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Thread: Early Knock on the Door

  1. #1
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    Early Knock on the Door

    Dang, no pictures were taken so it may seem a dream.

    Yesterday while working in the shop, I turned around and my neighbor's sons were standing there. Conner the oldest is about 12. He was holding a box of "carving chisels" a friend of his father had and wanted to get out of his garage.

    Conner wants me to teach him about working wood. First step, sharpen some of his chisels. They are an inexpensive "Made in China" set with somewhat soft steel.

    He was shown some of my planes and chisels in use and given a quick mentoring in the various ways of sharpening in the short time he and his brother Evan stayed. My ability to remember which is which is due to them being born in alphabetical order.

    When asked if their father had any sharpening stones or a grinder, they didn't know. They enjoyed looking at my hand crank grinder and mentioned wanting to buy it. My reply was to point out the broken piece and explain why they would do better to save their money for something in better condition.

    When Conner saw how a plane works, he was very excited and said he wants to get some of those. Then he asked why there were so many in my shop. There was some 'splainin' to do.

    This morning while sitting in my robe enjoying some coffee and the News programs Candy, my late sleeping wife detests, there was a soft knock on the door.

    It was Evan on the porch and Conner by the gate under an umbrella. They were also carrying an odd looking plane, and some other things and asked if they should come back. I said, give me a minute to get dressed.

    They had a small hand crank grinder. It was noisy but well improved just by a few drops of oil. It even had a decent tool rest.

    So the plane was an odd ball. Had to look it up by the patent number on its lever cap. It is a #3 size Shelton plane with the lateral and depth adjuster built into the lever cap.

    The blade is terribly pitted and the sole has some deep pock marks of rust. He said it came from his "dad's father.

    He was shown how to lap it on my "lapping bench." We had to change the abrasive paper. I went and worked the blade. After checking a few things and some work we noticed Evan was no longer with us. Soon, he was back with Ryan, the boy's father. He said it was time to go. They had an appointment in town with their tax accountant.

    So the plane still needs a bit of work, but it did make a few shavings and Conner expressed his excitement at that.

    Looks like I may have an apprentice…

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  2. #2
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    Good story this. It's difficult to get the young ones interested in woodworking so when they show initiative you need to strike.

    I'd like to hear how this progresses.
    Last edited by Hilton Ralphs; 03-15-2015 at 1:42 AM.
    "If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"

  3. #3
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    Great story! The world needs more woodworkers!
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
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  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Hilton Ralphs View Post
    Good story this. It's difficult to get the young one interested in woodworking so when they show initiative you need to strike.

    I'd like to hear how this progresses.
    +1. Yes, please keep us posted Jim!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

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    Knowledge is wasted if not passed on. Well done.

  6. #6
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    keep us posted
    Will do.

    Here is something that Conner also liked. It was a quick side project from something seen on Youtube:

    2X4 Scrap.jpg

    This one has not gone trough the paint splatter and roughing up process to make it look like an old piece of scrap saved only for the angle markings or whatever.

    Turn it around and you see this:

    2X4 with a Drawer.jpg

    Conner was looking all over my shop. He said he was trying to imagine other places with secret compartments. Maybe this guy has some possibilities in the making of cabinets.

    Here is the link to the 2X4 with a drawer:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7pLMOLvh20

    It was one that came up on the page following the link someone posted in the Off Topic forum, "King Frederick William's Desk."

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 03-14-2015 at 6:00 PM. Reason: add link
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #7
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    Jim,
    Your title had me worried ... thought you had a near-death experience.

    Great story! I have young grand daughters and wonder if they might be interested in woodworking when they get a little older. I've been flying model rockets since I was about 12 and still have lots of models, parts, and motors. I figure they may bite on flying rockets, and possibly woodworking. I worry about kids these days, and whether any of them will really get excited about learning to use a few tools and making things with their hands.

  8. #8
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    That is really cool! I like stories like this...

  9. #9
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    Jim,

    Looks like if Conner was looking someone to apprentice to, he found an good one.

    Stew

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stew Denton View Post
    Jim,

    Looks like if Conner was looking someone to apprentice to, he found an good one.

    Stew
    Thanks for the kind words Stew, I hope you are right.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  11. #11
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    Wonderful story, I hope it isn't over.

  12. #12
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    Way nifty! You're going to have fun!

  13. #13
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    Jim:

    Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I tell all the kids in the neighborhood that I have a pretty "open shop" policy and am happy to help them out or show them things about woodworking. I tend to get the cub scouts coming by to help out with a pine wood derby car or whatever. I always hope that something will stick. My own interest was generated when I was pretty young when a friend's father helped us build a rubber band gun that had a real trigger and didn't rely on a clothespin (like most of ours did). Later I built a skateboard since we couldn't afford to buy one. Just cutting the thing out of plywood with a saw and attaching wheels to the bottom seemed somehow magic to me. To this day I still remember how to put that rubber band gun together.

    Jeff.

  14. #14
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    To this day I still remember how to put that rubber band gun together.
    That could be a fun project. Maybe make some to sell at the farmers market as "Marksman's Fly Swatters."

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    That could be a fun project. Maybe make some to sell at the farmers market as "Marksman's Fly Swatters."

    jtk
    I could probably do a quick sketch. The project only has two pieces, but does require a bit of shaping. How hard could it be if a couple of pretty young kids could put them together?

    Jeff.

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