I just realized that my old Bio is from another life. I am 67 years old and have been retired for two months. A while ago, I made a lot of furniture in a pretty well equipped power tool shop. I actually got to the place that people were asking me to make stuff for them, and offering to pay me to do it. I read every thing l could get my hands on. I watched Norm and Roy and even though I was mostly a power tool worker, I thought Roy was having a lot more fun in the shop. I got to the place where I was doing a lot of joinery by hand and, would often use my Spiers infill smoother for final finish prep. I discovered Brian Boggs, and the Windsor chair guys and began to really enjoy that kind of woodworking. With all of the above, we had a bunch of Hoosier Galoots and my shop hosted gatherings, visitors included Ralph Brendler,Don McConnell, and Lady Esther, among other non-Hoosiers. Some great times. Sudden divorce. Moved out of my nice shop. Tools in storage. Fast forward 9 years. The pull of the wood finally pulled me back and I set up shop in my basement. I gave away my table saw set up, a jointer, 4 routers, a slot mortiser, half a pickup truck load of jigs and fixtures that supported my power tool woodworking. I did keep a Benchtop planer and bandsaw, but really prefer to work without them. I have chosen to do as much as I can with handtools, and to work hard on the skills that I never developed ( hand saws) . The last two projects, I used planes to get wood ready to join. I am having a lot of fun. My product is probably not as good as it was when I had all the power tools, but I am gaining on it. I really enjoy this bunch of folks and have been here for a long time. I also hang out over at The Old Tools Porch. I enjoy the Schwarz's writing, and his particular brand of anarchy appeals to me, though I do not need a tool chest. I must confess that he has caused me to put a Roubo bench on the must make list. I find Paul Sellers very interesting. Maloof is still my woodworking hero, and probably always will be. Such gorgeous work in such impressive quantity. We are likely to move soon, as this house is way too big for empty nesters. So, I am very impatiently waiting for that to shake out as I have several things that I want to do that require waiting to see what my new shop will look like. (Roubo bench and a series of cabinets for my tools) I have started carving ..not as an end, but to complement furniture projects. It is fun and a little easier than I thought it would be, though I have a long way to go to reach so-so. I am trying to muster up the discipline to actually get rid of some of the tools that I have compulsively acquired. I was hoping to sell a few dozen block planes and spokeshaves, but have you seen the prices on the bay recently? Nobody buyin. The migration to mostly hand tool work does not carry with it any notion of purity, or any other such nonsense. I just like the quieter, cleaner, safer way to work wood, and I feel much more satisfaction from the work. It is your shop and if you want to cut dovetails with a chain saw, it is your call. I continue to marvel at how the internet has made it so much more convenient for us to learn more about this wonderful obsession. Ron. A Kokomo Galoot Sent from Xfinity Connect Mobile App ------------------------------------------------------------------------