Davis Stevenson

[Davis Stevenson]

Hi All!

Just wanted to drop in and introduce myself. My wife and I started doing driftwood and recycled pens and small turnings as a side business for jewelry in the spring and we've both been bitten by the turning bug, especially after taking a lesson from a unique bowl turner here on the Olympic Peninsula. That was in October. Now, after 100 bowls between us, our shop has completely transformed itself into a turning cave. I would share photos, but it is impossible to get good ones-- it's a 9'x12' cedar shack that houses our Laguna 18-36, Grizzly 14" bandsaw, huge drill press, slow speed grinder, as well as storage for all our other tools and equipment (basically all turning related now). I've gotten a lot of good info from this forum from lurking, figured I should finally join the community.

For young folk, we have flexible schedules, which means more time for turning. Basically full time for the both of us now. We source and process our wood, which means spalted Maple, spatled Birch, spalted Poplar around here. We just had a huge windstorm and were able to get some fresh Madrona, too.

Previously, I have been in wildlife rehab with birds of prey, and was a Park Ranger for the National Park Service. I like to hike, take landscape photos, and put in a lot if miles on the road bike.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome to the AAW forum, Davis. One of the members of my turning club is a veterinarian, who before he went into full time retirement, was certified by the state to rehab wildlife, mostly hawks and eagles. My other hobby is bird photography and watehrfowl is my favorite. I used to enjoy backpacking in the Gila Wilderness, but I'm not quite as young as I once was.

 

[hockenbery]

Welcome to the forum.
As you discovered quality instruction makes a big difference.
Look forward to you future posts

 

[Davis Stevenson]

Welcome to the AAW forum, Davis. One of the members of my turning club is a veterinarian, who before he went into full time retirement, was certified by the state to rehab wildlife, mostly hawks and eagles. My other hobby is bird photography and watehrfowl is my favorite. I used to enjoy backpacking in the Gila Wilderness, but I'm not quite as young as I once was.

The Gila wilderness is a wonderful backpacking destination. A few years ago, when I was working at Tonto N.M. in AZ, and made the journey out there fairly frequently. An attempt at a 25 ish mile loop up Mt Baldy (not so fun) and a very fun winter loop along the rim, then into a side canyon (forget the name) and eventually back to Jordan Hot Springs on the Middle Fork. It's such a beautiful area back there.

Welcome to the forum.
As you discovered quality instruction makes a big difference.
Look forward to you future posts

Thank you! That is definitely the biggest recommendation for others in a similar situation to me. Videos are helpful, but in-person instruction is so important in applying appropriate tool techniques, in my opinion. Plus, most turner's out there can teach you so much more than just turning. I finally learned good chainsaw filing technique, and some other chainsaw tricks I never would've learned.

 

[John Torchick]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are committed to turning. Would your connections with the USFS allow you to get downed wood? What is the position of the agency there? I know in the Daniel Boone NF in KY, one could take fallen trees for firewood to lessen the chance of fires. The rehab work would be interesting. Dollywood here in east TN has a bald eagle sanctuary for birds that can't be returned to the wild, if I recall. Should be something on their website.

 

[Davis Stevenson]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are committed to turning. Would your connections with the USFS allow you to get downed wood? What is the position of the agency there? I know in the Daniel Boone NF in KY, one could take fallen trees for firewood to lessen the chance of fires. The rehab work would be interesting. Dollywood here in east TN has a bald eagle sanctuary for birds that can't be returned to the wild, if I recall. Should be something on their website.

Definitely committed, haha. Interestingly, I had previously viewed it as an extraordinarily expensive hobby, which it (kind of) is... But all in all, we're into it for far less money than my wife and I have in camping/backpacking gear, which is a very common hobby for young folk around here. I try to convey that, because I often have other young people tell me they'd love to learn how to turn, but that the tools are too expensive.

My connection is to the National Park Service, which doesn't allow removal of wood. We'll be getting a firewood gathering permit for USFS when that opens up. there's plenty of it here.

In general there's so much wood up here that people only seem to take the 'best/easiest' to burn, so we've had no problem sourcing wood so far. Usually big, big chunks of punky/spalted wood. Makes for fun learning, though!

 

[John Torchick]

Misread the Park Service. Lots of good turning in firewood. I have been know to stop at a tree service and pick up a couple of small logs. If I odn't know what it is, I ask the tree guys. A fellow who does the outside work and landscaping at church was a logger in the past. He can look at the bark and end grain and identify the wood. It's even easier if the bark is off before turning.