I come from a long line of woodworkers as my family were United Empire Loyalist that settled in the beautiful Eastern Townships in southern Quebec in the 1780’s. They homesteaded on a section of virgin land, located on a small lake, far from any civilization in a time where the primary modes of transportation were by canoe or on foot. Everything they needed, they had to make. Luckily, there were lots of trees to provide building materials.
I was the 7th generation born on that plot of land, and to the best of my knowledge, am the 4th generation to be a woodworker. My grandfather and his father were well known as carpenters and helped construct many of the earlier cottages than sprang up around the lake.
My grandfather didn’t own a single power tool! My father did a lot of woodworking, from building his own house, to making all of the cabinetry and much of the furniture.
I grew up making wooden toys in his basement workshop. My first two power tools were a drill and circular saw ( still have this one). Dad gave me his old Rockwell Beaver 9” table saw (circa 1965) and this got me started on making pieces of small furniture around my house.
I got serious about woodworking at age 52 and started acquiring a functional set woodworking machines and tools. One of these was a small Record lathe (9” swing with a 36” bed). I managed to scrape and sand out one or two small bowls, but didn’t make any significant progress in wood turning until much later.
When I retired, I completed the 6 week Craftsman Program at the Rosewood Studio in Almonte, ON (now located in Perth, ON). After this course, I upgraded many of the woodworking machines and, in 2013, bought a Nov DVR 2024. A nice lathe, but I still didn’t know how to turn wood effectively, so I took a couple of lessons and soon could make basic bowls.
In 2014, I joined the Golden Horseshoe Woodturning Guild (GHWG) and started learning by watching others. Through the club, I was able to attend several day-long demonstrations and day-long “Hands-On” lessons coached by professional wood turners.
Empowered by these lessons and demonstrations, I started making progress in woodturning and have made a variety of turned objects such as, bowls – conventional and live edge, lidded boxes, Xmas ornaments, hollowed vessels, plates, beer goblets and wine glasses, to name a few. I continue to learn more turning and finishing techniques and now am able to help others in the club improve their skills.
I didn’t abandon my furniture making skills and, on occasions, do make cabinets and furniture, mostly for family. I also started making cutting boards and charcuterie boards, as these items pair nicely with the turned wood objects. These items also help justify the investment in the woodworking machines. In my current home, I am fortunate to have a very large, insulated and heated attached garage that I can pursue my woodworking and woodturning activities