OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

38976 Nat H <nhoop@c...> 1998‑03‑08 Bio (too long)
Hi Y'all.

I graduated with honors from High School, but the 1 year of math didn't
really prepare me for Reed College(G) Calculus an Physics so I was off and
running...well, stumbling might be a better term.   

I had a lot of curiosity and got into a lot of things...Photographer, pool
shooter, salesman, guitarist wannaby, engineering Tech, computer programmer
and fanatic. I spent quite a few years in middle management as a bureaucrat
in Naples Fl. When finally retired from that I started doing things that I
always thought would be fun. Drove a cab, learned Abstracting and even was
a security officer for a while in a 5-star hotel. A couple of years ago we
let go of the bustle and moved up here to the Ozark foothills (NO traffic
lights!)

About the only thing leading to Galoot-hood was my inherited love of a
nicely finished piece of wood. My dad, who was a tool maker, used to spend
what seemed like eternities shaping and smoothing and just rubbing a found
branch for no other purpose than to make it feel nice.  I didn't really
"get it" as a callow youth, but evidently enough stuck that I did a lot of
gun stock refinishing with "LinSpeed". and culminated in a remarkable
experience this afternoon.

Wood working always interested me, but there was always a hitch. My
'woodworking' had always been equipment based. That is, "Gee, if I only had
a (you name it), I could be a good woodworker. Of course I could never
afford all the "essential" equipment or the space for it. I was headed to
more of the same until I stumbled on "Oldtools" not long ago.

What led up to my magic afternoon was the completion of my nifty new 24 x
38 garage/woodworkshop/poolroom that a neighbor (builder) and I recently
built. I had finally gotten around to outfitting the shop. Today I had
finished drilling 98 holes in a 6' 1x4 and was about to reach for the
Orb*t*l S*nd*r when I thought, "Wait a minute!" I dug up my only LeachPlane
and spent a poorly equipped (no flat plate) time on a ScarySharp on the
blade. For the very first time ever, I made a curl of wood 16" long. I
couldn't read a newspaper thru it, but light came through! WOW!

The feeling of satisfaction I got from this first little step was, well, 
extraordinary. There have only been a few "firsts" in my life that compared
to it. Nah, you don't want to hear about THAT stuff(G)! But this WAS quite
something: I heard that lovely skissing sound as the plane glided. and, OH!
That silky feel of the new surface! And I had done this with an old plane
built about the turn of the century. Whew...Heady stuff indeed! 

So-o-o, I would like to be accepted as a neophyte in the Brotherhood of
Galoots. It would be quite a thrill to sit on the edge of the Porch and
just listen. 

To be absolutely honest, I still use a  p*w*r t**l when doing something
like drilling 98 holes, but I'm really working at keeping it to a minimum.

I want to sincerely thank you all for the inspiration and knowledge you
share so freely. It's been a while since I've felt this young(G).

Best,

Nat Hooper
Oxford, Arkansas

 



Recent Bios FAQ