I have been working with wood since childhood, but never got serious with it until after I stopped driving tractor trailer rigs cross country.  My first power tools were a drill I bought in high school, and a circular saw I bought at 25.  (I still have and use both.)

I moved to Glendale, AZ from New Jersey with my wife, Debbie in 1982.  I now had room for a shop, and 11 years later I started buying power tools for flat work.  I never got as involved with flat work as I later did with turning.  During the summer of 2004, the tools manager at Sears told me they had a Delta Midi lathe, still unopened, that was going to clearance, and wanted to know if I was interested.  For less than $150, I sure was!  Little did I know.  It took me a year to get a bench built for it, and buy some tools.  Then I went to the local AAW chapter and met Paul Porter who gave me a couple of short lessons.  About the same time I found WR. 

In mid December of that year I was at Rockler’s when they were offering a hands on pen turning class for $10 and you got the pen when you were done.  Friends kept asking me where I got the pen, and when I told them I had made it myself, they wanted me to make one for them.  By the end of January, I had all the necessary mandrels and mills to make them at home.  And a side business was born.  In 6 years, I have sold about 300+ pens, made more than 2 dozen for Freedom Pens and another few dozen as gifts.  Right now I have an inventory of close to 300 for Christmas sales.  I sell my pens through word of mouth and the occasional “trunk” show at senior communities.

Pens take up most of my turning time, but I still make the occasional lidded box, bowl, or ornament for fun.

(Now you understand his avatar.)