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My Creative Side
I've always loved creating things. I guess its in the blood as I grew up in a crafty sort of family. My dad was a commercial artist and illustrator, my mom liked to cook and garden, my sister loved to make clothes and my brother was very skilled air-brush artist, taxidermist, gunsmith, and loved working on cars.
By the time I was knee high I was carving neckerchief slides for me and the other cub then boy scouts. I know I'm dating myself but some of you might remember the "Boy's Life" magazine, each month had a new design for those neckerchief slides in each issue and I always had a few carved before the next scout meeting.
By the time I was in my early teens I was working on the weekends and some nights at my uncle's tool & die shop, becoming a skilled machinist before I reached my 20s. During my high school days I worked with a team of other students to design and build a house, it was a modest 2-bedroom box house, but I learned a lot. Subsequent endeavors included building room additions with my dad on the family house and making a lot of furniture to fill it.
My First Piece of Furniture
My first piece of furniture I ever made solo was a Dough Box I created in the 9th grade out of maple. Yeah. everyone else was making a bird house or feeder, but I had to make things difficult. Mr. Thompson said no, but after much insistance he called my dad who said if I could figure out the compound angles ahead of time let me. The long and short of it he did. I made it using only 12 screws which held the two top hinges in place, other than that, the entire piece is held together with wooden dowels. It still has the origional hand rubbed oil finish. And, we still have the piece in our house; it has held up well over the years.
My dad taught me the power tool side of woodworking, but it wasn't until the mid 90's that I got interested in how our forefathers made furniture. One trip to the Smithsonian Museum to view the antique furniture and my curiosity was peaked; I needed to know more about how they created such beautiful furniture with the tools of the time.
In the mid 90's I discovered the Galoots on the Porch, better known as the OldTools. OldTools is a mailing list catering to the interests of hand tool aficionados, both collectors and users, to discuss the history, usage, value, location, availability, collectibility, and restoration of traditional handtools, especially woodworking tools.
Once, I discovered this group I was hooked! Consequently I spent years attending tool auctions, garage sales, and tools meets like the MWTCA acquiring a nice set of working hand tools. And, about as much time possible learning how to properly use them; I figure in another 100 years I should have it down pat.
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