Ok, geez, where to start.
Been a GIT myself, (not quite a galoot yet) for several years. Only
academic training in woodworking (in the worst sense of the word - read a
lot, haven't done much of anything) for a long long time. Built a king
sized platform bed about six years ago (all 'lectric), can't think of
another woodworking project I've completed. Fair amount of carpentry,
plumbing, renovation, electric, even concrete work though.
My shop: Seven years ago I bought the house I live in now - and will for
the next 15 years, at least. I posted to rec.woodworking at the time, about
my plans for a shop. Web page coming, but in the meantime, the short story
- It's _under_ the garage. The way this place was built, they did
foundation and full 13 course cinderblock wall, built a wooden garage floor
at the upper level on a hillside. The floor was held up by one central beam
consisting of three 2x12s sistered together with a screw-jack post in the
middle, covered by 2x10 joists on 16" centers, with three layers of 1/2"
plywood for the floor. Underneath wasn't finished, and that might be an
understatement. More below... Engineer told them that wasn't good enough
when we bought the house (wouldn't be good if the cars fell through now,
would it?), they needed at least two 16" glue-lam beams with posts. Already
imagining shop space, I asked how much more it would cost for clear span
metal beams instead. $300? "Here's a check, have them do that instead." How
many people do you know that have 14" I-beams in their house?
So I had space for a shop. $1000 in outisde dirt work and $200 in concrete
cutting, and I had an outside door, too. Three weeks worth of a couple of
hours of shovel and wheelbarrow work a day, and I had removed the dirt they
had never bothered to excavate. Another $1200 in concrete, and a little bit
more for a 42" door and frame, and I had a shop.
The project lagged for several years. Bought a _big_ shop inside city
limits with a partner. We rent out various office and garage space, and go
to a lot of auctions to buy more junk. Sell some of that, too, but not
enough. Our 11,000 square foot pole barn is nearing capacity, but mostly
with crap. Not junk. That's good stuff. We're half full with stuff that was
too good to leave (after buying a row of pallets) but not good enough to
sell. But hey, there's a lot of treasures in there too. Anybody need a 20"
Dewalt three-phase radial arm saw? Naw, that's not galootish... Even the
2000 sq. ft. we keep for ourselves seems to fill up with stuff that just
has to be inside. Anyway...
Recently, I've had time to work on MY shop again. Insulation, electric,
wall coverings, etc. Pictures will come (as I said) but being nearly ready
to have a bench and a place to work at home, I had the inclination to
browse the web and the world for woodworking info. Having always had an
interest in old tools (both tailed and non), I was immediately fascinated
by the porch. Imagine my pleasure when finding Chris Swingley is not just
the archiver, but somebody I'll be able to learn a lot from, and in my
area, too! I doubt there are many of us in Fairbanks. I'll send you email
soon Chris - we'll get along great. In any case, I'll soon have a heated 26
by 20 foot shop for a total expenditure of less than $4000. Ceiling height
could be better, but I've got 8'2" to the _top_ of the joists. Enough to
swing a sheet of plywood, if I hold it the right way :).
Tools I own. Pretty sad, I can fit this in a smaller paragraph than others
in this post. Newest purchase was a user Stanley #7 from our favorite
auction site. First decent galoot tool was user Stanley #4 at the flea
market back east several years ago. That's the only one that's tuned. Scary
sharp, even! Got a Miller's Falls #5 at auction here in Fairbanks last
year. Have a couple of spokeshaves, saws, drawknives, etc. from other
auctions, but those belong to the downtown shop - along with couple of
other Stanley's - router plane (missing a couple of knives) and shoulder
plane. Have a couple of block planes, lots of old but not antique paring
chisels (Buck Bros., Stanley, etc.). One 1/2" Weatherby mortice chisel,
looking forward to turning a handle for it. That's about it.
So why the bio? Heck, I feel at home here already. And in a month or so
I'll be building my first bench. Can't say I'm 100% against killing those
electrons, but I do like the hand-work. And fixing old tools has always
been a hobby. Can't help it, I'm cheap. Can't say that I seem to be out of
place here, either!
What else belongs in a bio? Non-woodworking? I'm 35, have three kids (girl
3, boy 6, girl 9), a SWMBO, a dog, and two cats (in some order). I'm a
professor here at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, with a Ph.D. in
math, but I teach computer science. They pay us more :)
Guess that's about it. Looking forward to translating "academic" knowledge
into some neat projects. With no electrons killed, neither!
-Chris
--
"To use bad English is regrettable, to use bad Scotch is unforgivable."
Chris Hartman, Dept. of Math. Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks
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