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“You need this,” my wife told me before my 65th birthday. It was a wood lathe, and she was determined to get it for me. I had talked about having one in the past, but I never felt enough confidence in my skills to get one. Unable to dissuade her, I found myself setting it up a few weeks later on a new hardwood bench. Router Machine
William Miess is thinking about working at his lathe again.
There it was, all shiny and new, just waiting for the skilled hands of a wood-turner to make something beautiful. It was a couple of weeks before I had the courage to attach a piece of scrap wood and practice. The chisel was nearly yanked from my hands as it gouged the wood and chunks went flying. It took a lot of practice before I finally made a rudimentary bowl. Little by little my confidence grew and I thought I might actually become a wood-turner.
A man in church approached me one Sunday and said: “I hear you’re a wood-turner.” “Well,” I said, “the wood turns when I start my lathe if that meets your definition of a wood-turner.” “Well, pilgrim,” Nick said with a drawl, “I’m new to wood turning too.” He suggested we join a local club to get help from professionals. I thought that was a good idea, and it would be less intimidating going with another beginner. Soon after we joined the Western NY Woodturners Club.
Nick is prominent in our church, and his wife plays the piano at Sunday services. I’m a lot less social than they are and tend to be an outlier. Perhaps that was why Nick sought me – to bring me into the fold, so to speak. But, it was nice to have a friend who needed companionship too. Although our personalities differ, we understand each other and get along well. Wood turning is the conduit through which we bonded. I was honored when Nick gave me one of his finest bowls. It must have been difficult to part with such a pinnacle of achievement.
Working together, Nick and I learned how to control the chisels and how to select the right one for the job. We bought and shared fancy wood blanks, and began to make some halfway decent bowls and vases. Learning to sand and finish them was challenging, and we tried a number of methods suggested by other members of the club. We laughed a lot as we struggled to overcome our lack of skill.
Each meeting started with show and tell. I felt foolish standing in line with men who had some of the most sophisticated projects I had ever seen, but Nick and I were not the only beginners, and the skilled men were respectful of our efforts.
In addition to making things on the lathe, the club members made wooden toys for the kids Christmas party at Aspire of WNY, and at the Erie County Fair, men did wood-turning demonstrations and sold many things produced by the club to raise funds for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The joy expressed by these men in helping kids revealed the kindness of their hearts. As much as it was about wood turning, the club was a social event to share a love of helping kids.
As time passed, Covid separated us. I didn’t enjoy working alone and sought other hobbies. My lathe sits idle now, and I spend most of my time working on our two daughter’s homes and playing with our grandchildren. But my lathe silently beckons my return.
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William Miess is thinking about working at his lathe again.
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