OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

2986 Hal Laurent <laurent@c...> 1996‑07‑30 Introduction
I've been lurking for awhile and recently realized that I'm supposed to 
introduce
myself, so here goes...

My name is Hal Laurent, I live in Baltimore Maryland (northeast of Fells 
Point
and a bit west of Highlandtown for anyone familiar with the area).  I 
program
computers for a living and to support my hobbies.

All of my life I've had a strange (to some) compulsion to makes things from 
as
close to scratch as I can.  For example, I bake most of the bread we eat at 
my house (and not with a Normite bread machine, either) and I make my own 
beer (when I
have time).   Another hobby of mine is photographing buildings, especially 
old
industrial ones.   But no new-fangled 35mm cameras, I use a 4" x 5" view 
camera
(the kind with a bellows and a cloth you throw over your head to focus on 
the
ground glass).  I also play double bass with a bluegrass band and electric 
bass
with a local singer/songwriter.

I'd done a tiny bit of woodworking as a child, but had pretty much gotten 
away
from it until recently when I decided I needed more bookcases for my home
office.  Being the slightly compulsive person that I am, I got a few books, 
read
up on joinery, bought a few chisels, and built bookshelves using box joints 
and
multiple-tenon joints (actually, I built a [in retrospect lousy] workbench 
first).  It
didn't come out too badly for a beginner, and I was hooked!

While I don't have a philosophical aversion to power tools, I've been using 
hand
tools because:

	1.  I don't *have* any power tools.
	2.  I can't *afford* powertools (although I'm beginning to learn that
	     hand tools aren't cheap either :-)
	3.  My urban basement doesn't have good access to physically get
	     power tools into it.
	4.  The old hand tools kind of fascinate me in their own right.

Oddly enough, I've already managed to run into a former Oldtools 
participant
(Tom Penner), who has helped me obtain a Stanley jack plane (was it a #5?
I'm not sure I've memorized the numbering system yet) to go with the old
Millers Falls smoother I found in the basement.  I still need to get a 
jointer
plane and some mortising chisels.  I also need to learn how to sharpen 
saws,
as all of mine are terrible.

Eventually I'm going to have to give plane-making a try, just 'cause I like 
to make things.  I also plan to combine the woodworking hobby with the 
photography hobby and build my own wooden view camera.

In closing, if any dealers out there want to send me their lists, go right 
ahead.
I'm interested in user tools, not collectibles.  I'm particularly 
interested in tools
that function well (or can be made to) but are not good collector's items 
(and
are consequently less expensive).

Hal Laurent
Baltimore Maryland (USA)
laurent@c...



Recent Bios FAQ