Buddy has been involved in woodworking for over 40 years. Most of that time was spent producing “flat work.” As a former member of the Washington Woodworkers Guild, he constructed all the cabinets for his beautiful kitchen and quite a selection of other furniture in his house. When Buddy showed us around, it quickly became apparent that he is a very accomplished craftsman, as the pieces he showed us were outstanding!
At Buddy’s place, things get created in his basement shop of approximately 700 square feet. He has a nicely equipped shop with: a 1.75 hp Sawstop tablesaw, Powermatic (PM) shaper with power feed, 15″ PM planer, PM mortiser, 8″ Bridgewood jointer, 14″ Jet bandsaw, 6″ belt and 12″ disk sander by Delta, 17″ Delta drill press, 3 hp Triton router in a router table, and a dust collector. His lathe is a Nova Galaxy DVR 16″ swing unit conveniently placed in the back of the shop. All accessories like turning tools, grinder and vacuum pump are all handy within arms length of where they are needed. Buddy is using a grinder with a classic setup of one CBN wheel on one side, and on the other side is a traditional grinding stone with a Wolverine tool sharpening setup.
Many years back, Buddy had a short stint at woodturning, but then work and other things got in the way. About five years ago, he picked up where he had left off and has been turning ever since. His early mentors were Liam O’Neill and Dell Stubbs. What impressed me the most was how fast he progressed in his skills in a relatively short time and the diversity of his turning portfolio. I really like his curiosity in trying new and different things like additional ways to embellish a vase, or the real challenges of open space segmented bowls, which you can see in the pictures.
Sometimes simple things work best, like screwing a three-foot section of a 4×4 to a base plate, putting the item to be finished on top of the post and walking around it while applying spray finish out of a can. How about that for a trick and technique? Anywhere you look in the house, you can see turned pieces, and as happens with so many of us, once you run out of space there comes the moment when it is more practical to start selling one’s creations. Buddy has definitely progressed to that stage, and you can visit him in his booth at the upcoming Bluemont Fair.
Buddy’s favorite turning tools are a 5/8″ and 1/2″ bowl gouge and a negative rake scraper. He does not care so much for carbide tipped turning tools. Live edge cherry is his preferred wood to turn.
Adapted from a Catoctin Area Turners Show Us Your Shop by Chris Kunzle.
