Hi, I’m Tom Zanotti. I would say I’m a segmented woodturner but I’m more of a dabbler woodturner. I retired last August from Fedex after almost 30 years. I spent half that time climbing the corporate ladder as a service agent, courier, manager and Senior Manager. I really enjoyed the out control pace and leadership opportunities I was afforded. I was the Senior Manager at Burbank CA and Seattle WA which I am very proud of. Two very large stations with lots of people where I was able to touch many lives and meet some great people. I was born in Kenosha Wisconsin but spent most my adult life in So Cal in a small community called Fillmore where we were surrounded by oranges, lemons and avocados. Fillmore is also where my wife and I’s three sons were born and raised. I never would have dreamed of living in So Cal but when you marry a So Cal girl that’s what happens. We now reside in Dacono Colorado which is between Denver and Fort Collins. I meet my wife of 41 years in Okinawa Japan. Yes, you got it we are both veterans that met on an island.
I’ve been turning (off and on) for about 20 years. There was an ad for a woodworking class at Ventura college that came in the mail. The boys had moved on with their lives so my wife suggested we take the class. She went to the college to sign us up and there was a 2 year waiting list. So she pulled the “veteran” card. The rest is history. The first thing we turned was mallet. I was immediately hooked. I must give a shout out to Sam Turner who became my mentor and friend. I proceeded to talk the teacher into skipping all the projects and just work with Sam. The instructor agreed and I am forever indebted to Sam. After 2 years of the class the teacher made me an instructor. So there I was teaching students how to make a mallet. Shortly thereafter I was off to LA to buy my first lathe, bandsaw etc. I have never sold a thing and only have 1 piece I recently finished. I am sure I’ve made 100’s of pieces and have gifted all of them. Anybody that was ever at the house usually left with a bowl, pen, wine bottle stopper or a goblet. In recent years I have turned to segmenting. The math spins my head but with the Segmented Woodturners website it is starting to spin less.
