Dear Customer

So a new year and the potentially fatal email...

Dear Customer, thank you for shopping at Lee Valley Tools...

Yes, after all this time I'm almost a customer at last. Not quite - still waiting for the follow up email with the Bad News about the shipping cost - but almost. Is this a good way to start a new year I wonder? Shouldn't one be giving up things that are bad for you rather than taking up a fresh addiction? Oh well, I've done my best to stick with largely useful, and thus boring, items like files and O1 blades in the hopes I won't get too excitable about it all. Hmm, heavy items too, it dawns on me. D'oh.

In other news I've been toying with thoughts of the saw till again. Remember that? Wadda you mean "no"? Yes all right, so it dropped off the radar a bit what with one thing and another, however I'm considering it with new enthusiasm. Sort of. Funny thing though; as soon as I did my back gave a squeak again. Are my vertebrae conspiring against me? Literally ganging up behind my back? Maybe I should only befriend straight backed saws and shun the skewed variety, as a sort of hint...

And our picture for today? Found a fascinating thing via Google Books; "The Book of English Trades, and Library of the Useful Arts" (1818). This character is The Carpenter, of which image it informs us (with an interesting extra sprinkling of punctuation):

"The Carpenter, in the plate, is represented in the act of planing the edge of a board that is held to the side of the bench, by means of a screw, which is always attached to it. On his bench, are a hammer, pincers, mallet, and two chisels; a box, also, containing the Turkey stone, with which he sharpens his tools: the shavings taken off from his plane, are scattered on his bench and on the ground. At the right-hand-corner, stands some coarse boards, and his bag, in which he carries his tools: on the other side is the saw, upon the four-legged stool, which he uses for various purposes. Behind him is a new door, some other boards, a saw hanging against the wall, and a basket, in which he puts his smaller tools."

Artists do have terrible trouble drawing saw handles, don't they?