Hello Everyone. My name is Zack Soderquist. I am originally from North Dakota but I have lived the last 25 years in Lincoln, NE. I am a computer guy by trade but I wanted a hobby that got me away from technology (as much as possible). So I started off building wooden ship models. A friend gave me a WEN 8 Inch Lathe for Christmas so I could turn my own masts for ships. With the model I was working on at the time, it was going to be at least a year before I got to the masts and I wanted to try out the lathe sooner than that. So I bought stuff to turn some pens for Christmas presents and I was hooked (haven't touched my model since).
Since then I have upgraded my lathe to a Jet 1221VS lathe and plan on acquiring a Baell buffing system to convert my 8 inch WEN to a permanent buffing system. I started out buying some Benjamin's Best lathe tools but recently I started upgrading my tools to D-Way tools. Man, what a difference.Jimmie and Cindy have been great, and very patient answering my hundreds of questions about tools and sharpening.
After reading a recent article in American Woodturner, I realized there are two primary aspects of woodturning. The art and the craft of it. I am a huge believer in learning the correct fundamentals in anything you do. That along with the fact as a programmer, I have very little creativeness in me, I am focusing on learning the craft.
All of my learning has been through videos and books. They seem to teach you the "basics" but no one tells you the "tricks". Those little things that make a world of difference that experienced turners don't even think about anymore. I have only met one other turner in my area and other than a few discussions, I have not had a chance to get together with him and get some in person advice in a shop setting.
Currently I am focusing on spindle turning, I have not even attempted face grain turning. I am hoping to master (i.e. get very comfortable with) spindle turning tools and techniques before graduating to working on face grain turning.
Anyways, sorry for the long introduction. With the COVID thing going on, I haven't had many adult conversations so things got a bit wordy. Sorry!
Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far.
Happy Turning
Since then I have upgraded my lathe to a Jet 1221VS lathe and plan on acquiring a Baell buffing system to convert my 8 inch WEN to a permanent buffing system. I started out buying some Benjamin's Best lathe tools but recently I started upgrading my tools to D-Way tools. Man, what a difference.Jimmie and Cindy have been great, and very patient answering my hundreds of questions about tools and sharpening.
After reading a recent article in American Woodturner, I realized there are two primary aspects of woodturning. The art and the craft of it. I am a huge believer in learning the correct fundamentals in anything you do. That along with the fact as a programmer, I have very little creativeness in me, I am focusing on learning the craft.
All of my learning has been through videos and books. They seem to teach you the "basics" but no one tells you the "tricks". Those little things that make a world of difference that experienced turners don't even think about anymore. I have only met one other turner in my area and other than a few discussions, I have not had a chance to get together with him and get some in person advice in a shop setting.
Currently I am focusing on spindle turning, I have not even attempted face grain turning. I am hoping to master (i.e. get very comfortable with) spindle turning tools and techniques before graduating to working on face grain turning.
Anyways, sorry for the long introduction. With the COVID thing going on, I haven't had many adult conversations so things got a bit wordy. Sorry!
Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far.
Happy Turning
