Hi, not much going on here in the "Sunshine State" ( still firmly believe a politician named it that ), bit drizzly and nasty out today and I'm under the weather so yeah. Hi, how's it going, what's up?

Welcome I am just north of you in Atlanta and we have the same, wet and kinda crappy.

 

Nice handplane!

Welcome aboard , good ta see ya. Tell us about yourself and what you make.

Ahhh Hotlanta.... spent a LOT of time in and around there when I was stationed at Fort Benning.

 

What do I make.... according to my wife, a mess....

 

Seriously I make all kinds of things and it's hard to tell what I'll make next. Right now I've got that hand plane bug and loving the Post WWII Defiance series planes like the 1204 I posted above that I restored and put back into service.

 

Just picked up some pine to build a simple desk for the bedroom to put my computer and stuff on... I shouldn't say simple really, it's going to be made from a couple of 2x10's held together with dowels and walnut bowties, epoxy to fill in the knots, and trimmed around the edges in cedar. Looking to get my hands on a couple of old cast iron MILLER sewing machine legs to refinish since my last name is Miller, I've seen a couple of them so I know they're out there, just have to find them. If I can't find those I'll go with some plain ones and just refinish them.

 

Right now, the exact thing I am working on is repairing one of my 3D printers so I can try out a 3D Printed Hand Plane.... I'm really curious to see how this works, if it does. I know I can print knobs and totes with no problem, but the concept of a 3D printed hand plane that would be worth a dang seems rather far fetched.

 

About me... hmmmm, where to start... rode hard and not quite put up yet? Just coming up on 50, 49 this year so still plenty of years to raise hell and make things. I am finally settled down and enjoying a quieter life and my wife gave me the garage which I turned into my workshop/mancave where all kinds of things take place.

 

Most recent project I completed was a leather stitching pony made from oak, nothing spectacular about it but I made it and it works There's also the Cedar prototype in the background. I've got a video of building it up on my YouTube channel.... not sure if links are allowed for that so I will pass on posting that. There's a gentleman on YouTube I started following named Rex Krueger that really inspired and got me out of my shell and motivated me to be more open.

Welcome aboard Stephen, glad to have you here.  Look forward to seeing more of your projects.

A big WELCOME, Stephan. Posting YouTube videos is allowed. Let's see 'em.

9 hours ago, The Idle Hands Workshop said:

What do I make.... according to my wife, a mess....

….Now why does that seem familiar!..

 

Welcome Stephan!

Don't know about the mess part. My wife thinks the shop is where to the magic happens. Or I am summoning demons tough call some days.

 Welcome Stephen

Welllllll..... I hate this state lol. The weather is foul, has me way under the weather and got sent home from work so I've just been puttering around my desk a bit. I was able to work on my Eclipse 1203 and get it mostly completed and blued, just have to cleanup the tote and knob and it'll be looking pretty and ready for use again. This one I got off eBay because A: I needed it for my set and B: Because I convinced the wife that it needed love.

 

I told her it was sitting there all pathetic looking and had a wooden sewing thread spool for the front knob and that it reminded me of one of those ASPCA commercials.... for just $19.00 a month you can help stop the abuse and neglect of hand planes and show them the love and care that they need and deserve. She caved when I showed her this pics of it and the price was right so into my collection it went. Trying now to find an affordable Eclipse 1202 to add to the collection for my birthday in April; accidentally let one slip through my fingers on eBay this week because I was at work and not paying attention.

 

As for YouTube, here's my channel... The Idle Hands Workshop

 

Managed to shoot a quick little video of me bluing some parts for the Eclipse 1205 I have as well today... wife wouldn't let me go out and play with my toys since I stayed home sick from work lol.

Welcome to the forums, and you can't possibly hate your state as much as I do mine...but that's another conversation. Regardless, good to have you here.

7 hours ago, The Idle Hands Workshop said:

Because I convinced the wife that it needed love.

Hey, That's my excuse for the old machines that follow me home. 

You really brought that Eclipse back to life. She's sure pretty. As to Fl and OH, I like them both. 

Fred & Stephan, what's holding you back from moving? 

Several years back a group of my uncles & aunts all moved to Florida (from various upstate NY towns).  They had all spent their lives complaining about the NY weather, the NY taxes, the NY roads and just about everything else NY.  It was only about 3 years later and they all started moving out of FL, one by one, until they were all back in NY!

2 minutes ago, Cal said:

Fred & Stephan, what's holding you back from moving? 

Several years back a group of my uncles & aunts all moved to Florida (from various upstate NY towns).  They had all spent their lives complaining about the NY weather, the NY taxes, the NY roads and just about everything else NY.  It was only about 3 years later and they all started moving out of FL, one by one, until they were all back in NY!

North to south moves are often fraught with regrets. Horace Greeley got it right. Although today, one might want to stop a bit short of CA.

Just now, Gene Howe said:

North to south moves are often fraught with regrets. Horace Greeley got it right. Although today, one might want to stop a bit short of CA.

Moving has been known to cause cancer. Thus it is banned in the state of California.

16 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

North to south moves are often fraught with regrets. Horace Greeley got it right. Although today, one might want to stop a bit short of CA.

 

Not to sure about that Gene, a group of these same relatives moved from NY to CA back in the early-mid 60's.  Only three stayed, the rest moved on back to NY!  There were a couple that moved to TX, and stayed.

Before you ask, yes - my mother came from a large family, she was the oldest of 16!  Made for some large family reunions when they were held...

16??!!??. Wow. My wife was one of 9 and I thought that was a big family. One of her brothers fathered 11, though. Her family reunions usually number well over 100. All but four of the over 100 live east of the Mississippi. Most, still in IL. 

Edited March 6, 20206 yr by Gene Howe

1 hour ago, Cal said:

Fred & Stephan, what's holding you back from moving? 

 

My wife, she won't leave the grandkids. I told her...if she goes first my arse is out of Ohio the next week.

I would love to move up to New York... I've got family in the Olean, Wellsville, Cuba area and friends up in Plattsburgh where we used to live. In a year the window for moving opens when the mother in law retires. She's the anchor... wife won't leave her behind and I kinda like having her around... specially when she buys me tools for my birthday lol.

 

I'll get some better pics this weekend of the Eclipses.... I'm really having a blast cleaning these up and using them. My wife made a comment about never using them and I showed her I used them on several projects around the house.... now I get to buy more