OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

31854 Eric Johnson <eric@t...> 1997‑12‑08 A Bio, and a question.
I started woodworking a few years ago, and was headed down the Norm
path.  Then I bought a new block plane at a local hardware store, but
couldn't get it to work right.  I started looking for info on using it
on the internet, and stumbled upon the old tools mailing list.  I've
been following the list off and on for a little over a year now.  It
intrigued me that so many people were hooked on using old tools to do
woodworking.  At first
I thought that while the idea was interesting, I would never get sucked
in to doing things that way.  But then, I bought a used bench plane from
my neighbor.  It is a recent vintage #5 1/4 with thin cheeks and a
definite blueish tint to the japanning/paint.  After tuning it up, it
worked great.  I was hooked.  At this point I started picking up a plane
now and again from the usual internet sources.  I've discovered that the
more planes and oldtools that I have, the better my woodworking gets.
My wife has an outlandish theory that I've gotten better with practice,
but I'm not buying it.

I'm afraid I might not have a lot to offer the list at first.  I'm still
relatively new to oldtools, and have a lot of learning ahead of me.  I
don't have a lot of experience with woodworking.  I worked a lot of
construction related jobs when I was in college, but nothing real
woodworking related.  The construction jobs primarily served as
reinforcement for my desire to complete college, and as a way to pay for
college.  I'm now a computer programmer, but there are plenty of days
when I wish I was still pounding nails, driving
a forklift, or painting a six panel door.  I'm in my mid-thirties,
married, with a five year old daughter,
and a two year old son.  We're living in our first house, which has a
roomy garage which works well for woodworking.  The only drawback is
that we live in Minnesota, and the garage gets a little chilly in
January and February.

Now here's my question.  I recently picked up a #40 at a flea market.
I'm trying to
figure out the best way to sharpen the blade.  I'm sure that there's
plenty of folks
who have sharpened theirs, and I'm hoping to learn a good technique for
doing so.

Thanks,

--
Eric Johnson
ericj@t...
http://www.the-johnsons.com



Recent Bios FAQ