13 Questions with @duncsuss (January 2022)
1- Where do you get your inspiration for what you build?
I should probably start by clearing up a potential false impression: I don't consider myself a woodworker, in the sense that I don't "build" things. My joinery skills are limited: I've never managed to make a mortise and tenon joint, let alone a dovetail (either by hand or with a router jig). Lathework is where I find my abilities come closest to meeting my aspirations, so I think of myself as a turner rather than a woodworker.
But, to answer the question, I enjoy visiting museums and art galleries, particularly collections of ceramics from Asia. I love the forms of Japanese porcelain bowls and jars especially.
2- What other hobbies besides woodworking do you have?
My wife and I enjoy doing puzzles together. Almost every day she prints out a bunch of crosswords and sudokus and we spend maybe an hour working our way through them. The Friday crossword from the Wall Street Journal is extra fun, because there's a further challenge after completing the grid with hidden clues.
And scuba diving, which is something we've not been able to do nearly as much as we'd like. For a while I was into underwater photography, but schlepping all the equipment was getting too much, and the truth is that I enjoy the dives more when I'm simply looking in wonderment at everything around me instead of trying to get pictures of it.
3- What is a book that you think everyone needs to read and why?
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. The story is wonderful, but the style of his writing is truly magnificent. Steinbeck has the ability to write a book that I don't so much read as hear him telling the story - not all authors have that talent, to put the exact right words one after another after another. A few of his books are overly simplistic or written to make a point - he wrote East of Eden, I feel, because the story was too good for it to remain unwritten.
4- What frustrates you about woodworking?
I feel that I never quite get my tools perfectly tuned. I sharpen chisels and gouges as well as I can, but they always seem to be one notch below sharp. I follow all the steps of Alex Snodgrass's band-saw tune up, and it still cuts a wavy line. I'll figure it out eventually.
5- You’ve most likely produced many finished pieces over the years, Are there any that stand out for you?
Two of the pens I've made are extra special - Donna Zils Banfield, my woodturning teacher, mentor, and friend, asked me to make one each for her and her husband. Naturally I wanted to get every detail perfect, and I feel I came very close (so close that I'm the only person who knows where it falls short of the goal.)
6- What is your philosophy towards your woodwork?
It's changed somewhat over time. I began with the attitude that life is too short to turn boring wood - I wanted every item I made to be burl or intense figure, and I'd just get out of the way and let nature's beauty be the primary focus. Then I saw the work of Binh Pho, and it opened my eyes to the world of embellishment by piercing and painting - and the recognition that plain wood can be used as a canvas. And the work of Cindy Drozda, how she adds wonderfully delicate finials to pieces that can be made from either plain wood or amazing burls - and it magnifies the intrinsic beauty of the burl, doesn't detract from it in any way.
Now I do whatever feels right at the time.
7- What is the best and worst thing about woodworking?
As a turner, I'd have to say the worst thing is when a piece breaks apart on the lathe (whether it's down to an error on my part or a check or inclusion in the wood that just won't hold together).
I was about to write "the best thing is that it grows on trees, and there will always be another opportunity" but realised that's not it. The best thing is there are so many woodworkers willing to share their experience and time to help others improve their skills and achieve results they didn't think they could get to.
8- What fantasy creature would you love to bring into the real world?
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, there's a creature called "The Luggage" - a wooden chest made of Sapient Pearwood. Part storage chest, part labrador, part bodyguard. If I couldn't have one of those, just a piece of Sapient Pearwood that I could make some tool handles from and maybe I'd get a little better at some of the cuts I try to make.
9- Who is your favorite woodworker?
There are so many I look up to, it's hard to list them all. Among the turners I admire are Mark Sfirri, Hans Weissflog, and of course Binh Pho. But my favourite is Donna Zils Banfield - she taught me, and continues to teach me, how to start by building technique and then to explore and see where the exploration leads.
10- If you could ask a question to anyone in history, who would you choose and what question would you ask? Assuming they would understand your question and you could understand their answer.
That would have to be Isaac Newton, which is the easy part. What I'd like to ask him is harder to put into words, and for him to answer would require him to have knowledge of events beyond his death, but since we're out in the Twilight Zone with this question anyway let's go for it ... something along the lines of "For hundreds of years, your Laws of Motion explained how forces and bodies interact, and we could understand it because of the simple way you presented the information. Could you explain Relativity and Quantum Mechanics for us?"
11- When you have a creative idea or epiphany, what do you do with it?
I have a journal where I sketch and make notes of things I'll never do. If it's a good idea, I normally try doing it before I forget what it was about. If it's a great idea, I'll kick it around in my head for a while trying to see the flaw in the concept, then go do it.
12- What Else Should I Have Asked You About?
The Oxford Comma. (It's the one that comes before "and" at the end of a list.)
13- How did you hear about Woodbarter, and What keeps you coming back?
I don't remember how I found out that the folks who jumped ship from WWTalk came here. (I just scrolled back to my first thread in the Introductions forum in March 2012 to see if I'd mentioned it, but couldn't find any clues.)
It's hard to identify one specific reason why I keep coming back, but there are several which contribute. It's a comfortable place, which sadly is not true of many places in cyberspace: even disagreements are, for the most part, expressed with a level of respect for the person (if not the idea they put forward). Plus, there is a great wealth of knowledge, which people are happy to share and pass along, without beating you over the head with it.
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Bonus question......
What is one question you want to ask me?
Nope, can't think of anything right now ...
