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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.

 


Sponsored by Choice Woods
 

   
  Beaded Maple Vessel
Kingwood finial
10 1/2" dia x 5" tall.
Maple Burl Vessel
Parakingwood finial
11" dia. x 4 1/2" tall
 
   
  Maple Burl & Ebony Vessel
8" dia. x 10 1/2" tall
Beaded Madrone Vessel
& Ebony
6 1/2" dia. x 10" tall
 
   
  Black Limba Vessel
Wenge collar & Holly accent
10" dia. x 4 1/2" tall
Tall Maple Bowl
7" dia. x 11" tall
 
   
  Maple Burl Vessel with inlay
SW Indian pottery design
10 1/2" dia. x 5" tall
Tall Maple Vessel
8" dia. x 13" tall
 
   
  Beaded Curly Maple Bowl
12" dia. x 5" tall
Buckeye Burl & Ebony Vessel
5" dia. x 7" tall
 
  Maple Burl Vessel
SW Indian pottery design
9" dia. x 5" tall
Locust Burl
very thin walled
6 1/2 dia x 6" tall
 
   
  Maple Burl & Turquoise Vessel
9 1/2" dia. x 4 1/2" tall
Segmented Platter
Curly Maple, Purpleheart & colored veneer
12 1/2" dia.
 
 

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