TALKINGWOOD
I was born and raised in Port Angeles. Traveled, briefly, to other parts of the country but never found anywhere I wanted to live, other than here. I could not imagine raising my family anywhere else. We have raised our 4 children here; camping, fishing, and spending time at our lake house. All 4 chose to stay on the peninsula and raise our grandchildren here, enjoying all that our local area has to offer. After working for a few years in the woods and 30 plus years in construction, my wife, Barb, and I decided to retire. We spent the first two years traveling with our RV to Alaska and taking many short camping trips locally, which we still do to this day, as we continue to enjoy our beautiful Olympic Peninsula.

I started gardening in the summers and decided that I needed something to do in the winters. I have always enjoyed working with wood and in remembering my brief exposure to wood turning in junior high school I thought I would like to try it again.

I started researching lathes and during my research an ad showed up in our local paper. It was an ad for an older lathe. I decided to take a look , and what I found was a WWII vintage Walker Turner lathe that had been used during the war for some sort of navy contract work. I was told that it may have been used to turn propeller shaft bearings out of redwood for boats or ships. This is something that I cannot confirm, although I do know that the lathe was brought from northern California-redwood country. It was a quality piece of American equipment and I bought it for around the same price as a new lower end import. Thus the rekindling of the wood fire began!

I first started seeking out wood from firewood piles, then mill scrap. Soon people, knowing that I was turning, started giving me materials; windfalls etc. Now all the wood I use is salvaged. I prefer turning our local maple, but do use other species that are indigenous, such as red alder, yew, wild cherry, madrone, cedar, etc. I start with a block of wood, and initially will have an idea of what I want to create. As the turning progresses, one of mother natures true beauties, the wood (mother nature) begins to talk . Grain, color, and natural flaws all affect the final shape. The wood is telling me the direction I need to go, it’s talking to me! Mother nature is giving me unopened gifts, I only need to listen to her and let her guide my hands, so that I may discover the beauty she has given me. This is something of which I never tire. My quest to unlock this hidden beauty has, I must admit, become somewhat of an addiction, spending 30-40 and sometimes more hours per week at my lathe.
It seems the squirrels, birds and chipmunks, near my shop, have also become somewhat addicted to my lathe work, showing up every morning to be fed their peanuts, sunflower and bird seeds before I start the day. Surely they will remind me of feeding time if I somehow forget, as they will run back and forth across my roof and chip away until I come out with the goods.

After years of working with my trusty old Walker Turner lathe, I have passed her on to my son and have now purchased a new one that gives me greater flexibility, more bells and whistles, if you will. Although my new machine is better in some ways, I don’t believe it will ever fill the void left by the passing on of the old Walker Turner.

Today I continue to try new techniques and finishes, but still allow mother nature to guide my hands, for I believe she will best show me the beauty that the wood has to offer.

CW STERN