a galoot woodshop. But, after a small pine
bookshelf and a really nice oak coffee table, I decided I wanted to
build a blanket chest. My idea was a design with panels, stiles and
rails, and somehow he talked me into doing an heirloom piece from black
walnut with handcut dovetailed joints.

He showed me what tools to buy (handtools in a shop like this were
dificult, if not impossible to keep tuned well), and had me spend
about a month practicing on scrap before I was good enough to start on
this project.

This project was going great, and was almost finished when disaster
struck! I met the love of my life. Somehow that chest has been in a
state of almost done ever since.

Somehow after that time I had been back to that shop to do a couple
little projects, but always wanted to get that chest finished.

In the beginning of 2004 I got married, my wife (who is German) bought
an apartment in Munich, and I was deployed to Iraq.

My wife and I had fairly comparable (in pay and benefits) government
jobs, and being sent to Iraq made it easy to decide which one of us
would give up our job to stay with the other. Working for the German
Patent Office, she wouldn't ever get deployed to a war zone.

While in Iraq, I was lucky and got to play my trombone a lot. Not
everyone in my band did. But still, there was a LOT of down time. During
this time I started thinking about my upcoming life as a civilian after
Iraq, in Germany, and in our new home. And most importantly, how I was
going to set up my shop!

In Germany, it is common to buy an appartment, something I am not used
to having grown up in Montana. Anyway, Germans are very polite and
conscientious neigbors. Very rarely do you hear noise from the other
owners. If you have to make noise, such as drilling holes to hang
pictures, you can only do it from 8 AM to noon, and 3 to 6PM Monday
through Saturday.

You get my drift here. If I wanted a table saw, I wasn't going to be
able to use it much, especially when I got a day job. Not to mention the
space. The only space I have for woodworking is in the storage area we
have in the basement. Our cubicle is only 9 by 10 feet, and SWMBO does
not want to dedicate that space to woodworking, I have to share it with
our storage.

So, I spent a year in Iraq thinking about how I was going to have my own
shop at home. Really, the only way is the Galoot way. Power tools are
pretty much out in my shop. The only tailed thing I have is a little $40
drill press I couldn't pass up.

The problem is, I don't really know much about hand tools. I read a lot
of books on the subject in Iraq. The next step was I bought a lot of
tools from all kinds of places. I got a nice set of planes from Steve
Knight, who I never got around to sending a picture of me with his
planes in Iraq, like I promised him. Sorry, Steve. I got some more
chisels from Woodcraft, and a whole bunch of old junk from *Bay. My plan
was to perfect my technique there and start building stuff here.

Basically, I only got to improve my sharpening skills, and I started
learning to use the tools when I got back.

The look on the face of some of my collegues was priceless when they
asked me what I was making, and I replied "sawdust."

Anyway, this last weekend I finally got my shop set up more or less the
way I want it. The back wall is mine. I have my old junky storebought
bench in the corner as a stand for my drill press and a sharpening
station, on the back wall is the new bench I made (most of it I did at
my old Army woodshop, but some I did at home with handtools), and I
have storage for my tools and supplies, I have more light and power
fixtures I installed, and I laid down a PVC floor donated from my
mother in law over the cement floor that was creating a lot of dust.
What more could I want?

Here is a link to my newly remodelled shop:
http://community.webshots.com/album/551458230fCYcZU The object in the
middle of the floor taking up most of my free space is that old walnut
blanket chest. The plan is for that to be the next thing I finish!

Actually, this brings me to my first question for the porch -- How do I
get SWMBO to agree to find somewhere else for all of the other cr*p in
my workspace?

Anyway, for those of you brave enough to read this whole post, I am
sorry, I can not give you back the 10 minutes of your life you wasted
reading this. But to make it up, when you are in Germany, I will buy you
a mass of beer at the biergarten across the street from my house.

Tchuss,

Brian Eve
------------------------------------------------------------------------

161261	gehentogo@g...	2006‑06‑19	Bio
Hello Galoots, I have been lurking for only a short time, but I have a couple questions on issures I would like to bring up and figured it was about time I started participating. I joined the Army in 1997 after having spent a bit of time as a band director in the public schools. I enlisted as a trombone player and was sent to Germany. (This all seems a bit off-subject, but stay with me, it gets relevant. OK, maybe not, but if I can't ramble here, where can I?) The post I worked at had a woodshop available to Soldiers to work at and there was a retired Sergeant Major who worked there by the name of Don Mann (sadly, now deceased). Don was a character, but a good teacher. I wanted to build some furniture for my barracks room, and didn't know fine furniture from knock down junk, but he educated me on using good designs and good joints. I would go to him with an idea of what I wanted to do and somehow he would get me to change my mind to make something that wasn't junk, but instead quality furniture. All the pieces I built there I still have. This was definitely NOT a galoot woodshop. But, after a small pine bookshelf and a really nice oak coffee table, I decided I wanted to build a blanket chest. My idea was a design with panels, stiles and rails, and somehow he talked me into doing an heirloom piece from black walnut with handcut dovetailed joints. He showed me what tools to buy (handtools in a shop like this were dificult, if not impossible to keep tuned well), and had me spend about a month practicing on scrap before I was good enough to start on this project. This project was going great, and was almost finished when disaster struck! I met the love of my life. Somehow that chest has been in a state of almost done ever since. Somehow after that time I had been back to that shop to do a couple little projects, but always wanted to get that chest finished. In the beginning of 2004 I got married, my wife (who is German) bought an apartment in Munich, and I was deployed to Iraq. My wife and I had fairly comparable (in pay and benefits) government jobs, and being sent to Iraq made it easy to decide which one of us would give up our job to stay with the other. Working for the German Patent Office, she wouldn't ever get deployed to a war zone. While in Iraq, I was lucky and got to play my trombone a lot. Not everyone in my band did. But still, there was a LOT of down time. During this time I started thinking about my upcoming life as a civilian after Iraq, in Germany, and in our new home. And most importantly, how I was going to set up my shop! In Germany, it is common to buy an appartment, something I am not used to having grown up in Montana. Anyway, Germans are very polite and conscientious neigbors. Very rarely do you hear noise from the other owners. If you have to make noise, such as drilling holes to hang pictures, you can only do it from 8 AM to noon, and 3 to 6PM Monday through Saturday. You get my drift here. If I wanted a table saw, I wasn't going to be able to use it much, especially when I got a day job. Not to mention the space. The only space I have for woodworking is in the storage area we have in the basement. Our cubicle is only 9 by 10 feet, and SWMBO does not want to dedicate that space to woodworking, I have to share it with our storage. So, I spent a year in Iraq thinking about how I was going to have my own shop at home. Really, the only way is the Galoot way. Power tools are pretty much out in my shop. The only tailed thing I have is a little $40 drill press I couldn't pass up. The problem is, I don't really know much about hand tools. I read a lot of books on the subject in Iraq. The next step was I bought a lot of tools from all kinds of places. I got a nice set of planes from Steve Knight, who I never got around to sending a picture of me with his planes in Iraq, like I promised him. Sorry, Steve. I got some more chisels from Woodcraft, and a whole bunch of old junk from Bay. My plan was to perfect my technique there and start building stuff here. Basically, I only got to improve my sharpening skills, and I started learning to use the tools when I got back. The look on the face of some of my collegues was priceless when they asked me what I was making, and I replied "sawdust." Anyway, this last weekend I finally got my shop set up more or less the way I want it. The back wall is mine. I have my old junky storebought bench in the corner as a stand for my drill press and a sharpening station, on the back wall is the new bench I made (most of it I did at my old Army woodshop, but some I did at home with handtools), and I have storage for my tools and supplies, I have more light and power fixtures I installed, and I laid down a PVC floor donated from my mother in law over the cement floor that was creating a lot of dust. What more could I want? Here is a link to my newly remodelled shop: http://community.webshots.com/album/551458230fCYcZU The object in the middle of the floor taking up most of my free space is that old walnut blanket chest. The plan is for that to be the next thing I finish! Actually, this brings me to my first question for the porch -- How do I get SWMBO to agree to find somewhere else for all of the other crp in my workspace? Anyway, for those of you brave enough to read this whole post, I am sorry, I can not give you back the 10 minutes of your life you wasted reading this. But to make it up, when you are in Germany, I will buy you a mass of beer at the biergarten across the street from my house. Tchuss, Brian Eve ------------------------------------------------------------------------
169821	Darrell & Kathy <larchmont@s...>	2007‑05‑13	Re: Bio
Tony, Welcome to The Porch! Carlisle, eh? That's not too far away from where I live. You'll have to drop by one of the Galoot BBQ events some time. You managed to get to that auction on Saturday I see. I was out camping with my son's Scout Troop, otherwise I'd have been bidding against you. Who was your Windsor chair teacher? I took John Robinson's sackback class years ago. Still only have four chairs completed... -- Darrell Oakville ON Wood Hoarder, Blade Sharpener, and Occasional Tool User ------------------------------------------------------------------------
169822	"Tony Augruso" <augrusot@c...>	2007‑05‑13	RE: Bio
Thanks for the invitation. I took John Robinson's sack back class about 3 years ago. I had a great time. I'd love to go back and take one of the other classes. Just don't have the time or the money at the moment. I did a run of Windsor chairs and I need 3 or 4 more to finish my original plan, but other projects have put the chairs further down the TODO list. My house at the moment is in a state of unfinished projects. Each room my wife enters reminds her of another unfinished project. Tony -----Original Message----- From: Darrell & Kathy [mailto:larchmont@s...] Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 8:48 PM To: Tony Augruso Cc: 'oldtools' Subject: Re: [OldTools] Bio Tony, Welcome to The Porch! Carlisle, eh? That's not too far away from where I live. You'll have to drop by one of the Galoot BBQ events some time. You managed to get to that auction on Saturday I see. I was out camping with my son's Scout Troop, otherwise I'd have been bidding against you. Who was your Windsor chair teacher? I took John Robinson's sackback class years ago. Still only have four chairs completed... -- Darrell Oakville ON Wood Hoarder, Blade Sharpener, and Occasional Tool User ------------------------------------------------------------------------
170115	Gary Roberts <toolemera@m...>	2007‑05‑25	Re: Bio
Jordan Welcome to "the Porch". And as for not having much to contribute... Piffle and Fiddlesticks. What makes you think that any of us know what we are talking about? Join in and say whatever you want to say whenever you want to. But keep it clean else the ListMoms get angry. Best Gary Gary Roberts Dedham, MA toolemera@m... - - - www.toolemera.com "I would rather read a good book, than write a bad one." Christopher Morley ------------------------------------------------------------------------
170112	Ken Cutting <cuttings@m...>	2007‑05‑25	Re: Bio
Jordan Baker wrote: -total snippage-(to keep it short) To paraphrase: A whole bunch of stuff that we are all intimately familiar with! -end total snippage- That's the way the Galoot cookie crumbles! Welcome to the sunny side! Happy Galooting, Ken ------------------------------------------------------------------------
170124	Ken Cutting <cuttings@m...>	2007‑05‑25	Re: Bio
Listen to Gary! He hails from the location of the ol' US's first public school! Founded in 1643! Imagine shop class back then! Happy Galooting! Ken ------------------------------------------------------------------------
170175	"Frank Sronce" <dilloworks@s...>	2007‑05‑27	Re: Bio
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken Cutting" > > Listen to Gary! > > He hails from the location of the ol' US's first public school! > Founded in 1643! Imagine shop class back then! Ken, I didn't realize Gary was that old! Frank Sronce (Fort Worth Armadillo Works) ------------------------------------------------------------------------
170254	Gary Roberts <toolemera@m...>	2007‑05‑30	Re: Bio
Welcome to the Porch James. Unlike Ken, I do not have an oldtools problem. They just seem to follow me home and accumulate, whether I like it or not. Best Gary Gary Roberts Dedham, MA toolemera@m... - - - www.toolemera.com "I would rather read a good book, than write a bad one." Christopher Morley On Tuesday, May 29, 2007, at 09:47PM, "James Bunker" wrote: >Greetings to all Galoots! > >I have been lurking under the porch and have enjoyed the freindly >banter and old tool talk. If I'm not careful I just might learn >somthin! I would like to state at the outset and for the record that I >am not a tool colector! I picture myself more in the rescue and >rehabilitation line. I like to find old usually user quality tools, >mostly out in the wild. I take them home, clean them up and give them >some TLC to make them usable again. My focus is mostly on woodworking >tools but other kinds of tools do ocasionally follow me home. My >interest old tools goes back as far as I can remember. (Is it possible >to be born a Galloot?) I recall as a young child opening my dads tool >box and reading the special message that he had painted inside the lid >just for me and my brothers. It read simply, "Like H*ll its yours! Put >it back!" Now I ask you, what better way to encourage curious young >minds to do something than to forbid them from doing it? Perhaps it was >my pursuit of secret knowledge that has spurred my fascination with old >tools. Apart from using them I enjoy researching them to find out where >they are from, how old ect. I live in Beaverton, Oregon. (part of the >U.S. west coast thats not California! Jeff)with LOMF and in this case >SWMBO refers to my cat who really does run my life! I think that is >wonderful to have found a group of people who share my addic....er >interest. > >Jim > > > > ________________________________________________________________- > ____________________Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? > Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. > http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7 > >----------------------------------------------------------------------- >- >OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool >aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage, >value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of >traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools. > >To change your subscription options: >http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/oldtools > >To read the FAQ: http://people.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive/faq.html > >OldTools archive: http://people.iarc.uaf.edu/~cswingle/archive/ > >OldTools@r... http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/oldtools > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
170251	Ken Cutting <cuttings@m...>	2007‑05‑30	Re: Bio
James Bunker wrote: -snip 1- > Greetings to all Galoots! -end snip 1- Hi Jim! -snip 2- > I think that is wonderful to have found a group of > people who share my addic....er interest. > > Jim > -end snip 2- Welcome! My name is Ken, I have an old tool problem too. Pretty soon you'll be sliding down so many slopes so fast you won't know which way is up. Oh, you've come to the right place! Happy Galooting, Ken ------------------------------------------------------------------------
170455	paul womack <pwomack@p...>	2007‑06‑06	Re: Bio
Mike Jones wrote: > Esteemed Galoots, allow me to introduce myself. . . . > > I've always had a passion for things with sharp edges, so I'm particularly > fond of chisels and planes. Welcome, Brother!! BugBear ------------------------------------------------------------------------