Name: John Hart
DOB: October 27 1958
Physical description (G-rated, please)
Hmmm....Well, I guess I’m short. (5’ 7”). I’m happy with that by the way.Blonde hair, blue eyes, 155 pounds. That’s pretty much been my description since high school 30 years ago. I don’t know why I haven’t changed…except maybe it’s because I don’t like doughnuts.
Location (for how long, previous locations, etc)
Hmmm, well, I’ve sorta been around. Born in Kansas, Early childhood in Pennsylvania, High School in Florida and Idaho, did some college drinking at Boise State University, then on to Texas, where the Navy sent me to California, Florida, Alaska, then Hawaii....Stayed in Hawaii for a while after I got out of the Navy, then worked in Washington DC for a while, then came to Cleveland. (By the way...I really don't like Cleveland. Can't wait to get to the country)
Family information (brag on your spouse, kids, grandkids, dog, etc)
I don’t talk about this much cuz my wife doesn’t like it when I talk about her behind her back. But, I’m going to make an exception here.
I am the sole male in this family. Wife, 2 daughters, Dog, Cat... All female. I lose all arguments and never get time in the bathroom.
Seriously, I am married to a beautiful woman named Mary who has put up with me for something like 15 or 16 years. She’s a devoted mother and a Bible-thumpin’ Christian, devoutly determined to keep me in line. I wish her the best of luck. Mary is the mother of our two beautiful Daughters, Rachel(12) and Elise(10) who never seem to agree on anything and never seem to stop talking. I am secretly training our German Shepherd how to kill cats.(She doesn’t appear to know how)
Mary has been Homeschooling the girls and doing well....But this summer, after we move, they'll be going to a real school. Everyone is excited.
Vocation (what do you do for a living, and what have you done previously):
Right now, I’m the Information Systems Director for a Bio-Chemical company in the Cleveland area. That basically means that I know nothing about chemicals and a bunch of stuff about computer systems....sorta.
Done a handful of different jobs over the years, starting with delivering milk to the front steps of all the houses in our little town in Pennsylvania, then…including, but not limited to:
Crop Dusting Ground Crew
Car Stereo Installation
Printing Press Operator
House Builder
Men’s Clothing Sales
Radio Disc Jockey (KBBK-FM Boise and AFRTS)
US Navy – (never went to sea)
CAD operator (Fire and Security Systems)
Engineering Technician (Aerospace)
Electronic Engineer (Aerospace)
I.T. Guy
Website?
Handykraft.com
Equipment Overview (lathe, tools, etc)
Scrollsaw
6” Jointer
A Slow Speed Grinder
High speed grinder
Couple of Drill Presses
A Big Ol’ Paper Cutter
Router and Table
Big old disk and belt sander
15” Lathe
An old 10” cast iron Table Saw
Sawzall
Hammer
Some drill bits
Mixing bowl
Microscope
Some wire
How many lathes have (or do) you own? Tell us about 'em.
I have a 15” Craftsman Lathe (Rated at 2HP, but probably not really). I like it. It is a direct drive, PWM-controlled Toy. It’s not as quiet as I would like it to be, but other than that, it’ll take a big hunk of tree and make a nice vase. (As long as I don’t get too involved)
How many turning tools do you have?
Dunno. Over 30 I think. There’s a pile of homemade tools, including Bertha and the Ugly Stick, a pile of miniature tools, and over in the girl’s pile, there’s some medium-sized tools. I just got three Pinnacle tools not long ago, a set of Buck something-or-others, Greenlee spindle tools and a wonderful gift from my Secret Santa, a Sorby Hollowmaster. Hmmm....maybe there's 40 tools. I should dig them out of the shavings and count them.
Tell us about your shop
I have a small basement shop that I built out of a corner of free space one weekend. It’s small and getting smaller every day (8 X 10). I just added a Radial Arm saw and a new(used) Sander to my list of tools, but they have to live out in the garage with the pile of turning blanks and the RX-7. We are moving to more expansive digs this summer, so space is
about to get much better.
This small shop is my hangout, it is the place where I go to relax. It is truly my only haven. I’ve routed Satellite TV into my computer down there, along with my internet connection. What I really need is a refrigerator and a microwave! Hmmm...Maybe at the new house.
How long turning?
I’ve been turning approximately 395 days. Didn’t turn on all of those days, but I sure tried.
What got you into turning?
All of you did it. Really.
5 or 6 years ago, my Dad sent me a check as a gift and told me to buy something for myself that I wouldn’t normally buy. So I bought a lathe. Didn’t know what to do with it and didn’t have any tools. It never occurred to me that there are clubs, books, videos or any of that other stuff...so basically, I was clueless. To make a long story short, I made
a bat and that was it. Then the lathe sat dormant until last Spring when a newspaper interview with Earl Reid led me to SMC...Then I found this here Turners Forum and y’all. Or is that All Y’all? It was pretty exciting to find out that there are people who actually use that lathe-thing for something other than wood rack and tool holder.
What do you enjoy most about turning?
The freedom. I kinda look at it in terms of allowing the tree to live again. It is true that all woodworking accomplishes that task, but with Turning, the natural defects that are a part of the tree’s life, are preserved and celebrated...not covered up or cut away. With woodworking, we use trees to build stuff. With Turning, we give the tree new life.
Oh...and one more thing....I really really really enjoy everyone’s company here on SMC. Everything in my life has improved since I found this place. (except the woodshop – It’s dirtier now)
What was your first completed turned project?
A Bat. As an avid Cleveland Indians fan, I wanted to make a bat for Tom Hamilton, The Voice of the Indians. So I Turned a bat, carved a Trademark in it with an exacto-knife and inlayed a feather in it, made from Ebony, Walnut, Redheart, Yellowheart and Ivory. I mailed the bat to Mr. Hamilton, and he wrote me a nice letter. I’ve long lost the letter and
wish I had the bat!
What is your favorite form that you turn?
I like vases and hollowforms...so, I guess my favorite it a combination of the two.
What is your favorite form someone else turns/has turned?
Well, of course there’s the Stinson/Ketron/Burns HF Standard that we all love, but I’ve really thought about this...I just love the surprise of the newly finished project showing up on my screen. Whether it’s a pen or a handle or a thingamagig...all the way up to the thin-walled Hollow Forms or giant segmented works of art...It is an absolute delight to see what hands have done and what thoughts go through the minds of those who made something by applying steel to wood...and the fun they had while they were doing it...The joy of discovery.
Hmmm...That was a bit long-winded wasn’t it? Ok...I like ‘em all.
What is your favorite wood to work with and why?
Redwood Burl is my favorite. It really wants to become stuff. It never fights the tools, spins round and round just like it is supposed to, sands like a dream, takes a finish just right, and in the end, comes forth with colossal beauty.
Have you met or hung out with any turnin' Creekers? Tell us about it.
Well, lets see...I’ve met Charlie Stein, Blake McCully, Earl Reid, Keith Christopher, Joe Tonich, Dick Strauss, Robert Mickley, John Timberlake and Ken Hertzog all pretty much on separate occasions and a variety of different settings. Joe Tonich’s first words were, “You don’t look like your picture”.
What is your favorite individual piece that you have turned, and why?
A Redwood HF Vase sort of thing. I like it the most because I discovered so much while I turned it. I found out that just about anything can be made from a piece of wood. It has nice figure too!
What is your favorite piece someone else has turned, and why?
Too many to really pinpoint a single one, but the one I keep going back to is:
Keith Burns – his Green Haze HF http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=30494
Keith seems to have a knack for intricate detail and he shows it off with this piece. But, it’s not just that. He also left a bit of the tree’s original character. I really love this piece.
What do you not turn now that you want to - or plan to - in the future?
Tall Vases. I gotta figure out how to do that, but I figger that there’s going to be some glue involved.
What brought you to SMC?
My Brother in Law gave me a newspaper article on the Freedom Pens project.
There was an interview with Earl Reid and it made mention of SMC. At that time, I didn’t even know you could make a pen on a lathe, much less find an entire community that does it. You see, I don’t join Forums. I spend about 60 hours a week in front of a computer, so I’ve never considered it to be very fun. But I took a look at the site anyway. One
conversation with Ken Fitzgerald, and I was hooked. What goes around comes around, eh Ken?
Got any nicknames? How'd you get it?
Only one. John. My mother called me that one day, and it stuck.
Now let's get a little deep... If you were a tree, what tree would you
be and why?
That would have to be the Texas Live Oak. I love Bonsai (Tree in a Tray) and when I lived in Hawaii, I had a few that I nurtured into some very gnarly, but handsome little trees. The Live Oak grows naturally like the Bonsai that I had. They have so much character that I can sit for hours and run my eyes over the intricate patterns.
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Originally Posted by John Hart
LOL!! 
. Great interview. We're gonna have to do the Berea thing again.
