Brian in Vancouver, BC

Hi All;

Just found the Forum a few days ago and I was just browsing around familiarizing myself when I ran across this forum.

Before I retired 4-1/2 years ago, I decided I needed a hobby to keep myself busy during the winter months. I have always enjoyed building things but went long periods of time between projects. I still have the bookshelf/drawer cabinet I built in grade 11/12 (?), more than 40 years ago.

I built my office desk tops and hanging wall storage cabinets when I opened a small branch office in Kamloops, BC more than 30 years ago (where did the time go?). At that time I bought a 1/4 HP Sears router to do the laminate edges. It hasn't seen much use since then.

My retirement gift from the office staff was a compound mitre saw. That was just the beginning of a long list of "must have" tools. I am afraid I've become more a collector than a builder, though I am proud of a few pieces I've built in the last few years. I love the ability to take raw wood and make it into suitable boards then cabinets or whatever.

I have been a regular watcher of "the Router Workshop" and Norm Abram's "New Yankee Workshop" for quite a few years and owe much of my woodworking knowledge to those shows.

My summer passion is sailing in my 37-foot racing/cruising sloop in the interior passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland. I raced year-round for more than 15 years until a couple of years ago. We try to get out on the boat for 10 or more weeks in the summer months. I am now suffering from arthritis in my hands which I blame on handling a large spinnaker in the winter months while racing.

One of my "router projects" was to install an additional opening porthole between my aft cabin and the cockpit. I cut the opening with my Hitachi M12V held vertically and following a template I built for the task. You've got to believe I was worried about that task for months before I dared try it. After practicing on plywood and particle board mockups, doing the job on the fibreglass/balsa/fibreglass sandwich was a piece of cake. Holding the big router was not!

The handle I use "x372sailor" comes from my boat type. It is an X-yacht, model X372, which means 37 foot cruiser style, made in Denmark.

Brian