doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT ... other hobbies besides shooting

Stan, like you I loved playing pool. It started in 11grade and continued until graduation playing after school and at nights in the local pool hall/bowling alley. My favorite was straight pool but I could never get beyond running 25 balls. It was always fun to set up the last shot to get into position for that ball to break up the rack. I continued playing in the service while stationed in Germany. I still play occasionally but eyesight now is not good for pool. We played on standard 8'x4' and 9'x4.5' tables and every once in while went to a different town that had snooker or we called them billiard tables that were 10'x5' with no pockets. What I miss is the ivory cue ball, it seemed that the english applied to it really did wonders and that was using house cue sticks. Never owned a take-down cue until later in life and that was noting really special.

I aslo had taken up taxidermy with two brothers when in middle school and practiced that for many years but always on birds, from woodcock to pheasants. Woodcock were very hard to mount because their head was so big and their skin so thin and turning it inside out like a sock if not kept moist was sure to rip.

Fly fishing and fly tying, rod making from blanks back when graphite first came out and the rods were very expensive so bought blanks and leaned to wind eyes on and make the cork handles when you could find AA cork rings.

Woodworking was another passion. My wife and I got interested in Shaker furniture but at the time in the 80's and 90's was out of reach for us so I started making chairs from size 0 to #7 with bent back rear posts with mortised slots for back slats and rockers. Steam bent the back posts and slats, all made from maple and used curly maple when I could find it. Also went to a class on how to weave Shaker style baskets from Black Ash splint. There is a ratio to use for weavers and slats (not the right term) and all were done on forms. Made a few candle stands out of Cherry and oval boxes and lids with the Shaker fingers made out of maple also.
Made other furniture, Shaker style desk with drop down writing table with cubbies and small drawers that were dovetailed, cherry dinning table, with 8 Shaker style chairs with woven seat, etc.

Haven't made any Shaker furniture lately, the last was a 8' x 36" curly cherry table and benches I made for my son and daughter-in-law. My wife keeps asking me when I will make something again and maybe this coming year I will. Now 78 and my physical strength is not there much for shooting these days since Covid and having both knees replaced in 2021. We will see.