I was chopping up some firewood when my 12 y.o. son asked for a piece of
wood "to play with" - "sure, np". Off he goes to the shop and pulls out the
Disston 7 tpi crosscut, clamps the log in the vice and proceeds to do a rip
cut down the 10-12" length of it. At this point I am restraining myself and
think "take thyself inside", which I do.
Watching through the kitchen window, I see him cut four roughly square sides
then stop, seemingly unsure of what to do next. By now, unable to restrain
myself, I rush out and grab the highly polished and scary-sharp #4 bailey.
He looks daunted now, the shiny plane is one of dad's prize possessions -
and he knows it. I explain how to use it, "go with the force young Doug" I
say, and he does. Little wispy trails begin to appear and I watch his
confidence build. Firmer strokes, long sweeping strokes that produced nice
even shavings; here I go back inside to watch again.
He now has a sweat up and is still experimenting with the plane, adjusting
the depth of cut here, trying against the grain there, getting the thinnest
possible shavings and feeding them to shop-dog. He bevels all the sides at
45 deg then flattens the block again, stopping to go inside the shop and get
a square to test his work. This continues until he's left with a 3/4 inch
dowel that is hard to clamp in the vice. What a way to spend an hour, just
watching.
I saw his first steps as a baby, but I think most parents could have
described that feeling to me and I would have understood what they meant.
It's a much more select audience that could describe, or understand, the
feeling of watching their child get 'hooked' on a hobby that gives them
pleasure too. That look of being totally absorbed while he planed, up to his
knees in curlies, will be a moment I won't forget in a hurry, and it's nice
to know he appreciates the hand tools - not just the pow-whirrr tailed
stuff.
When I put away the plane later on I noticed a few scratches from the vice
where he'd obviously got a bit closer than intended. Normally this would not
be a good thing, but today I figure it's better than having a photograph. My
tool now has an indelible memory of a special moment of my son's life
engraved into it, something I will recall each time I use it and look at the
marks.
Most of my tools tell a story of some kind, from a dark bloodstain on a
chisel, to missing chunks in my workbench. These scratches will now have a
special meaning to me, able to be "read" only by me, a photo would not
convey the full memory like the scratches will - does this make sense?
We need moments like this, every now and again, to make the world right.
On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 07:16:28 GMT, Tom Veatch <[email protected]> wrote:
> Groggy, I'm sure you've heard this before, but you are one helluva
> writer!!!
>
> Thanks.
> Tom Veatch
> Wichita, KS
--
Thanks Tom, you're too kind.
Greg
In article <[email protected]>, Groggy
<[email protected]> wrote:
> We need moments like this, every now and again, to make the world right.
Amen.
djb
--
There are no socks in my email address.
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati"
Groggy wrote:
> "Silvan" chiseled in pixels:
> > Do I get to gloat that my boy has a pretty good touch with a plane, and
> he's
> > only nine?
> Sure, why not. We need to refocus on what's important to us at this time of
> year; kids, family and being generous of spirit.
> cheers,
> Greg
On the flipside, my Old Man was out here about 1/2 a year ago. while he
was looking at my planes he complained that the stanley he'd got at the
local Borg just didn't work as well as the one he had when he was
younger - WWII. I sent him a tuned #5 type 17 for xmas, coulda been the
one he had,age is right, but it shaves real nice. My Mom says he spent
the afternoon in the shop making a mess, never could wait to open
presents. Well worth the time and sweat.
Merry Xmas,
Dave in Fairfax
--
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 04:14:40 GMT, "Groggy" <[email protected]> wrote:
=><snipped for brevity only>
=>...
=>We need moments like this, every now and again, to make the world right.
=>
Groggy, I'm sure you've heard this before, but you are one helluva writer!!!
Thanks.
Tom Veatch
Wichita, KS
Groggy wrote:
> We need moments like this, every now and again, to make the world right.
Do I get to gloat that my boy has a pretty good touch with a plane, and he's
only nine?
Or about the time he came out to the shop and said "Can I have a piece of
wood to play with? I want to practice chopping hinge mortises."
Awwwwwwww. :)
I didn't learn any of this stuff from my own dad, so there's no family
tradition here. We're making *new* traditions right now.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 04:14:40 GMT, "Groggy" <[email protected]>
brought forth from the murky depths:
>Most of my tools tell a story of some kind, from a dark bloodstain on a
>chisel, to missing chunks in my workbench. These scratches will now have a
>special meaning to me, able to be "read" only by me, a photo would not
>convey the full memory like the scratches will - does this make sense?
Man, you're just full of these touchy/feely things today, aren't you?
>We need moments like this, every now and again, to make the world right.
Yes, we surely do. Thanks for sharing.
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