OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

39423 Brent Clukey <BCLUKEY@e...> 1998‑03‑16 Bio: Brent Clukey
Hi all-

Since most of my "contribution" to the Porch for the next foreseeable future wil
l be neophyte requests for info that's blatantly obvious, I figured I should at 
least post a bio to let you know who I am.   I'm mid 30's, married with one wife
 (damn, I'm not a Mormon) and no GIT's.   I currently don't even have any pets u
nless you count fish.   I don't.

I live in Austin, TX now, but grew up mostly in Maine,   and try to get back the
re as often as I can.   My father is   responsible for my interest in woodworkin
g.   Over the   years, Dad built many things out of wood, usually one   type of 
thing at a time-- getting to the point where he   would start to be quite good a
t making it.   Then, at the   point where he could be darn good if he kept it up
, he'd try   his hand at building something else.

Up until recently, my experience in woodworking has   largely been watching my D
ad make stuff.   I'll try to give a   brief rundown of this, together with my ad
ventures with   wood.

Late 60's to mid 70's:   Dad has built a couple of guns   (Kentucky flintlock ri
fles), and tinkered with making a few   knives.   I'm mostly climbing trees.

Late 70's:   Dad makes his first wooden strip canoe in the   basement of our hou
se.   He feverishly works to finish it   before 1980, when I will go off to coll
ege.   The reason   being that he doesn't want to have to dig the hole beside   
the foundation of our house where the bulkhead will be   put in to allow him to 
get the canoe OUT of the basement.   He finishes in plenty of time--I dig the ho
le.   As far as   wood goes, I'm mostly splitting it and burning it in our   woo
d stove.

Early 80's:   Dad's building more strip canoes.   I attempt to   lumber pulp woo
d on our family acreage in Garland, Maine as a nice summer job.   It rained a lo
t, and the price of pulp   wood fell through the floor.   Couldn't even find any
 mill to   take the ~10 cords that me and my two buddies cut.   Those piles of w
ood have just about rotted away now.   Those old-timers who tell you that a whol
e tree will rot   away to nothing in about 15 years know what they're   talking 
about.

Mid 80's:   Dad's back to building Kentucky rifles and   knives.   I refinish a 
couple of antique pieces that my folks   had given me to furnish my new apartmen
t in Dallas with-- thereby totally ruining their worth to any serious antique   
collector.   But gees, I think they look nice with that high   gloss poly finish
 over the stripped bare wood!

Late 80's:   Dad's building furniture.   I'm back to burning   wood in my totall
y worthless yuppie fireplace in the frigid   climes of Dallas, Texas.

Very early 90's:   Dad is building a 2700 sq-ft log home on   the family land in
 Garland--doing the whole house (with a   little help) from the exterior to the 
trim.   I'm thinking that I'd   really like to get into woodworking so I could h
ave more   furniture.

1992:   Dad's finishing up the house.   I'm actually up there in Maine with him,
 due to his deteriorating health.   With a   
little bit of guidance (and a mix of hand tools and the other   type) I managed 
to build a banister, and a couple of box   housings for overhead lights.   Learn
ed what the heck a   miter was.   Was told that a jig would help me with make   
quicker cuts with the miter saw.   So I did a little dance and   got thunked up 
beside the head.   Learned what a jig was.

Mid 1990's:   Dad is done woodworking.   I want   to carry   on the tradition, b
ut I'm back in Texas in an apartment,   back in graduate school with no money.

Now:   To give the "Wheel of Fortune" job info (how to   totally give away who y
ou work for without mentioning   the company's name) I work for the Employees Re
tirement   System of a large state government headquartered in   Austin, Texas. 
  I finally have a house, half a garage for a   workshop, and I Really, REALLY w
ant more furniture.

So, I'm acquiring the tools I need, looking for a good   source of wood, and doi
ng some reading so that I do this   right...   And I will be asking stupid quest
ions every now   and then.   Please bear with me--I'll actually contribute   whe
n I can.   Sorry this was so long.

-Brent Clukey 
"Please don't mistake anything I say for a sign of intelligence"

                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
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Recent Bios FAQ