OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

-192 Paul Ebert <ebert@c...> 1970‑01‑01 Paul Ebert Bio

Greetings,

I am 37 years old and have actively been involved in woodworking for about 
2 years now.  My growth as a woodworker is (at least so far) very slow due 
to the rest of my life.  I am a Software Engineer specializing in software 
for medical instruments and devices (for example, a blood analyzer).  The 
company I am employed with is a small, but growing company that contracts 
such work from the manufacturers.  We are very busy.  I also have a large 
(by modern standards) family with four children (a boy, boy and girl twins 
and another boy).  I own a home that I call "The Projects".  For these 
reasons, my available time for woodworking comes with great difficulty.  I 
took one-on-one lessons from a professional woodworker here in Ann Arbor 
for about a year and have been building a garage to be my shop (it only 
needs wiring!).  I have (almost) completed one project: an end table of 
cherry and birds eye maple.  This project made it starkly clear that I am 
way too perfectionistic and deliberate to consider a career in woodworking 
(good traits for one who writes software for life critical devices).  Maybe 
that will change with experience.

My short-term goal for woodworking is to make furniture for myself and 
anyone else who might like my work.  I have not thought much passed that. 
 My current designs are markedly "Krenovian", but without what I call the 
bell-bottom effect (as exhibited in his books).  I would love to attend the 
College of Redwoods.

I experience a certain trepidation when I consider collecting tools as a 
hobby, as I already am involved in an insane collecting habit.  That is 
collecting stereo classical and jazz records (LPs) from the golden age of 
recording - from 1954 to the mid-sixties.  If you think finding planes is 
hard, try finding thirty plus year old records in mint condition.  Yes, I 
collect them to play them.  They are the best sounding recordings ever 
made, CDs notwithstanding, IMHO.  Nonetheless, there are tools I would like 
to buy and I occasionally run into tools when I am searching for those 
records.  Most I will buy for my own use, but if I learn enough to be able 
to pick out a treasure, you may see it here.

Well that is probably enough for now.  I am glad I found this group and 
look forward to participating.

-- PKE

"We are the music makers.  We are the dreamers of dreams."
 -- Willie Wonka



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