Of all the areas in woodworking to which I've been exposed, lathe work is what I enjoy the most.
I took my first shop class in the summer of 1974, and despite all my protests, my mother still has the floor lamp that I made that summer.
In fact, she recently had my Dad make another one as close to it as possible just so that she had a pair. Two summers later, I spent a few months with my grandfather in his Detroit garage, where he taught me how to make laminated bowls, using a technique he developed in Germany as a Master Craftsman, and perfected over the years. Dad and I took his technique a little farther, and these bowls are still a kind of a trademark.After college, I was able to set up my shop again, and read a few articles on segmented turning. To a large degree, I taught myself how to assemble and turn segmented bowls.
You would think that turning "natural" bowls from logs would be fairly simple compared to laminated and segmented turnings, but it is something that took me a while to get the hang of. I really enjoy turning green wood, not just because it makes such a mess, but because it's much easier to turn than wood that has dried with age. Since I turn natural bowls all in one sitting, as they dry they tend to warp a little, giving them a unique character.
I currently have two lathes. The first is a 12" Rockwell that my parents gave me the Christmas after the summer I spent with my Grandfather. The second is a home-made lathe that my Dad and I built from a set of plans. It is used primarily as a bowl-type lathe, even though it has longer ways, but it does not have a tail stock. The biggest bowl I can turn is 16" in diameter, and I have turned a few that are that large.
I've used a few different finishes on my bowls. For the laminated bowls, I still prefer Deft. For segmented bowls, I've used beeswax, BriWax, or water-based spray.
I've also just started using a wipe on poly finish called Tried and True that I like a lot. With the natural bowls, I like natural Watco, and then polish the bowl with a buffing wheel.The prices for my bowls are based on their size, both diameter and height, and on the number of pieces. If you see something you like, or would like to have a piece commissioned, please contact me, and I'll be glad to give you a quote.
This page was last modified on 20 November 2005 .