I hadn’t worked in a wood shop since 8th grade, some 67 or 68 years ago (specifically 1958). When we moved to Westminster Canterbury Lynchburg three plus years ago I decided I wanted to use the small but wonderfully equipped wood shop available to residents. Initially, all I wanted to do was build a simple five foot high shelf unit to add to the “closet office” that Building & Grounds folks built for me in our apartment. Fellow residents and accomplished woodworkers helped reacquaint me the various tools I would need to use. That project led to another printer dolly project and I was hooked. I then started looking for things to make.

Using pieces of the abundant scrap wood we had and some nice wood I purchased locally, I began making coasters and cutting boards. We then purchased a midi-lathe, initially because several of us wanted to make pens and mechanical pencils with wooden shafts. One day I saw a fellow resident, whose first job was as a vocational arts teacher, turning a bowl on our little lathe. I asked him to teach me how to do that. Eventually, I was making lots of small bowls. I even made larger ones to give as birthday gifts to each of our family members. I then got interested in making round, lidded boxes and shallow serving dishes. These are now my latest obsessions!