OldTools Archive

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116754 "Jason Starbird" <JasonStarbird@a...> 2003‑04‑23 My Bio
Hello to All Galoots!
    I've been lurking around the porch now for about two months and you guys
are sure a talkitive bunch!! My e-mail has never been so active!It's been
interesting reading about all of the different sales and things that you go
to. any way, my bio....
    First off, I'm a young Galoot...only 37 . I'm married, have three
children, one cat, one snake, one Iguana, one tarantula, and one rat. I just
recently quit my job at a large semiconductor plant here in Boise, Micron
Technology, after 13 years there. I was a Equipment repair technician in a
dry etch section of research and development. I'm now self employed at home
out in my 11 x 22 single car sized wood shop. I've had a custom furniture
business in my spare time for about 4 years now. I decided it was time to do
it full time and see if i could make a go of it. I have enough customers to
keep me busy for now. SWMBO was very supportive, and is keeping her job at
the same company for the insurance benefits etc.
    I've been interested in old tools ever since i read The Handplane book
by Garrett Hack. I'm a subcriber to FWW, Wood, American Woodworker, and
Shopsmith.I've been drawn to the old tools out of curiosity, and the sense
of satisfaction working with them, and not electric varieties. I do have a
shop full of them and must use them more often than not, but will grab my
old planes and scrapers, shaves every chance I have.
    I'm a collector / user and started down the slippery slope about 3 years
ago. I think I may have the mother of all gloats, and that was enough to get
me started collecting. My wife and I were traveling on my motorcycle across
Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, and back.....We stopped at every antique
shop that we passed, and looked for old planes, levels, etc. We were near
the end of our two week trip, and two days from being home. We went through
Weaverville Ca. and noticed a antique shop, and a place to eat lunch. We ate
lunch and then headed up the block to the shop we passed on the way in. As
we got closer, there was another one right across the street from it, called
the Mayors House Antiques. we stopped in there first. It was not my kind of
shop...mostly books, glassware, silverware, girly stuff I call it. No tools
any where. My wife was busy  looking around, and I was ready to go. She was
still looking around, and I decided to make one more pass around the store.
When I got back in the corner where it looked like storage, and book keeping
stuff., I noticed two planes sitting on a stack of magazines. One I think
was #4 Stanley, and the other I just knew had to be a #1. It was tiny! I
picked it up, and it was a Stanley, SW era, In great shape. All of the
original laquer on the totes, 97% of the japaning, A small amount of surface
rust. My heart stopped. I looked for the price tag, but could find none. I
had read about the #1 in the plane book, and knew they were very desireable,
but I didn't have a clue to the value of them. I was figuring on how was I
going to convince SWMBO to spend $150.00 plus on this little plane. So I
figured that i would just look at it for a few minutes at least. The wife
came over and saw , must have been some glassy eyed look, or i had gone pale
, look on my face and asked me whats wrong...I showed her the plane and
convincer her it was something special. She said, well lets take it up there
and see....So we did. The guy at the counter said, well...I just got that
in, don't know to much about it, so hows $45.00 ? I was expecting $145.00 ,
so in my steadiest voice i could, I said I'll take it. Gave him my Visa card
, and with $3.15 tax, I went out the door with a near mint #1 for $48.15 .
We took it over to the shop across the street, and this guy, was a big time
tool collector, had a whole wall of the Staney tools etc. He said he'd been
looking for a number 1 for the last 10 years! The look on his face when I
showed him it, and told him where I got it, and how much I paid for it, was
something I'll never forget. We talked about it for a few minutes, and I
confessed that I really didn't know how much it was worth. he got out a
Walters book on Stanley tools and showed me. I about fell over dead right
there. It was something. We wasted no time getting out of town, and I felt
like the cops were going to be after me after the guy who sold it to me
found out what he'd done. So, that's my best gloat i have. A hard one to top
I'll admit. Since then, I've amassed about 30 -40 hand planes, mostly all
metal. 602- 608 bedrocks. 1, 3-8 Bailey's. Never have gotten #2 yet
though....A nice 66 hand beader. In the box, 45. LN 112. A nice 40. A 100
1/2  from a fellow Galoot. Levels, Trammel points, catalogs, rules, etc....I
try to get only tools that I can and will use, but occasionly get others if
it's a good deal. I want to learn to use a scraper better, actually how to
burnish better. I do all of my sharpening on a set of Japanese waterstones,
with a Veritas honing guide. I have yet to find one or make a guide that
fits the wide blade on my 608.
    Any way, i've rambled on long enough. It's a pleasure to share the porch
with you all!!
Jason Starbird
Jack of All Trades
Master of None.
Mountain Home, Idaho



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