The place where I create my turned
wood vessels is a 2000 sq ft industrial space that I share with my
life-partner David Nittmann. We have a nice view of the front range of the
Rocky Mountains from our front door.
The wave clouds from our strong westerly winds
make for some awesome sunsets!
The actual shop floor is about 2/3 of the space,
the rest is the office and shipping room.
the rest is the office and shipping room.
Raja always catches his mouse,
so he works at the computer.
Carter is in charge of shipping.
And Wiley-O watches over all of us.
Both of us having a background in cabinet and furniture building, we like to have a fully equiped
cabinet shop. In addition, we have 8 lathes. Mine are a Vicmarc VL200, Stubby 750, 2 Jet Minis, and a Sherline pen lathe.
David uses 2 large Nichols lathes and a Stubby 750.
David uses 2 large Nichols lathes and a Stubby 750.
With the type of work we both do, we need to buy the best pieces of wood when they come available. This means there is a lot of shop space devoted to wood storage. In my work, I need the burls to be dry before final shaping.
The dry wood doesn't shrink or crack, insuring that the lids always fit well
and the surface of the vessel stays smoothly polished.
I dry my rough-turned vessels in a kiln made from a converted chest freezer.
Keeping the tools sharp is the key to making clean cuts.
A light touch and keen eye form a pleasing shape.
The dry wood doesn't shrink or crack, insuring that the lids always fit well
and the surface of the vessel stays smoothly polished.
I dry my rough-turned vessels in a kiln made from a converted chest freezer.
Keeping the tools sharp is the key to making clean cuts.
A light touch and keen eye form a pleasing shape.
My highest priority is to live the life of my own choosing. I do
the work that stimulates me creatively, and have the best
workshop to play in. We run 25 - 50 miles per week on the open-space trails surrounding us.It took 3 years of waiting, and then 2 months of down-time to move into this wonderful shop.
Definitely worth the wait!
Definitely worth the wait!
There's nothing quite as satisfying
as making the chips fly!
