OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

164606 "Ray Drueke" <drueke@a...> 2006‑11‑05 Updated BIO
Well, I've been sitting over by that tree there for about 18 months,
listenin' and watchin' what goes on up there on the porch.  Learned a
lot
but it's time to move a little closer so I need to tell my story.

I turned 60 last year and am living with my girlfriend in New
Bedford, MA (old famous whaling town, Jeff). My professional career
has been extremely high tech for well over 30 years and I'm really
enjoying woodworking now.  At the end of the day I can say
"See what I did" and I don't have to take 30 minutes to
explain it and watch people's eyes glaze over.  That's neat!

[Update] Just turned 63 and we've moved to Rhode Island! We're now
living in Little Compton, the
southeastern most town in the state. The house is on 11+ acres but
most is
wetlands.  I now have a heated 2 car garage for a shop and the cars
stay
outside!

I've been kinda handy 'bout as long as I can remember, mostly with
things around a home. I remember as a kid having a workbench and
my own tools next to my dad's in the basement in Detroit (the Motor
City, Jeff).
I can also remember NEVER being able to get a hand plane to work
right back then and really getting mad at it. All I remember is
chatter and gouges and...

After those incidents I guess I shied away from sharp edged hand tools
and stuck to those with tails. Until about 2 years ago when I was
able to set up a shop again, after about a 20+year absence.  For some
reason I
tried an old #4 Craftsman smoother and stuck with it for a bit. Got
it to produce some curly things I'd never seen before.  I was in
big trouble-I'd just tripped over the edge of that nasty, rusty slope,
landed on my nose and was headed downhill fast!  I'm now up to over
20 Stanley Baileys and Bedrocks, almost a full set of hollows and
rounds
an' edge beads an' center beads an... Just bought my second woody plow
at LFOD on Friday. Got too many handsaws and lots of chisels and
even 5 or 6 mitre boxes.  God, this stuff multiplies in a hurry!

Projects: [Update]This past year I've built a few more cabs for the
new shop, a 12x18 shed for
the lawn tractor, garden tools and Diane's birthday gift ('53 MG-TD),
Also did the trim work,
walk-in closet(9x12) and bath vanity tub face panels (mahogany) for
the master suite addition.
Used some hand tools where I could but I still use tailed tools so the
projects get done
this century.

I went to The Windsor Institute a couple years ago and still haven't
done
another chair but maybe this year - too many other projects.  Its
started so I guess I
qualify for stalled projects status on the porch.

All these projects and the new kitchen and pantry cabinets for the 100
yr
old house in New Bedford were done mostly with tailed tools but I'm
finding I'm reaching
for the hand tools, especially the old ones I've managed to round
up  (NOT collect!).  I'm also noticing that I go a little slower using
the old tools, more careful and I'm even thinking about who used these
before me and what they did with them.  I know everyone expects
pictures
and those will come in a while. My current project is a walnut tea
chest
for Diane and I just finished a tool chest for her son who just got
his
general contractor license.  His 30th birthday is coming up and that's
my
gift to him along with filling it with hand tools at least twice his
age
(some nearly 3 times his age!) as well as those of his maternal
grandfather.
The chest is based on a woodworking magazine adaptation of the Seaton
chest
and I deviated from that a bit as well.  This one started as an old
trunk
and I added  a saw till and plane till in the bottom and a separate
tool
chest that can sit out on the workbench or be stored as a till in the
chest.
I also added a handled, open tool tote that sits at the same level in
the chest.
Both can't slide at the same time but that's ok since one or the other
will be out when the chest is open.

Anyway, I've taken enough bandwidth for now so I'll head
back over to that tree.

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Recent Bios FAQ