Greetings, I look forward to being part of the group.
My name is Dave Olson and I live in Sandpoint, Idaho. My career has been bivocational, having started off building furniture in Gig Harbor, WA in 1979. My second career was to serve as a pastor in the Lutheran Church. Currently I am doing both.
Much of my professional woodworking has focused on furniture, lately a lot of chairs. Kitchen cabinets help pay the bills. I invested in a Legacy Artisan II CNC as part of my furniture enterprise. It incorporates a 15” x 96” lathe. I anticipated using it to do bedposts and such. Instead, I have a relationship with a local manufacturer of coffee roasters and turn out handles for their sample scoops, a significant source of income. But 4” and 6” handles look rather funny on that large of a lathe.
My love for turning began when I was in cub scouts. We had a “Space Derby” in which we got kits to fashion a rocket that was equipped with a rubber band propeller. My dad set me up on his make shift lathe which he cobbled together out of 2x4 s and spare parts. I turned the rocket to shape. Since then I’ve used an old metal lathe, a wood bed lathe salvaged out of the naval shipyards, and more recently a Nova 1624-44. My most recent acquisition is the Vicmarc VL-300 you see.
As I age my goal has been to transition from woodworking as a vocation to enjoying it as an avocation. To that end I’ve committed myself to mastering the craft, especially refining my skills with traditional tools. I’ll confess to have found carbide to be a short cut. It’s gotten stuff done, but now is the time to move on.
Shown is the favorite piece I’ve done to date. I planned on keeping it, but took it to a business presentation to showcase my work. A woman asked if it was for sale. I said for the right price everything is for sale. That piece, given my attachment, I said I’d need $1,000 for it. “Sold!”
Now, my goal is to replace it with something better.
My name is Dave Olson and I live in Sandpoint, Idaho. My career has been bivocational, having started off building furniture in Gig Harbor, WA in 1979. My second career was to serve as a pastor in the Lutheran Church. Currently I am doing both.
Much of my professional woodworking has focused on furniture, lately a lot of chairs. Kitchen cabinets help pay the bills. I invested in a Legacy Artisan II CNC as part of my furniture enterprise. It incorporates a 15” x 96” lathe. I anticipated using it to do bedposts and such. Instead, I have a relationship with a local manufacturer of coffee roasters and turn out handles for their sample scoops, a significant source of income. But 4” and 6” handles look rather funny on that large of a lathe.
My love for turning began when I was in cub scouts. We had a “Space Derby” in which we got kits to fashion a rocket that was equipped with a rubber band propeller. My dad set me up on his make shift lathe which he cobbled together out of 2x4 s and spare parts. I turned the rocket to shape. Since then I’ve used an old metal lathe, a wood bed lathe salvaged out of the naval shipyards, and more recently a Nova 1624-44. My most recent acquisition is the Vicmarc VL-300 you see.
As I age my goal has been to transition from woodworking as a vocation to enjoying it as an avocation. To that end I’ve committed myself to mastering the craft, especially refining my skills with traditional tools. I’ll confess to have found carbide to be a short cut. It’s gotten stuff done, but now is the time to move on.
Shown is the favorite piece I’ve done to date. I planned on keeping it, but took it to a business presentation to showcase my work. A woman asked if it was for sale. I said for the right price everything is for sale. That piece, given my attachment, I said I’d need $1,000 for it. “Sold!”
Now, my goal is to replace it with something better.
