Frequently Asked Questions
These are questions that people have asked me at craft shows
Where do you get your wood? Anywhere I can. Some I buy from lumber dealers, especially imported woods. Some I harvest locally from trees taken down in the neighborhood (Hurricane Isabel was very good for me). I have also gathered wood from the grounds of the Capitol and from Congressional Cemetery. And a number of people have given me wood - my standard arrangement is that they can have their pick of anything I make from the wood they give me.
How long have you been turning? I first started turning in shop class in junior high school. I glued together several pieces of wood to make a salad bowl. I put it on the lathe and, as soon as I touched it, it flew off in several pieces. I didn't turn again until about 20 years later when my wife and I bought a house on Capitol Hill that needed some work. I decided to replace the pine mouldings, which were in pretty bad shape, with hardwood mouldings I would make myself. I bought a cheap lathe to make the rosettes at the top corners of the moundings. I found I liked turning and soon bought a better lathe. After I retired from NIH about two years ago, I started turning full time and selling my work
How long does it take to make a bowl? It depends on how you count the time. The actual turning of a bowl may not take long, but getting the wood on the lathe, and then cleaning up afterword makes it a much longer process. A well know professional turner, Richard Raffan, estimates the time it takes him to make a typical bowl from the time he gets it on the lathe until its finished by multiplying the height of the bowl by its width, in inches. Thus, a bowl 3 inches deep and 6 inches wide would take him 18 minutes. I am not nearly that fast, it would probably take me at least twice as long. But this does not count the time involved in getting the wood on the lathe in the first place. If I buy wood from a commercial dealer, this may not take much time, but if I harvest the wood myself, cutting it into pieces I can get into my car, then getting it home, and cutting it into peices to put on the lathe, it can take quite a bit longer. Some shapes also take much longer. For example, I laminate several pieces of wood together on some bowls, which involves milling them to size, gluing them together, and fitting a bottom, before I can begin turning them. And some forms, like hollow forms, require much longer to turn than standard bowls. I also have to spend time cleaning up the shop. In addition to spending some time each day, I spend about 3 or 4 hours one day a week just cleaning the shop. I typically take out between 6 and 8 large trash bags of shavings each week
What kind of lathe do you have? I have a NOVA DVR 3000 lathe. It is what is considered a medium sized lathe. I can turn pieces up to about 36 inches in diameter and weighing about 250 -300 pounds. That is about as big as I have enough nerve to turn.
What kind of finishes do you use? When I first started turning I used a variety of finishes. The problem with this was that I could never remember what finish I used on any particular piece if I had to refinish it. Now I limit myself to four finishes. Generally, I like a relatively "soft" looking finish in the wood, rather than high gloss finish on top of the wood. I use mineral oil for any bowl that may be used to hold food. I may wax the outside with beeswax. For most other items I used a "danish oil" called Minwax Antique Oil, and beeswax. On some woods, like spalted maple, where the oil seems to dull the finish and hide some of the colors, I use Minwax Satin Wipe-on Poly. On a small number of pieces where I do want a high gloss finish, I use Mylands Friction Polish.
How should I care for salad bowls? You really don't have to do much, just don't let it stay wet. The oil from salad dressing will provide enough oil to maintain the finish on the inside. Wash the bowl by hand in warm water with soap and then dry it off. You can occasionally put some oil on the outside.
Do you take commissions? In general no, but if there is something you would like, talk to me. If what you want is something I would be interested in making, then I'll make it and you can buy it if you like it. I do get a lot of good ideas from people who come by. I don't like making several copies of the same thing that have to be the exactly the same size, for example, a set of salad bowls that have to be all the same size.
Are the pieces on your web site for sale? The web site is designed to give people an idea of the kinds of things I make. Many of the items pictured have been sold. If you are interested in a particular piece, email me and I let you know if I still have it or if I have similar pieces.
What is "butterwood" - Its just a name I made up playing on my own - I didn't want to call my company "butternut" turnings.