Corey Osman says, “Blessed to know him,” … and I couldn’t agree more. It’s the 22nd of January 2024 in Brisbane, Australia, at our Scribed Factory, and I am teaching my waterfall stairs to an awesome bunch of Aussies and Kiwis lucky enough to know the value of what was on offer: a chance to learn from simply the best in the world, Mr. Leonard A. Hall from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the US of A.
I’ve had the great fortune to have spent great quality time with Lenny now in four countries around this world, and we talk on FaceTime regularly. He is one of those humans who will stop everything to take your call and give you any answer to you need, and not only that, he HAS the answer, even when you can’t understand the answer due to your (my!) inability to comprehend his higher level of knowledge of (not just) everything wood floors.
I’ve witnessed Lenny standing talking to “that one” (you know who I mean, they’re the annoying one who has a one billion questions that are actually the same question) for also a billion times longer that I could possibly endure, just to make sure they have the answer. I don't know how he does it.
Anyway, back to my story, a few months ago Lenny told me he and his wife Oona were heading down under for the Aussie Open, as his wonderful wife is a great tennis fan. I saw the opportunity and I took it: “Lenny, let’s do a school down under?” …. “Sure, lets do it!”
Fast forward to yesterday, the first day of the school, and I start off with the waterfall stairs. In front of the class I ask Lenny, “Do you know what a trouser leg is?” I get back, “WTF is a trouser leg, dude?” The whole class looks at me while I'm walking toward the saw. I cut an 8-inch piece of flooring and proceed to make a series of cuts to make a ¾-inch slot partway through so I can mark the outside line of where I have to make the miter cut:
Lenny then proceeds to give me the correct name: “offset jig.”
“Trouser leg! Where did you get ‘trouser leg’ from?!” I tell him and the class about when I did the same cut at the school in Indiana, and when I made this marking aid, another great friend and legend piped up and said, “We called that a ‘trouser leg!” I will never argue with Howard Brickman, who is someone I regard as more my dad than my dad. I've called it a ‘trouser leg’ ever since. After the first day, Lenny is putting up on the white board a rundown of the first day, and “trouser leg!” was yelled out. Mr. Hall writes on the board: “offset jig.” My Kiwi brother Jason looks at me and says, “Trouser leg is so much easier to remember” … Lenny writes on the board underneath: “(trouser leg)".
