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...
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