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The place where I create my turned
wood vessels is a 2000 sq ft industrial space that I share with my
life-partner David Nittmann. Nice view of the front range of the
Rocky Mountains from our front door.
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We share the space with 2 (formerly) feral cats,
Raja and Wiley-O.
Today, they're both working in the office. Wiley-O sets up the photography area, while Raja is working at the computer.
We now appear to have a new member of the workforce, Carter. The "big boys" have accepted him, so he is here to stay!
(more about the cats)
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| Wiley-O, on the photography table |
Raja, at the computer (hard at work) |
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Actual shop floor space is about 2/3 of the space, the rest is the office and shipping room. Both of us having a background
in cabinet and furniture building, we like to have a fully equiped
cabinet shop. In addition, we have 6 lathes. Mine are a Vicmarc
VL200, Stubby 750, and Sherline pen lathe. David uses 2 large
Nichols lathes and a Stubby 750.
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With the type of work we both do, we need to buy the best pieces of wood when they come available. This means there is a lot of shop space devoted to wood storage.
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In my work, I need the burls to be dry before final shaping. The dry wood doesn't shrink or crack, insuring that the lids always fit well and the surface of the vessel stays smoothly polished. I dry my rough-turned vessels in a kiln made from a converted chest freezer.
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 Keeping the tools sharp is the key to making clean cuts. A light touch and keen eye form a pleasing shape.
There's nothing quite as satisfying as making the chips fly!
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My biggest priority is to live the life of my own choosing. I do
the work that stimulates me creatively, and have the best
workshop to play in. We run 25 - 50 miles per week on the open-space trails surrounding us. It took 3 years of waiting, and then 2 months of down-time to move into this wonderful shop.
Definitely worth the wait!
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