Is this OK in here? What about telling something about yourself.. It could be fun? With new edits.
Sort of about me.. I left out a bit on the following. I never mentioned that I majored in English. I passed the tests but not a real English major because I cannot spells or write words!
…. this is an extraordinary group of people.. YES we are!
As to my skills.. I consider myself a mechanic. Yes, a humble grease monkey. I have no problem with dirt under my nails and scraped up hands and fingers. In fact, I love it!
Mostly self-taught here by trying different things. I try anything at least once. Some I became good at. ALOT no so good at…
As a boy, I made all sorts of stuff from old Orange Crates and my little old hammer and some used nails that I collected at the local dump.. I had to hammer most of the nails straight again before I could use them… My brother and I made many LARGE firecrackers using chemicals, no child OR adult, can get anymore.
As a child, I was always in trouble for taking things apart. OK, only for the ones I never got back together in working order. As in my grandfathers railroad pocket watch. He was really mad at me.
And then I became a bit older and inlisted in the USA Army (1960?). I took all the tests for aptitude and they wanted me to be a Radio Operator. I flunked the Morse Code test so I was made an Ordnance Mechanic for the Self Propelled Artillery. BIG GUNS! I was given a NEW M88 Recovery Vehicle!
http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/modern/m88/m88.htm
I was in HEAVEN! What a big/expensive toy to play with!
Anyway, I found my bride so I had to leave the Army so I went to College as my new bride worked. I tool electrical engineering and I was hooked again!
My new bride bought me a ALTIAR 8800 computer kit:
http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynami…c.altairs.html >>>> EDIT 1: Sorry a bad link!
Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_8800
I then had to find a old Teletype machine so I could adapt the paper tape punch to load a startup program into the 8800.
http://www.vintage-computer.com/asr33.shtml
OH what fun it was! Then I found out that I needed TTL chips to adapt the reader/punch to the 8800. I bought the Texas Instruments book on TTL..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TTL_Clock.jpg
More fun…
Then we had babies so I had to give up everything except the wife and children! Not so bad… I then got a new job with my employer designing test circuits for electronic circuit boards.
More Fun!
Edit 2: I majored in English (And Passed?) part time while working. A long process of many years because I was on the road most of the working life. Made the Dean’s list! He must have made a mistake!
Then after 45 years of working I got downsized.. I then went back to woodworking! And finally saved enought money to get my CW!
More Fun.. My CW machine has been, mostly, OK!
EDIT: I forgot to say.. I bought a Singer Inspiration sewing machine. Not the best they have but little money these days. I now have to sew the canopy cloth for my two chinese style canopy beds I have made. I think I post in here someplace some while back. Not that good at sewing a straight line yet. But getting better at it!
Replies
you can put these type of things in your profile if you like, but no one seems to use it
I see that one of the fellows that posts here has his gender listed as other; wonder what it is
ron
Gender: Other
Ron,
Yes, I bugged him (at least one of the "Others") about it. Apparently, it has something to do with the changeover from the old Knots and now there is no option to change it. Good for a chuckle though.
Will
I have followed and enjoyed your posts as long as I have been addicted to this site. I have no problem with your request? and it is good to get to know more about the people you are corresponding with. From your posts Will you seem to be the type of neighbour I would like to have and reading of your achievements and skills even more so.
....as for me I was born at a very early age in a log cabin I helped my father build..........did a quick review of my life and after eliminating the bits Lataxe is waiting to hear, there's not much to recount. Will have to work on a sanitized version.
wot
Wotnow..
you seem to be the type of neighbour I would like to have ..
I live near Chicago proper... Grew up in the City proper...
These days, not many folks gather together as neighbors. I remember as a child, we going there and they coming here to our house every other day... What a shame that folks never seen to sit out on the porch/stoop and just talk to each other!
My long time neighbor is American Indian. 100% Wisconsin Indian. A wonderful family with such beautiful children that were raised to be polite to others. Hard to come by these days..... They are REALLY nice people. Hell, they even put up with me...
And my new neighbor on the other side. They built a house fit for a King and Queen.. VERY EXPENSIVE next to my old Shack...
I 'think' they are from Eastern Europe (Chec)? We talk alot but not sure everything they say to me.. But we try to communicate... Two lovely children that translate for me..... LOL... The oldest child is 5 years old. I have fun anyway. I love little children.
Some other neighbors just think I'm the local NUT.. I'm OK with that...
Will and Wotnow --
Love your comments and learning more about you. I enjoy knowing the people behind the work. The work can be fascinating, but the people bring it to life and tell "the rest of the story."
Thanks for letting us in.
Alan - planesaw
How Chris became Chris@flairwoodworks
It seems to me we had a similar discussion a few years back started by blewcrowe called, "Who the hell am I?" or something along those lines...
Me? I started woodworking around the age of ten, in middle school. I remember doing little projects like building balsa wood (and plastic) models before that as well. Some time in middle school, I started to build my shop. In high school, I landed a job (my first aside from delivering newspapers for holiday relief) at a little family run store called Lee Valley Tools. I graduated from high school and decided to take a year off to ponder which trade school I'd go to for post-secondary. I was considering British Columbia Instutute of Technology (BCIT), Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), and Inside Passage. One year went by, then two. I had spent so much time reading and practicing woodworking, I wasn't sure that the money invested in school would be worth it. So I didn't go back and I've yet to regret that.
I continued to work at Lee Valley while practicing woodworking in my shop. I keep an open mind and continue to practice many fields of woodworking including furniture making, box making, shop-grade cabinet making, hand carving, power carving pyrography, and turning. Through Lee Valley, I met some very valuable contacts, most notably Dave K., who mills wood as a hobby. We barter - I make him stuff and he mills wood for me. It's a pretty sweet deal. Through LV, I also got a couple small jobs for extra cash. My first commission was for a staff member. I underpriced it at $800, but I was grateful for the experience. I continued to make furniture for friends.
In November 2008, I officially opened my company Flair Woodworks. I have a woodworking background, not a business background. I told myself that I would take it one step at a time, and that has worked so far. Tax time is coming though... Under Flair Woodworks, I've been quite productive, turning out work on a regular basis. I learned early on that working with a budget in mind is not the way to do good work. Some might argue that building without a budget in mind is not good business, but I'd much rather provide too-expensive work of excellent quality than low-priced, flawed work. I could not live with that.
I am proud of everything that comes out of my shop. Some of it is quite regular other quite spectacular, some controversial, and my recent work is even a little quirky. All of my work is built as I am inspired to do so. Inspiration is everywhere, as I like to say.
I would categorize my turned pens and carved tulips as "regular". Sure, I've added my flair to them, but they are still quite traditional in appearance.
Two of the more spectacular (in detail as well as sheer size) are my recent butternut Vined Headboard requiring over a hundred hours to carve the panel or the waterfall bubinga table I've dubbed "Flow" which was a joint project with Morgan (AZMO).
My most recent piece, "A Classic with a Twist" has stirred up quite a controversy. Most people appreciate the reuse of the walnut, but I've gotten a lot of frowners who compare the top to a wood floor.
"Green Man Chris" (my self-portrait) would definitely fall under quirky.
At 22 years of age, I definitely still have a lot to learn. The day I die will be the day I stop learning. I am always trying new things and pushing the limits of what can be done because you'll never know where the line is until you cross it.
Woodworkers know that plugs are useful for covering screw holes. Here's another type of plug: If you visit http://www.flairwoodworks.com, you can see all my aforementioned projects!
Reply To All....
I only posted this topic to 'lighten up Knots'... I am not above poking fun at myself. I do try (mostly) not to do at others unless I am sure they will not be offended. Not here to 'tick' folks off.
Also, I think knowing something about the folks that visit makes whatever they post in here a bit more meaningful. I know for a fact, that sometimes/mostly, my brain and keyboard on not tuned to the same transmitting channel.....
I'll tell you a short story, Will. When my father was about 12, for his birthday he was given a workbench made by a local woodworker along with some basic hand tools and a book called, "The Boy Builder". When I was around 12 I found the book and started in doing a few of the projects. I inherited his Stanley #3, still have the book and the bench. When my grandson gets to be about 12, I'll pass them on. I think dad's birthday gift was a great one. He enjoyed woodworking all his life. Those simple tools and projects led me to becoming a full time woodworker. Who knows what the next generation will bring but he will have something to start with. Maybe they will be enjoyed and get passed on again.
Good story!
Well written - interesting, inspiring, informative, and more incisive than mine.
Chris,
Being the tender age of 22 explains why you were able to fit your life's story on one page but does not explain how you were able to obtain so much skill, talent and wisdom. You will go far.
Bret
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled