I graduated from high school... In my family that was a big deal as I was the only the second one out of 6 who did. My mom, to reward the accomplishment, quietly gave me $500 to spend on anything I wanted (she was adamant I wasn't to tell anyone she gave it to me). Anyone I knew at that time would have dropped most of it on drugs and grog, or fixing up a beater that probably would have died a year or two later... I, on the other hand, promptly opened up my Lee Valley catalogue and dropped the whole amount on a bunch of Ashley Isles carving chisels. Fast forward to today theres a few more leather rolls full of carving chisels to add to the originals and, it's been a long time in the making but I've just graduated from university with degrees in Science and Accounting. So, in the spirit of my mother who would have been so incredibly proud, I didn't pull out my Lee Valley catalogue but instead logged onto their website and bought myself something to commemorate the occasion. Unfortunately I guess I don't make a good accountant otherwise I would have adjusted the cost base of the original gift against the many years of inflation, foreign exchange and adjusted accordingly and bought something in around the $1200 range. However, no matter how I argue it, my wife would have had my goolies in a vice if I had dropped that much so I settled for the new rabbet plane.
The pic shows the original chisels and the leather roll I made the summer they showed up. They've suffered a bit in their early life with me, my mom decided to reorganise my things when I was off traveling around the world and stacked a tub full of water and my japanese stones on top of the chisels. Needless to say all the water slowly leaked out over the months and soaked the leather roll and really did a number on them... Never had the heart to tell her of how much she stuffed up. The plane, in the top left, just arrived direct from Canada the other day with one of those new fangled blades - brilliant piece of kit. Looking very much to give it a go sometime soon.
Now that's schools out I guess I need to find a job... Anyone in Hawaii want to hire a graduate accountant that can also renovate the office and build all the new furniture?
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