Paul Comino (Ocker on
IRC #woodworking) - Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia.
Alas, I don't have a homepage as yet but in the meantime...I'm
a 48 year old bloke whose main interests lie with small furniture,
boxes, cabinets and the like. I got started in ww'ing by doing period
styles using plans from Fine Woodworking and mainly used Australian
red cedar (a prime local cabinet wood) and Brazilian mahogany. Currently
the Krenov and Shaker styles hold my attention while using Aussie
cabinet woods for these pieces. Some local species are blackwood,
myrtle, maple, coachwood, cedar, ash and the oak(s). Some of our
REALLY hardwoods are ironbark, crow's ash, brush box, blackbutt,
bloodwood, river red gum, jarrah, and tallowwood. We also have some
desert woods which are being used but they are very heavy and not
suited for furniture use. My workshop sports the usual range of
power equipment, but my main pleasure settles on the use of fine
hand tools; planes, chisels, scrapers, saws, and spokeshaves and
it is the association with the Oldtools listserv that is helping
me to appreciate handtools to an even greater degree. Although I
have been a member of a local ww'ing association for more than fifteen
years, it was the initial contact with rec.woodworking and then
irc #woodworking that has allowed me to open my mind to many other
aspects of ww'ing. The most important part, the people - the irc'ers
with the funny names - who ask the questions, who give answers freely,
who agree and disagree, who talk about any number of subjects, and
who made me think about what I do, and why. I enjoy every minute.
You know who you are, I thank you all.
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Brian Irvin - Culpeper,
Virginia.
I have been involved with woodworking all my life but
only in the past year has it evolved into a full time job. About
17 miles west of me is a sleepy little town called Sperryville that
lies host to a google of antique and woodworking shops with all
sorts of quaint names, including ours, Antique
Tables Made Daily. Here, we use wood salvaged from buildings
that were new 100 years ago, and transform it into antique furniture
made today and there's also a showroom where we display our furniture.
The finishing techniques we employ vary depending on the piece and
species of wood used but they include hand-rubbed wax, shellac and
lacquer to name but a few.
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Sal Maccarone - Port
Townsend, Washington.
I graduated from San Jose State University in 1972 with
a degree in Sculpture. Then, I went on to do my woodworking in
a very interesting way. Since that time twenty-five years ago,
I've make furniture, sculpture pieces for hotels, theme parks
and businesses, corporate offices, and private concerns all across
the U.S. and in Canada. Part of my niche in woodworking life entails
designing and constructing commissioned pieces, and restoring
historic buildings. My woodworking sometimes breeches into the
unknown by being innovative with artistic concepts and styling
that are new. An example of these concepts can be seen in a corner
hutch done in the Provincial style (WWIWM note: to visit Sal's
homepage just click on the picture).
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George Gartner - Billings,
Montana.
I was born and raised in North Dakota, lived in Colorado,
Wyoming and have settled in Montana for the past 20 years. I’ve
enjoyed working with wood for too many years to tell you, but it
has always been a part of my life. I never did have the patience
to work on tedious projects, and yet here I am with some of my cars
comprised of 600 individual and tiny pieces. How people change.
My wife bought me a book for making toys one year for Christmas
so our new grandson would have some homemade cars. After making
him a few toys, somehow I got into making vintage automobiles. I’ve
made several Packards, Model A Fords and my favorite, a 1937 Mercedes
540K Cabriolet. One of my Model A’s won second place in the American
Woodworker Magazine’s "Excellence In Craftsmanship Awards". My wife
has put in an order for a Model A Ford made out of black ebony with
a white wood for the whitewall tires. The pieces take from 3 to
6 months to complete with several weeks research into the design
of the piece. I have also made airplanes, clocks, baby cradles (for
the new granddaughter), jewelry boxes and I have an order for gun
grips for my sons gun, and, oh yes the ebony Model A. As all woodworkers
will agree, there is never enough time.
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