I
grew up on a small farm near Seattle, Washington, in the
1920's and 1930's. My introduction to woodturning was
in a high school shop class where there was a big heavy
lathe used mostly for spindle turning. In that class,
I acquired a suitable piece of walnut and decided to make
a bowl. My shop teacher knew nothing about bowl turning,
but I used my imagination and a lot of tools, and I managed
to get a bowl turned. That first bowl created a spark!
The following summer I got a job and I spent the money
I made on a small sears lathe and few tools. I was 15
years old and that was in 1936. I had become fascinated
with woodturning and 67 years later that fascination is
still there!
A couple of years after I graduated from high school,
I got a job working in the general store in the small
village of Yakutat, Alaska. That was a real adventure....Alaska
grizzly bears, moose, glaciers and some of the best fishing
imaginable! I returned to Seattle in October 1941. Two
months later, Pearl Harbor. I joined the Navy and spent
most of the war in the Pacific aboard a destroyer. (Two
Purple Hearts). I was married in July 1942, before I went
overseas. After the war, I got into the sporting goods
business, eventually working in the wholesale end of it
until I retired. My wife Jane and I celebrated our 60th
wedding anniversary last summer. I still haven't figured
out why she received those sympathy cards! We have a daughter
and three lovely granddaughters.
I didn't get back into woodturning until the early fifties,
when I acquired my second lathe. In those days there were
no clubs, no videos, no bowl gouges, very few books, and
in fact, very few turners. I'm completely self-taught.
Tools available then were mainly for spindle turning.
I wanted to make bowls, so I made many of my own tools
and I still use some of them today. I knew no other turners,
but in 1982 I heard that there would be a turning demonstration
at a local woodworking store. Of course I attended. There
were quite a few turners there, several of whom have become
good friends. It was wonderful to now be able to share
turning techniques and experiences with others.
Today's turners don't realize how lucky they are to have
turning clubs, classes, videos, and websites to visit,
where people are willing to share their knowledge and
experience. I have been a member of AAW since the beginning.
I became a full-time turner for a while after I retired
in 1986. I've done woodturning demonstrations at BYU in
Provo, Utah, at AAW symposiums, and in a number of turning
clubs. I taught turning classes for several years in the
Seattle area. My wife and I moved from Puget Sound country
to Green Valley, Arizona, in 1997, and I continue to teach
in Arizona. The fact that I turned in isolation for so
many years probably has something to do with my enjoyment
of sharing and teaching.
My present lathe, my eighth, is an 800-pound Nichols.
I'm a lefty, so they built a custom left-handed lathe
for me, headstock on the right, and with left-handed threads.
Most of my work since 1985 has been sold through galleries.
My turning is influenced by classic art forms and by Southwest
Indian pottery designs. I enjoy expressing myself by creating
pieces from beautifully figured wood, both domestic and
the exotics. I love the art and the craft of woodturning.
I turn for the sheer enjoyment of it.
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