I’m a self-taught woodturner — though I got into it completely by accident. My wife, a high school math teacher (she has since retired), had a teaching aid shaped like a cone that was missing a piece. Naturally, to fix this tiny part, I did what any logical DIY husband would do... I bought a lathe.

A small wood lathe and a few cheap gouges from the local Harbor Freight later, I grabbed a chunk of poplar, figured out how to mount it (after a few YouTube tutorials and some head-scratching), and went to work. Once I finished the piece she needed, I was hooked. The next thought was, “Well, since I have this lathe now...”

One project led to another — pens, bottle stoppers, bowls, some segmented pieces (because who doesn’t love a good geometric challenge?) and eventually hollow form vessels. What started as a quick fix for my wife’s classroom has turned into one of my favorite ways to relax, create, and occasionally fill the garage with sawdust.

Now, almost nine years later, woodturning has become more than a hobby — it’s a mix of patience, precision, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

You can follow my work (and my sawdust adventures) on Instagram and Facebook, where I often share works in progress before they make their way here. Just follow the links above — come say hi!

Thanks for stopping by — and remember, it all started with a math problem.