OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

53568 Dave Hucaby <dave@i...> 1998‑11‑19 Bio - Dave Hucaby
Well, I guess it's about time I owned up to my lurking - I've never
posted a bio, and I've been on the list since Patrick first
began posting his FS lists on rec.ww   :=|  Do I win a prize?

Hey, don't put that spitoon over my head! Put that #8 down
right now! It's hard to post a bio when folks is flinging you
over the porch rail.

Now then, I'm 35, a Kentucky native, and am a network engineer
(no time for woodworking, there's Cisco books to study!) for a
small consulting firm. I have a super wife of 11 years and a great
3 year old daughter, who is really good at hammering finishing nails.

I grew up tinkering with all of my late grandfather's hand tools
(they all went to my dad & uncle), but never really catching on
to the beauty of using them to build things. My grandfather died
10 years before I was born, but I think I latched onto his career
as a carpenter as my inspiration to get interested
in oldtools. I spent some time on rec.ww, actually bought a
Porter Cable r**t*r, never even turned it on for 3 years, and
ended up selling it as new on rec.ww a year or two ago. The
old handtool zeal has come upon me big-time.

I never realized the excitement of building things with wood until
I made our fireplace mantle out of some walnut my father in law
had sawn from his farm and stored for 20 years. Having no tools,
I hired someone to mill the moulding profiles into the wood for me.
Some cuts with a circle saw and sandpaper (no planes at that time),
and the results were pretty good.

Actually, it was the beauty of the finished walnut that sparked up
a real interest in learning to use handtools. I couldn't wait to work
on another project! Well, yes I could. My wife and I built our own
house (very long year), and then had our daughter. Needless to
say, my "shop" has never been a shop - it's more like a dumping
ground for everything else in the basement to rest in while I can't
get around to working wood. I was able to make a rocking horse with
a carved head (ala Anthony Dew's great book) for my daughter.
Carving turned out to be the most fun and relaxing work I think
I've ever done.

Oh yeah, since I can't actually work wood right now, I suppose I
*am* a collector. Someday, I hope to be a user. How's that for
honesty? I use/collect primarily Preston tools, but can't
seem to turn down any other English tools. They sure are purty!
I've also found that I'm collecting books about oldtools (as many
of you have) - especially 18th century tools.

Well, enough about me. Hey, is that Norm and Steve in that big
pickup over there?
[creating a diversion so's I can ease back into the bushes]
Dave Hucaby      dave@i...      Nicholasville, KY



Recent Bios FAQ