I am a retired electrical engineer and am licensed as a Professional Engineer in New York State. I received my engineering degrees from what was then called the U of Mo. School of Mines and Metallurgy, an old-line school that believed that an engineer of any discipline should be familiar with the basics of all. I find myself frequently applying some of this “side knowledge” to woodturning problems. Among other things, I have carried out an extensive (as yet unpublished) mathematical and experimental study of the factors affecting the design of boring bars for deep hollowing.
My first exposure to woodturning occurred in 1965 when I bought a tiny rudimentary lathe and a set of Craftsman turning tools to turn (hack out) a pair of pedestals for a coffee table that I was building. This lathe then sat idle for about 30 years until I retired and, casting about for something to do, hauled it out and started trying to learn to turn. I soon became addicted and bought a more serious lathe and associated tools. In 1997, I had the opportunity to attend a 3-day work shop with Richard Raffin, a mind-blowing experience for me and one that I repeated a couple of years later. After, that I upgraded to a large Oneway lathe and began to create mountains of chips. Some of the results can be seen the AAW Gallery. I have been an AAW member since 1998 and have been a frequent reviewer of books and videos for the AAW Woodturner since then.
I was born in Southwest Missouri and spent the next 13 years in ten different towns in the Mid West and Southern California. My family then returned to Missouri where I attended high school and college. My professional career was spent in New York State and Massachusetts.
For most of my career, I was involved in research and development, much of it directed toward digital signal processing techniques for automatic recognition, demodulation and decoding of radio signals. This work was mostly sponsored by aerospace companies and DOD organizations.
Upon retirement, I moved to Southern Oregon where I enjoy an environment that is more laid-back and considerably warmer than the Boston area that I left. I was a co-founder of and am a current member of the Southern Oregon Woodturners chapter of the AAW in Grants Pass.
My first exposure to woodturning occurred in 1965 when I bought a tiny rudimentary lathe and a set of Craftsman turning tools to turn (hack out) a pair of pedestals for a coffee table that I was building. This lathe then sat idle for about 30 years until I retired and, casting about for something to do, hauled it out and started trying to learn to turn. I soon became addicted and bought a more serious lathe and associated tools. In 1997, I had the opportunity to attend a 3-day work shop with Richard Raffin, a mind-blowing experience for me and one that I repeated a couple of years later. After, that I upgraded to a large Oneway lathe and began to create mountains of chips. Some of the results can be seen the AAW Gallery. I have been an AAW member since 1998 and have been a frequent reviewer of books and videos for the AAW Woodturner since then.
I was born in Southwest Missouri and spent the next 13 years in ten different towns in the Mid West and Southern California. My family then returned to Missouri where I attended high school and college. My professional career was spent in New York State and Massachusetts.
For most of my career, I was involved in research and development, much of it directed toward digital signal processing techniques for automatic recognition, demodulation and decoding of radio signals. This work was mostly sponsored by aerospace companies and DOD organizations.
Upon retirement, I moved to Southern Oregon where I enjoy an environment that is more laid-back and considerably warmer than the Boston area that I left. I was a co-founder of and am a current member of the Southern Oregon Woodturners chapter of the AAW in Grants Pass.
I was in a Cessna Skyhawk partnership with a couple other engineers and then we sold it and got a Skylane and then got my instrument rating and commercial license. I quit flying in the early 90's after I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It was a lot of fun (and expense) and we enjoyed flying to various places around the country especially to Colorado to go skiing ... almost forgot about another expensive hobby that I gave up many years ago. I've finally settled on a couple low cost hobbies .... photography and woodturning. 