Place to learn

Hey, I've been lurking on the forum for a while and just decided to start in on hand tools. I have a number of chisels, a few planes, and 4 or 5 different saws. The main thing that I lack is someone who would be willing to ideally meet with me and give me some guidance on refurbishing and setting my planes. I know there is a wealth of knowledge online about this but you can really only learn so much from YouTube videos. What are some good ways that I could use to track down and make contact with people in my area that have the knowledge I need and would be willing to help? I am located in far eastern Iowa.

Arlin Eastman...Council Bluffs, IA

Marcus,

I am glad that you asked. Not because I can be of any help from the middle of Ohio, but because there are so many people willing to help if you just happen to live near someone. I was thinking about this because in another thread, someone had posted about making some specific choices because of confusion and lack of experience with respect to sharpening. I am not saying that the person made a poor choice, but, I know that I spent much time and money trying things before I found something that works well for me, and if I could have tried a few things with others, that would have been a great help along the way. This is one reason that I am so happy with the others who live roughly near me who have been such a great personal help (they know who they are, Steve, Chris, etc...).

So, for anyone living near the center of Ohio, I can think of a few people who are willing to help.

In Houston Texas, there is "Houston Woodworkers Club", which has monthly meetings. You can get a lot of information there.

Check and see if there is such a club in your area.