OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

166256 <don.bruey@t...> 2007‑01‑04 Member Bio
Howdy.

I've been browsing other people's messages for a while, and have
responded (mostly privately) to a few messages of interest, and figured
I might as well post a bio. 

I'm soon to be 39, have two boys 4 and 6, married for 13 years.  I write
software used by accountants, and work for a very large company.  I
primarily use C#/.Net, C++, XML, and SQL Server, in case such letters
and words have meaning to you.  

My primary hobbies in the past 10 years have been making scale models
and playing guitar.  I have recently started building small wood model
kits, and am currently working on Midwest Model's Dinghy. I've built a
few of the Guillow's model planes.  

For a long time I have been interested in the idea of woodworking and
making furniture and that kind of thing.  I also looked into building a
guitar, but realized I didn't have the tools or experience to do so
successfully.    I have not been willing to take the plunge purchasing
all the power tools that it seems I would need to produce Norm's weekly
bookshelf or table.  Last year, I finally broke down and bought a nice
Dewalt router, found at a discount by my brother, who makes part of his
living making heavy-duty wooden road cases for travelling musical
groups. 

I started using the router, and the noise and the dust were surprising
to me, both in the table and in the hands. The kids couldn't stand to be
in the basement when it was running. 

As I was looking into router dovetail jigs on the web I ran across an
article about hand-cutting dovetails.  After reading it, I realized that
if I was going to be doing this in the basement, and I wanted to include
my kids in it, and I wanted to be able to do it without spending 20
minutes afterwards cleaning and putting away hearing protection and
goggles, I should look into hand tools. 

I had an old block plane I bought a long time ago at a hardware store,
and obtained another block plane and old Craftsman #4 from my dad.  I
borrowed a honing guide from a co-worker and tried scary sharp on the
irons, along with a cheap hardware store chisel.  It worked pretty well,
and after flattening the sole of the smoother, I ended up with a decent
user.  

In the short term I'd like to make a new workbench that's a sturdier
than my current one, and I'd like to put a few drawers into a rolling
cart I built last year from lumber scraps.  I don't have any ambitions
to create a cherry entertainment center or my own kitchen cabinets.
Yet. I've been absorbing as many books as I can find in my local
library, which is a lot.  I just watched Frank Klausz's dovetail video,
in which he made dovetails look easier than making a peanut butter
sandwich. And I learned a lot.

My kids like to come down to the workroom (the unfinished part of the
basement where the workbench is) and saw wood into pieces, hammer
together "airplanes" and paint their creations.  My older son, who is
almost seven, can cut a pretty straight line with a saw, has a good,
straight hammer swing, and has used my cordless drill and tailed jigsaw
with my help.  I'm looking forward to them growing up and learning about
tools and being handy with them.  We were watching "This Old House" once
and Tom Silva told the homeowner to not lean into the saw, just let the
saw do the cutting.  My older son said "Hey, that's what dad says!  Let
the saw do the cutting!"  Made me feel good. 

I have received an invitation to a local WW club that I hope to attend
in the coming months, and I'm looking forward to learning more from all
of you. 

Don B ruey in S.E. MI

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