Greetings to the folks up on the porch.

 My name is  Josh Kaufman and for several weeks I have been  quitely
absorbing the large quantites of information  that are generated each day
by this lists contributors (lurking  has such ugly connotations) . At any
rate here is yet another  bio from a thirty something ex-Norm emulating
weekend wood-mangler.
 Week Days I am a  biochemist at the National Institutes of Health in
Bethesda Maryland .  I spend my days at work making oldfashioned
handcrafted recombinant  proteins. Of course I have  the requisite SWMBO
and two children in  sizes small and extra small.   Having a real job and a
young family means that my time spent woodworking is often measured in
minutes and not hours.
  I began woodworking  about eleven years ago when I discovered that the
furniture I could afford was absolute junk and  that  well crafted
furniture of real wood was beyond my means.  I also concluded that the
unadorned modern designs I liked are not  dificult to make  with a few
tools and limited experience.  Unfortunately I fell into the  mindset
popularized by most woodworking mags and the  (in)famous TV woodworker. So
now I have shop equipped with Taiwanese cast iron junk and plenty of hand
power tools.
 But I would not be posting this if events had not conspired to turn me
from the  dark side of the  force.  I recently needed to smooth some very
rough resawn cherry boards and my somewhat tuned  Record # 4 1/2 did a
marvelous job!  The surface was so smooth and clear that It did not require
any other prep before finishing . This event coincided with my reading
Krenov's "Fine Art of Cabinetmaking" . His philosophy of  hand shaping and
finishing really struck a chord when I discovered that my hand planes
really can  do  fine work.
 My objective now is to aquire and learn to use all sorts of woodworking
handtools. Unforntunately SWMBO insists on having a house and paying for
the kids college up front so this will be a slow and methodical process.
 I have been following the threads from this list for only a few weeks but
they have  contributed to the projects that I  am currently working on.
Surfaces  are being planed and scraped while the power sanders  gather
dust.  I have been working on scary sharpening plane irons and chisels but
so far I have  only achieved a worrisome degree of sharpness  ( must spend
more time on the backs).  My shop also has become more inviting and quiet
place.  Lately my daughter has taken to  sitting on the floor making
"masks" with a brace and auger bit while I quietly make shavings.

Regards.   Josh Kaufman

At 10:25 PM -0500 12/13/96, J. Kaufman wrote:
>Greetings to the folks up on the porch.

Josh--
	Welcome to the porch.  I'm sure the various merchants among us will
be glad to help you move beyond your Record 4 1/2, as you have already
taken yourself, apparently.  The real question: How's your BENCH coming
along.  I (and I think many other galoots) soon found, after or along with
the *conversion experience* that a real wooden-top bench of some sort, with
face and end (OK, and/or shoulder and tail) vises, dogs, tray becomes the
center of the shop.  Heck, for Darren in Kearney it's a life! ;-)  I'm
trying to remember who told the saga of the 8-year bench project.  Only in
such a place as Whittier, HaHalifornia, does any galoot admit to putting
cast iron and sharp steel to wood  *secured* in a Sears Workmutt. But he's
a real special galoot, and we love him anyhow.  ;-)
	Tom Holloway,
who just chopped off a pin when he should have been taking out waste, thus
setting back a dovetailed box Xmas present by just that much.  I hate it
when that happens.  *Think before chopping* has now become my watchword.

Tom Holloway wrote:
> The real question: How's your BENCH coming along? 

Well.. I have to admit that I thought they were finished. Two 3 by 4 foot
tables with casters and adjustable feet, one has a MASSIVE(NOT!) record 7"
vise and dog holes in a row of laminated 2X4s. they work great as infeed and
out feed tables but the melamine tops  can't be flattened enough to provide
a useful reference face. I think I see the begining of a long term project.
The first step is to get Scott Landis' book and do some serious drooling.

Josh