My late father started my appreciation for wood and gave me the confidence to do things myself. I still have the roll-top oak desk he made for me many years ago. I fondly remember helping him build a grandfather clock and other projects, as well as remodeling our house. I was one of those guys that took all the shop classes in high school and spent a lot of my youth summers working on wood projects and refinishing antiques. Then, of course, in my college and early adult years, my time was consumed with making money, going to school and...er, ah...socializing.

Eventually, I settled down, got married and built my wife a house (well, not all of it). And, oh yeah, she helped. My return to woodworking was mainly things for the house (shelves, cabinets, etc.) and toys for the kids. Over the years, I collected wood-working tools, mostly smaller versions that were easy to store. Then my wife volunteered my services in building a display case for our local elementary school. I was able to convince my wife that I absolutely, positively needed a new table saw to fulfill the commitment she made. That started my foray into accumulating full-size power tools.

Then I stumbled upon what may be my greatest joy in woodworking. I recalled one of my favorite activities in HS wood shop, lathe work. So, I bought an inexpensive but sturdy lathe. About the same time, I found exotic woods. Did you know you could get woods that are naturally almost any color and very interestingly varied in colors? With my small little lathe and chunks of wood picked up here and there, I practiced and became halfway decent at woodturning. As I turned and turned and pushed the limit of my craft, I very quickly outgrew my modest lathe. I purchased a new lathe that should last the rest of my life. My wife calls it my midlife crisis; I call it an investment in my retirement. I know for sure that Tim Allen would be proud, oo, oo, oo ,oo, oo.

The rest of the story you can see on my website. I made a beautiful headboard for my daughter; I have a signature cribbage board design and I think I’ve excelled at goblets and chalices. The bulk of my lathe work has been bowls though. I have a couple hundred blanks just waiting to become bowls.  

My true passion is creating custom work by request. That is why my inventory of available turnings is not large. That and my projects have been purchased almost as fast as I complete them. However, I do fulfill custom orders quickly. You may be wondering where I get my wood inventory. Surprisingly, a lot of it was acquired on eBay. But, alas, too many other woodworkers have found that source and have been bidding the prices up over retail. Now I rely on friends and just looking for deals. The wood for cherry bowls you see on the site came from a Wisconsin friend with some storm damage. Another friend gave me a black walnut tree. On a trip to Hawaii, I picked up some Koa, Mango and Monkeypod. A trip to Arizona resulted in some mesquite. And so the story goes.