>No biggie. I'm trying to quit smoking, just testy lately, I guess :-).
BTW, sorry but you ain't gettin my old chisels :-). That's why I'm not buying those LN beauties any time soon, I'm really happy with the few Swans and Witherbys I got off ePay. Still working on a decent set, but I'll get there.
If I was looking for a first set of chisels, though, I'd seriously consider those LNs if I could swing it, based upon the quality of the few LN planes I have. Wish they'd been around when I bought the Marples and Crown chisels I don't use anymore.
>Al bump and I were in the same squad going thru the Drill Sgt. Academy.The movie Forrest Gump came out while we were there so of course we all started calling him "Forrest Bump".
Now Al was from "The Division"(82d Abn)and was a near stand-in for the terminator,absolutely no emotion,a machine,a soldier`s soldier,you get the picture I`m sure.
For those who don`t know,the academy is all about front loaded stress and weeding out those who can`t handle it.It requires you to be an exemplary soldier at all times or pay the price.The instructors were on you 24/7 and never missed a chance to mess with a candidate`s head.Given the circumstances we did what any right thinking individual would do and messed with each other every chance we got.
One of the favorite ways of trying to get to Bump was to paraphrase lines from the movie.While standing class A inspections you could expect someone near Bump to whisper something like"Life is like a box of condoms,you never know how ------ it`s going to get".It never failed to snag someone,but never phased Bump.That is till an instructor asked Bump one day on the chow line what his one outstanding feature was(they were always asking off the wall questions to gage your reaction)Before he could sound off with the answer I replied for him"I got shot in the buttocks".Bump turned bright red,executed a perfect right face and left the chow hall.We found out later from a friend of his that he had in fact taken a round thru the right cheek during the first gulf war.Moments like that are,you guessed it,priceless.Here`s to ya Al,wherever you are.Hope you`re still wearin` the hat.
>I am very content with what I have, which I could compare to what others have and not be content at all. But I will continue buying tools, probably my whole life. Why would I buy tools I don't "need"? Because I appreciate well made tools. The desk I am sitting at, which once had a nice clean and in fact spotless top, is now loaded down with so many tools there isn't room for anything else. To continue acquiriing stuff and yet be content with what I have is a fine line; to live at peace with one's self is something that few people ever learn how to do, and yet the road to perfect peace is mapped out very clearly in one of the oldest books in the world.
I hope to buy a set of Lie-Nielsen chisels; 1) They'll look pretty good in the tool box. 2) I expect them to be better than Stanley 750's; the Stanley 750 is an average mass produced and mass marketed chisel; Lie Nielsen produces for and markets to distinguishing craftsmen. 3) I won't be afraid to use them; I have a nice set of 750's that I think I should keep for my grandchildren.
>"some gadget with a threaded rod and a thumb-wheel..." looks to me like a typical pair of dividers or maybe inside or outside calipers, probably old, maybe Starrett. I wouldn't expect something like that would appear in an L-N catalog anytime soon.
>Actually, when I lived in snow country, some fellows used to play golf in the winter with orange-coloured golf balls.
The worst ball finding confusion on a golf course that I ever experienced was in Clayton, New York, when one morning the course erupted in puff-balls (spherical, white, golf-ball-sized mushrooms).