OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

38691 CHARLIE ZUERCHER <arcez@a...> 1998‑03‑04 Bio: Charlie Zuercher
GG - 
Figure it's about time I spoke up and offered my bio, after a couple of months
of lurking, and a month or so as a subscriber.
So, my name is Charlie Zuercher, I'm married, both kids are now out of the
house, two cats (aka terrorists), live in beautiful Bozeman, Montana where I
work in the Residence Life Dept of Montana State University-Bozeman as the
Conference Coordinator.
After a too-long hiatus, I just recently re-discovered the joys of working 
with wood.  My grandfather first introduced me to wood and basic woodworking
when I was a young boy, and instilled a lasting respect for the beauty of wood
and the honor of being able to use it in projects.  I'm still very close to 
my grandfather, even though he lives 1200 miles away in San Diego.  At 95, he
isn't doing too much woodworking anymore, but still manages to build a 
couple of complicated cranes and other toys for great-grandsons.  He is still
using up the exotic hardwoods he shipped back during many trips to Africa
in the late 40's through the 60's.  One lingering memory is of the odor as
the r*dial *rm s*w cut into the "elephant's fire hydrant" - I need to find
out the species some day.
I was lucky enough to have been born on my grandfather's birthday (Aug 5 - this
will become more important in a moment), and this just makes our special bond
even better.  Had a significant find recently - over the last few months, I've
been seeing and passing up a marking gage in a local antique shop that caught
my eye with its 1873 patent date.  Well, the other day I pointed it out to
SWMBO and explained about the 1873, when I noticed that the date is actually
Aug 5, 1873!  That made it a no-brainer decision, and I didn't think to even 
try to lower the price.  
As I was getting back into wood, I confess that I was sorely tempted to succumb
to evil thoughts of "needing a t*ble s*w" to build things, etc. until I saw an
article in a woodworking magazine detailing construction of a quilt
hanger/shelf.  It was the kind of project I was looking for to refresh some
skills, and SWMBO is a quilter, so it fit.  But as I read the article, I was
very much put off by the instuctions:  "First, on your t*ble s*w..., next, on
the j*inter..., then go to the r*uter t*ble..."  Well, you get the idea, and
I got p*ssed.  So I've taken an almost perverse pleasure in doing as much
as possible the OT way.  Have completed two hanger/shelves out of Walnut, and I
must say they turned out okay.  SWMBO is very pleased, and I'm very proud.
I had an epiphany over this past weekend after I did a rough SS job on my #4
size Sargent Hercules and let it taste some of the Walnut.  What an experience!
Thin, long, wide shavings with no effort, no chatter - even over some problem
figure.  SWMBO wasn't home, the cats were unimpressed, so I just kept on
planing and grinning.  Think I'm hooked?
And then I find out on FMM that Chuck Zitur is just down the road a piece 
(in MT, 140 miles is just down the road), so maybe this isn't the depths of
tool hell, after all!
Well, that should do it - thanks for reading the long post.  I really feel
fortunate to have access to this wonderful resource, and am looking forward
to learning from each post that comes across my screen.
Take care,
Charlie

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Recent Bios FAQ