Good day all----My initial message went through yesterday, so I guess there
is no choice but to send out this bio. My name is Stephan Opacich and I live
in Appleton, Wisconsin, which is about 25 miles south of Green Bay
(American-style football capitol, Jeff). I have worked as a pharmacist for
25 years (BS in 1975, Univ. of Minnesota), and it was in fact a job which
brought me to this area 17 years ago, from Hibbing, Minnesota, my birthplace.
My interest in old tools can be traced back to my early childhod when my
dad, in the process of remodeling our first house, was planing a door to fit
with a transitional (jack?/jointer?--it was 40 years ago, after all) plane.
That plane and the wooden level that he used are the only tools I can
remember from the remodel, but they left a lasting impression. I got started
down my own slippery OT slope in a serious way around 5 years ago, with a
slight *l*ctr*c detour along the road. My accumulation of old tools, users
all, continues to grow, primarily through garage and estate sales, but also
by way of antique stores and auction (only one so far, but I look forward to
more). My current project is a softwood workbench, on which the base is done
and the top is in the process of being glued up. Some day I may build the
hardwood bench of my dreams, but for now I thing this pine one will work out
OK. This brings up a question about air-drying lumber. A pharmacist friend
from Green Bay who owns some land in Door County (looking at a map of
Wisconsin, which looks a little like a mitten, Door County is the thumb part
of the mitten) had some tornado damage to his land a couple of years ago,
with quite a few good size trees blown down. He had them hauled to a near by
sawmill, had the trees milled and dropped off in front of his barn door. So
when he asked me if I would like to help him haul his lumber up to the second
floor of the barn in exchange for some of the wood, I said sure. There is
lots of beech and ash and some oak and a little cherry and maybe other which
I can't recall at the moment.The wood was piled and stickered and has been
drying for about a year and a half now, but some of it may be 8/4 or more.
Should it be sufficiently dry at this point, or should it be left for a while
yet? At this point I am in no hurry to use the wood yet, but was just
wondering what your opinion is. TIA. SteveO.
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