Prepare to be jealous...

Today was a productive woodworking day and I haven't even put edge to wood yet (hopefully I'll do some of that later this evening).

Before we start with what I did this morning, we have to go back to last night, when I got a phone call from my little brother (who happens to also be a woodworker). He informed me of a tool and wood sale going on down by our older brother's house. It is part of the estate of a woodworking mentor of ours, Pops, who passed away a few years ago - his wife is finally able to let go of some of his stuff.

This morning, I left the house a little later than I wanted to and didn't end up getting there until 10:00 a.m. After spending some time visiting with his widow, I helped her price a few more things (I provided her with the list of prices for most of the woodworking tools she had for sale) and bring some of the heavier objects out of Pops' shop to sit outside in the driveway.

And then I was finally able to poke through the shop and pick out a few tidbits for myself. I ended up walking away with a #51 Spokeshave (for my friend, Alex, who'd asked me to keep an eye out for a spokeshave), a Richard Kell dovetail marker, an older brass bevel gauge from Woodcraft (for determining the angles of chisel and plane blade bevels), a pair of older Stanley #4 trammel points, a very sweet looking Stanley (?) 3" square with a rosewood handle, a quality hardbound sixth printing of James Krenov's The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking, a hardbound edition of Michael Dunbar's Restoring, Tuning, and Using Classic Woodworking Tools, and a Swiss made carving chisel.

While I was in the area, I couldn't miss out on the chance to visit with my older brother and my niece and nephew. Even though we only live 40 minutes apart, I don't get to see enough of them these days. It is something I want to try and change, though, because I miss seeing them.

I headed back in the general direction of home. On the way, I made a stop over at Alex's house to drop off his spokeshave - he seemed pleased.

Upon pulling into the driveway, however, I noticed a package sitting on the front porch. I was fully expecting it within the next few days and pleasantly surprised to see it had already shown up. After parking my truck, I grabbed the package, ran inside, and opened it to reveal...

The latest book by Chris Schwarz, Handplane Essentials. I paid the slightly higher full price and ordered my copy from Lost Art Press. John and Sharon provide the greatest customer service and I enjoy supporting such practices by purchasing from them when I can.

But as you can see, I also received a bit of a bonus (here is where you should prepare to be jealous...). Not only is the book signed by Chris Schwarz, it is also the one and only copy that is artistically decorated by his daughter, Katy, with a drawing of her sock monkey. I do believe this makes the top of my list for the week.

Alas, I had to put my blog entry on hold for a few hours while we had supper, went for a nice long walk and enjoyed some freshly cut watermelon, so I wasn't able to get into the shop and work on the boxes as I wanted to. That will be my task for first thing tomorrow morning. And I've taken some pictures of a few techniques I wanted to share, so I'll post something on those ideas, as well.