Robert Brown

I am an aircraft painter near retirement. Couple of years ago I started thinking about what to do when retired. Lot of fishing here but a man can only fish so much. (Plus I am not any good at it and not crazy about the outdoors either.) There is also a lot of trees here where I live. My neighbors cut down a red oak. I got some pieces and cut them into slabs planning to do I don't know what with them. My wife talked me into getting a table saw so I could do some repairs around the house. I have always liked wood; the smell, the texture and the look. (It is so varied.) All this came together and the light went on over my head. So I dabbed a bit and the more I played with wood and read about woodworking the more I liked it. Then I discovered I really like hand planes more than I should. So I am an unskilled but wanna-be hobby woodworker who enjoys using his hands and mind.

I am retired now. I have about all (60-70) hand planes I need for now. Acquired a whole bunch of chisels. Maybe as many as the planes or more. Then went into a hand saw phase. Have maybe 20-30 hand saws. Taught myself how to hand sharpen the saws. I enjoy using hand tools more than power tools. But still find power tools useful. As for projects, there has only been one, a shoe box kit. Which I am happy with. It is made from the red oak my neighbors cut down. But apparently I enjoy restoring old tools more.