YBNORMAL

I have always been somewhat of a DIY person. It comes from my childhood. My father normally performs his own repairs depending on need. My mother has an eye for creatively using or recycling items found in antique/junk stores and yard sales. She has refinished or repurposed furniture for many years.
I guess it’s no surprise I find myself doing these same things. In 1997, my wife and I bought an “abused rental” as an investment. This purchase necessitated the construction of a shop in the backyard. We began to research, study and attempt our own renovation projects.
Although renovation and maintenance in a home is never ending, I began to squeeze in various other projects. My first real furniture project came when my wife found a display coffee table in a local store. After a trip to Lowes I came home and built my version of it. It turned out great! Of course it didn’t stay in the house long, as a friend saw it and begged to buy it. With a promise to my wife to build another, we sold the table. Later I built an oak collectors end table for our living room… again it didn’t stay long. I sold three more before my wife said “this one is mine and not for sale.”
A couple of years ago I attended a woodworking show in Atlanta, Georgia. There I encountered a gentleman giving woodturning demonstrations. I was completely in awe. The idea of having a lathe intrigued me. I began researching woodturning. I attended the February 2008 woodworking show in Atlanta and bought a Delta mini lathe. In March, I took a Woodcraft woodturning class. As with most turners, I was immediately addicted! This is a great stress reliever and creative outlet.
The first turning project was a pen and pencil set for my wife, made from – as she calls it “Sentimental Mahogany” since the wood is from a bass guitar her brother built years ago. A co-worker requested two pens made from Pecan as she needed an anniversary gift related to Georgia for friends up north. We had those pens laser engraved. She was thrilled.
Until now most of my turning projects have been bowls, pens, pencils and lidded boxes. My latest toy, an articulated arm hollowing system, will allow me to create hollow form pieces such as a vase or an urn. Most of the domestic woods used are obtained locally from storm damage and land clearing. Among the woods used are pecan, fig, sweet gum, pear, red tip, silver maple and cherry. The exotic woods are scraps from other projects or traded from other woodworkers. I will consider using “sentimental woods” like those from the old home place where a tree has been loss due to a storm, construction or rot. The pieces I sell are strictly sculptural pieces and are not intended for food purposes. The finishes used on pieces are normally wax, tung oil or lacquer.
I see this hobby of woodworking as an endless work in progress. I am constantly researching, learning to identify trees and shrubbery “post-mortem” and learning new techniques to improve my skills.
Although in the beginning I created the pieces for my own enjoyment, there is nothing more inspiring than seeing someone else appreciate the wood as much as I do. Every piece of wood has its own unique characteristics. It is remarkable to see the raw piece of wood become its own one of a kind art object.