1 00:00:01,133 --> 00:00:02,666 (cheerful music) 2 00:00:05,233 --> 00:00:07,266 - Welcome to "The Volunteer Woodworker," 3 00:00:07,266 --> 00:00:09,333 I'm your host Charles Brock. 4 00:00:09,333 --> 00:00:12,166 Come with me as we drive the back roads, 5 00:00:12,166 --> 00:00:16,633 bringing you the story of America's finest woodworkers. 6 00:00:16,633 --> 00:00:19,333 (cheerful music) 7 00:00:27,700 --> 00:00:31,233 (cheerful music continues) 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,933 We're going to Cookeville, Tennessee to meet John Lucas. 9 00:00:38,933 --> 00:00:43,066 He never lets his skills dictate his works of art. 10 00:00:43,066 --> 00:00:48,000 The term, what if, always fuels the vision and the process. 11 00:00:48,966 --> 00:00:51,600 Described as a genius by many, 12 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,066 let's meet John and see his work. 13 00:00:55,066 --> 00:00:57,766 (cheerful music) 14 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,933 - [Announcer] "Volunteer Woodworker" is funded in part by, 15 00:01:05,933 --> 00:01:08,433 since 1970 Whiteside Machine Company 16 00:01:08,433 --> 00:01:10,933 has been producing industrial grade router bits 17 00:01:10,933 --> 00:01:12,600 in Claremont, North Carolina. 18 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:14,300 Whiteside makes carbide bits 19 00:01:14,300 --> 00:01:17,900 for edge forming, grooving, and CNC applications. 20 00:01:17,900 --> 00:01:20,700 Learn more at whitesiderouterbits.com. 21 00:01:22,266 --> 00:01:25,866 Real Milk Paint Company makes VOC-free non-toxic milk paint 22 00:01:25,866 --> 00:01:28,166 available in 56 colors. 23 00:01:28,166 --> 00:01:30,400 Milk paint creates a matte wood finish 24 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,600 that can be distressed for an antique look. 25 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:37,933 Good Wood Nashville designs custom furniture 26 00:01:37,933 --> 00:01:40,500 and is a supplier of vintage hardwoods. 27 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,766 Keri Price with Keller Williams Realty has been assisting 28 00:01:44,766 --> 00:01:48,966 middle Tennessee home buyers and sellers since 2013. 29 00:01:48,966 --> 00:01:50,533 Mayfield Hardwood Lumber, 30 00:01:51,966 --> 00:01:54,700 supplying Appalachian hardwoods worldwide. 31 00:01:57,033 --> 00:01:59,266 Anna's Creative Lens, 32 00:01:59,266 --> 00:02:02,933 crafters of resin on wood decorative arts. 33 00:02:02,933 --> 00:02:04,033 - John Lucas. 34 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,033 Wow, love being in your shop. 35 00:02:08,033 --> 00:02:10,666 Tell us how you got started with this. 36 00:02:12,066 --> 00:02:16,533 - Well, I started woodworking right after college, 37 00:02:16,533 --> 00:02:18,000 actually in college a little bit. 38 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,333 I bought a router and scrolls and jigsaw and stuff, 39 00:02:21,333 --> 00:02:23,033 started playing. 40 00:02:23,033 --> 00:02:26,700 And when I got the job at Tennessee Tech as a photographer, 41 00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:28,233 one of the things I was doing 42 00:02:28,233 --> 00:02:30,133 was photographing for the Appalachian Center for Crafts, 43 00:02:30,133 --> 00:02:31,733 photographing all their craft work. 44 00:02:31,733 --> 00:02:34,100 And I met a man named Joe Looper. 45 00:02:34,100 --> 00:02:35,333 And I'd been turning wood, 46 00:02:35,333 --> 00:02:37,233 I bought a shopsmith and I was playing 47 00:02:37,233 --> 00:02:39,400 and I was doing a little bit of turning, a little whatever. 48 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:43,166 Joe Looper was really, really good at turning green wood. 49 00:02:43,166 --> 00:02:44,800 And so Joe kind of took me under his wing 50 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:46,600 and got me going in that direction. 51 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,466 - You had cheaper wood to turn because it's plentiful. 52 00:02:49,466 --> 00:02:51,033 - When I moved here to Tech, 53 00:02:51,033 --> 00:02:53,566 I'd lost two or three jobs due to layoffs, 54 00:02:53,566 --> 00:02:55,800 and I didn't have much money, 55 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,400 I was working 40, 50, 60 hours a week. 56 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,033 Didn't have a lot of time to build furniture anymore. 57 00:03:01,033 --> 00:03:03,000 And then when Joe got me into green wood working, 58 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,633 I lived out in Gainesboro, had the woods all around me. 59 00:03:05,633 --> 00:03:07,400 It was the perfect hobby. 60 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,200 I could go downstairs and, you know, 61 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,733 turn a wine stopper or something in 30 minutes 62 00:03:11,733 --> 00:03:14,500 out of free wood, it was just the perfect thing 63 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:16,533 and it just took off. 64 00:03:16,533 --> 00:03:19,666 - Well, I'm always amazed at what you make 65 00:03:19,666 --> 00:03:24,300 because it seems you always start with, what if. 66 00:03:25,866 --> 00:03:29,100 How did you develop that style? 67 00:03:29,100 --> 00:03:30,400 - I'm not real sure, 68 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,500 it may have been my photography background 69 00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:37,133 in that in photography you can't build things. 70 00:03:37,133 --> 00:03:40,366 It's there and you have to change your composition 71 00:03:40,366 --> 00:03:42,666 or, you know, change the time of day or whatever 72 00:03:42,666 --> 00:03:43,800 in order to get it. 73 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:45,566 And so you're constantly thinking about, 74 00:03:45,566 --> 00:03:49,500 when can I do this and how can I do that to make it better? 75 00:03:49,500 --> 00:03:51,333 And wood turning was kind of the same way, 76 00:03:51,333 --> 00:03:53,000 when I first got into it 77 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,333 I made the normal things that everybody else makes, 78 00:03:56,333 --> 00:03:57,966 but then one day you're thinking, 79 00:03:57,966 --> 00:03:59,766 "Well, what if I could do this?" 80 00:03:59,766 --> 00:04:01,066 Or what if I could do that? 81 00:04:01,066 --> 00:04:02,533 And you try to figure out a way to do it, 82 00:04:02,533 --> 00:04:04,466 because back when I started, 83 00:04:04,466 --> 00:04:06,033 we didn't have all these videos, 84 00:04:07,266 --> 00:04:09,500 it was, you pretty much learned on your own. 85 00:04:09,500 --> 00:04:11,900 - I remember starting myself 86 00:04:11,900 --> 00:04:13,900 and I'd have to go to the library 87 00:04:13,900 --> 00:04:16,433 or try to find some old guy 88 00:04:16,433 --> 00:04:18,433 that would mentor me a little bit 89 00:04:18,433 --> 00:04:20,633 with something I wanted to learn. 90 00:04:20,633 --> 00:04:23,733 Learning has changed a lot, yeah. 91 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,666 But there is no school for most of what you do. (chuckles) 92 00:04:29,666 --> 00:04:32,833 Kind of tell us about how you develop a project. 93 00:04:32,833 --> 00:04:36,200 - Well, usually there's something going on. 94 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:37,700 Early on, everybody's always saying, 95 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:39,100 "You need to get out of the box." 96 00:04:39,100 --> 00:04:40,966 You know, you need to think outside the box. 97 00:04:40,966 --> 00:04:44,333 I find for me, it's better if I think inside the box. 98 00:04:44,333 --> 00:04:49,300 In other words, if I narrow my scope on something and I say, 99 00:04:50,166 --> 00:04:51,366 I need to build something, 100 00:04:51,366 --> 00:04:52,833 such as my Louisville slugger piece, 101 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:56,266 the National symposium was gonna be held 102 00:04:56,266 --> 00:04:58,433 next to the Louisville Slugger plant 103 00:04:58,433 --> 00:05:01,266 and the theme was something about baseball. 104 00:05:01,266 --> 00:05:04,300 So in my mind I was constantly going back about, 105 00:05:04,300 --> 00:05:07,000 what can I do about baseball that's related to it? 106 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:08,666 And by narrowing it into that box, 107 00:05:08,666 --> 00:05:11,033 then you come up with really unique ideas. 108 00:05:11,033 --> 00:05:14,600 So I was trying to make something related to baseball, 109 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:16,366 and since I make hand mirrors, 110 00:05:16,366 --> 00:05:17,866 this is a giant hand mirror. 111 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,633 So I came up with this theme in Florida several years ago, 112 00:05:22,633 --> 00:05:25,166 there was a guy that taped a banana to the wall 113 00:05:25,166 --> 00:05:27,800 and he sold that for $80,000. 114 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,366 Somebody came later 115 00:05:29,366 --> 00:05:32,666 and ripped the banana off the wall, sold that for $20,000. 116 00:05:32,666 --> 00:05:35,300 So I made an airbrushed appearance 117 00:05:35,300 --> 00:05:37,000 of a banana being ripped off the wall, 118 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,700 put it on my baseball bat and my base. 119 00:05:40,700 --> 00:05:42,000 And when I built this piece, 120 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,266 I purposely built it without any baseballs. 121 00:05:44,266 --> 00:05:45,600 So I titled the piece, 122 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,200 "I Could Play That Game If I Had The Balls." 123 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:49,466 (Charles chuckles) 124 00:05:49,466 --> 00:05:50,966 The piece that we'll see up here in a little bit, 125 00:05:50,966 --> 00:05:52,666 it's called "The Biological Clock." 126 00:05:52,666 --> 00:05:54,866 That was probably one of my first pieces 127 00:05:54,866 --> 00:05:56,366 that actually made a statement. 128 00:05:57,900 --> 00:06:02,066 You know, I was 40 years old, my wife was 38, whatever, 129 00:06:02,066 --> 00:06:03,800 we were all thinking about kids 130 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,466 and had to think about getting older and what you do. 131 00:06:07,466 --> 00:06:10,133 And so I designed that piece one day 132 00:06:10,133 --> 00:06:12,133 and thought I could build it. 133 00:06:12,133 --> 00:06:14,366 The interesting thing about that piece was 134 00:06:14,366 --> 00:06:17,700 having not ever had any kind of lessons in carving, 135 00:06:17,700 --> 00:06:21,033 it was a real challenge to carve those feet, 136 00:06:21,033 --> 00:06:22,600 carve those legs. 137 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,866 And I did so well that I won a carving competition. 138 00:06:25,866 --> 00:06:27,866 They tried to get me kicked outta the competition 139 00:06:27,866 --> 00:06:31,400 because the people said, "No, he's a professional." 140 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:33,900 But the judges said, "No, he's a professional photographer. 141 00:06:33,900 --> 00:06:36,300 He's not a professional carver." 142 00:06:36,300 --> 00:06:37,766 And so I got first place. 143 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,866 - Well, John, show me some of your work. 144 00:06:41,866 --> 00:06:43,666 - I'll be glad to. - All right. 145 00:06:43,666 --> 00:06:45,266 What a great display. 146 00:06:45,266 --> 00:06:47,500 Tell us about some of your favorites. 147 00:06:47,500 --> 00:06:50,233 - Well, they all have kind of a story. 148 00:06:50,233 --> 00:06:52,200 This one's one of my favorites. 149 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,500 This is called "Love Doesn't Have Boundaries." 150 00:06:54,500 --> 00:06:58,400 My cousin married a black man years ago, 151 00:06:58,400 --> 00:06:59,766 had two wonderful babies, 152 00:06:59,766 --> 00:07:01,733 there's two little miniature goblets in there, 153 00:07:01,733 --> 00:07:04,066 and unfortunately she died of breast cancer. 154 00:07:04,066 --> 00:07:06,133 So I made this piece kind of in her honor. 155 00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:09,633 And so I'm kind of proud of that. 156 00:07:09,633 --> 00:07:11,833 - [Charles] Yeah, this one looks like 157 00:07:11,833 --> 00:07:14,733 maybe somebody carrying somebody. 158 00:07:14,733 --> 00:07:17,766 - [John] Right, this was my former secretary, 159 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:20,800 had heart problems, they took her to Vanderbilt, 160 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:22,766 she died two or three times. 161 00:07:22,766 --> 00:07:24,966 They told her she needed a heart transplant. 162 00:07:24,966 --> 00:07:27,500 Unfortunately, it takes six months or longer 163 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:28,700 to find a heart. 164 00:07:28,700 --> 00:07:30,500 They found a heart two nights later. 165 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:31,866 But what made me make this piece 166 00:07:31,866 --> 00:07:34,166 was her husband came home, found her on the floor, 167 00:07:34,166 --> 00:07:36,133 picked her up and laid her on the couch. 168 00:07:37,366 --> 00:07:38,966 I thought, how would you make that feel? 169 00:07:38,966 --> 00:07:41,833 I mean, that was, so I wanted to make a piece like that. 170 00:07:41,833 --> 00:07:44,900 And it kind of ties into the Bible theme 171 00:07:44,900 --> 00:07:47,166 of, you know, I followed you, 172 00:07:47,166 --> 00:07:51,033 and it ties into Marines never leaving a body behind. 173 00:07:51,033 --> 00:07:53,100 So it was all kind of in my mind. 174 00:07:53,100 --> 00:07:53,900 - Yeah. 175 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,166 That is such an emotional piece, I can tell. 176 00:07:59,433 --> 00:08:01,600 Every time I've heard the story from you, 177 00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:04,700 you do the same thing. 178 00:08:04,700 --> 00:08:06,800 - And it took me 12 years to make that. 179 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:07,933 I'd actually made the piece, 180 00:08:07,933 --> 00:08:09,833 it's hard to tell all the details. 181 00:08:09,833 --> 00:08:11,566 I had made the feet and the heads, 182 00:08:11,566 --> 00:08:13,666 I wanted 'em to appear like an older person. 183 00:08:13,666 --> 00:08:15,533 So I used spalted wood. 184 00:08:15,533 --> 00:08:17,866 I couldn't bend these elbows. 185 00:08:17,866 --> 00:08:19,166 The wood kept breaking, 186 00:08:19,166 --> 00:08:21,566 I tried every bending technique on the market 187 00:08:21,566 --> 00:08:22,700 and could never get 'em bent. 188 00:08:22,700 --> 00:08:24,100 I even went to the woods 189 00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:26,600 and tried to find limbs that were shaped like that. 190 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:27,966 - Well, how'd you find spalted wood for? 191 00:08:27,966 --> 00:08:29,233 - Well, that was the problem 192 00:08:29,233 --> 00:08:31,400 was none of the wood you can find is spalted. 193 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,700 They developed a new timber where they crushed the timber 194 00:08:34,700 --> 00:08:36,133 under pressure and heat 195 00:08:36,133 --> 00:08:38,400 and when it expands, it doesn't expand all the way 196 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,733 and you can bend it more than normal wood. 197 00:08:40,733 --> 00:08:42,266 So that allowed me to bend the pieces, 198 00:08:42,266 --> 00:08:43,833 but they weren't spalted. 199 00:08:43,833 --> 00:08:45,266 All this spalting was done 200 00:08:45,266 --> 00:08:48,033 with calligraphy pens and airbrushing. 201 00:08:48,033 --> 00:08:49,833 And you can see it matches exactly. 202 00:08:49,833 --> 00:08:51,866 I was really proud of that. 203 00:08:51,866 --> 00:08:55,700 - And so your what if kind of philosophy, 204 00:08:55,700 --> 00:08:57,066 what if I try this? 205 00:08:57,066 --> 00:09:00,033 Can I match that spalting that nature does? 206 00:09:00,033 --> 00:09:01,166 - I think that and saying, 207 00:09:01,166 --> 00:09:02,733 "I'm never gonna give up." (chuckles) 208 00:09:02,733 --> 00:09:04,266 - [Charles] There you go. Yeah. 209 00:09:04,266 --> 00:09:07,900 - Well the Ukraine piece was, it dawned on me one day, 210 00:09:07,900 --> 00:09:11,666 you know, wars are held by younger men. 211 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:14,800 What happens if they all got tired 212 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,400 of just killing each other and simply laid down their arms, 213 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,433 irregardless of what their government said, 214 00:09:19,433 --> 00:09:21,166 the war would just end. 215 00:09:21,166 --> 00:09:23,800 So I titled that piece, "Hope Springs Eternal." 216 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:25,666 You know, they just simply laid down their arms 217 00:09:25,666 --> 00:09:27,233 and said, "we're not gonna fight anymore." 218 00:09:27,233 --> 00:09:28,833 - And they're linked in peace there. 219 00:09:28,833 --> 00:09:30,833 - And they're tied with captured rings. 220 00:09:30,833 --> 00:09:33,400 - Yeah. Wow. 221 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:34,766 What is this one about? 222 00:09:34,766 --> 00:09:37,133 - Well, this one was about the housing crisis. 223 00:09:38,233 --> 00:09:39,633 When the housing crisis was going on, 224 00:09:39,633 --> 00:09:42,233 all the rich people were having to sell their houses 225 00:09:42,233 --> 00:09:45,866 or their houses were going up to be repossessed or whatever. 226 00:09:45,866 --> 00:09:47,366 And so it dawned on me one day, 227 00:09:47,366 --> 00:09:50,666 I wonder if I can actually make the three little pigs. 228 00:09:50,666 --> 00:09:52,666 And it was really a bear gluing, 229 00:09:52,666 --> 00:09:55,533 every one of these pieces of straw was glued individually. 230 00:09:55,533 --> 00:09:57,233 These are little boxes. 231 00:09:57,233 --> 00:10:00,000 They're held down with magnets, they have a lid. 232 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,100 And so, anyway, so I made this one. 233 00:10:03,100 --> 00:10:06,300 The brick house, of course, has got a really nice yard. 234 00:10:06,300 --> 00:10:10,200 It's being repossessed. (Charles chuckles) 235 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,100 The stick house and the straw house, 236 00:10:13,100 --> 00:10:15,500 of course the straw house has a little bit funkier yard 237 00:10:15,500 --> 00:10:19,200 and so I had to learn how to do all the diorama things, 238 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,000 which was a lot of fun trying to learn that too. 239 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,333 And, and then trying to figure out 240 00:10:23,333 --> 00:10:25,966 how to glue all the sticks on and all the straw on 241 00:10:25,966 --> 00:10:27,333 was quite challenging. 242 00:10:27,333 --> 00:10:31,666 - Well, John, you really like to do very delicate, 243 00:10:31,666 --> 00:10:34,666 how in the world did he do that, kind of work? 244 00:10:34,666 --> 00:10:39,600 You've got a whole collection here of just small tables 245 00:10:41,033 --> 00:10:43,266 and finials and candlesticks, tell us about that. 246 00:10:43,266 --> 00:10:46,233 - Well, these are dollhouse scale, the ones that I do. 247 00:10:46,233 --> 00:10:48,633 I've been making those for a long time. 248 00:10:48,633 --> 00:10:49,900 It's just kind of a challenge 249 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:51,566 to learn how to make things like that. 250 00:10:51,566 --> 00:10:53,766 And then the people on the internet, 251 00:10:53,766 --> 00:10:55,533 once the internet came around, 252 00:10:55,533 --> 00:10:58,100 they start giving you a hard time about, 253 00:10:58,100 --> 00:11:01,333 "Well, why didn't you put a captured ring on those goblets?" 254 00:11:01,333 --> 00:11:03,300 There is one in there with a captured ring on it. 255 00:11:03,300 --> 00:11:07,333 So then I started making the captured ring goblets 256 00:11:07,333 --> 00:11:09,400 to see how small I could go. 257 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,400 And the smallest ring on there is actually smaller 258 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,700 than the zero on the date of a penny. 259 00:11:14,700 --> 00:11:17,400 - Wow, I can see the captured rings. 260 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,500 In fact, you got two captured rings on that one. 261 00:11:20,500 --> 00:11:21,866 I don't know how in the world you, 262 00:11:21,866 --> 00:11:25,100 I guess that is as small as you can get, right? 263 00:11:25,100 --> 00:11:26,600 - No. 264 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,133 Well actually, I used to have three boxes. 265 00:11:29,133 --> 00:11:32,400 One of 'em got lost on when I came back from a demo, 266 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,100 on the plane when my boxes got busted open 267 00:11:35,100 --> 00:11:37,800 and never found all those medium sized goblets. 268 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,566 But the super miniature goblets are still here. 269 00:11:40,566 --> 00:11:43,666 And what I used to do as a joke when I was doing demos 270 00:11:43,666 --> 00:11:47,466 is I would pass around the first big box 271 00:11:47,466 --> 00:11:49,966 and then I'd pass around the medium sized box 272 00:11:49,966 --> 00:11:52,066 and then I'd take the third box and pass it around and say, 273 00:11:52,066 --> 00:11:53,833 "These are my goblets." 274 00:11:53,833 --> 00:11:56,666 And then I'd pass a box around that was totally empty 275 00:11:56,666 --> 00:11:59,300 and say, "Now, these are my really small goblets." 276 00:11:59,300 --> 00:12:01,266 And it was a lot of fun watching people 277 00:12:01,266 --> 00:12:02,733 hold that box up to the light 278 00:12:02,733 --> 00:12:04,766 trying to see those little goblets that didn't exist. 279 00:12:04,766 --> 00:12:06,333 - Oh, that's great, that's a great story. 280 00:12:06,333 --> 00:12:10,033 Well, John, you're known for your hand mirrors, 281 00:12:10,033 --> 00:12:13,300 and this is a beautiful hand mirror, 282 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:16,266 but lots of your mirrors tell a story. 283 00:12:16,266 --> 00:12:17,700 Tell us about that. 284 00:12:17,700 --> 00:12:18,966 - Well, hand mirrors, 285 00:12:18,966 --> 00:12:20,566 when I started first making the mirrors, 286 00:12:20,566 --> 00:12:21,900 every one was different. 287 00:12:21,900 --> 00:12:24,200 They became kind of a pallet for me, 288 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:26,733 in that I would take this scrap piece of wood 289 00:12:26,733 --> 00:12:29,500 and how do I make something unique out of this? 290 00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:31,033 So they gradually kind of took off 291 00:12:31,033 --> 00:12:34,233 and I gradually started trying to tell stories with 'em. 292 00:12:34,233 --> 00:12:37,066 - How do you tell a story with a hand mirror? 293 00:12:37,066 --> 00:12:38,666 - Well, a good example might be this one, 294 00:12:38,666 --> 00:12:41,900 which is the Mayan calendar, 295 00:12:41,900 --> 00:12:45,100 we were all supposed to die in 2012. 296 00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:46,866 So I came up with a design for this 297 00:12:47,900 --> 00:12:49,400 and it became pretty challenging 298 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,700 because there's every kind of woodworking in here. 299 00:12:51,700 --> 00:12:53,166 There's carving, there's airbrushing, 300 00:12:53,166 --> 00:12:55,466 there's gold leafing, there's wood burning. 301 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,066 turned on 13 different axises. 302 00:13:00,066 --> 00:13:02,066 All of these, this is ebony, 303 00:13:02,066 --> 00:13:05,033 these are all carved to looked like napped flint. 304 00:13:05,033 --> 00:13:06,800 I wanted it to look like a war club. 305 00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:11,400 - That's amazing, what a piece of work that is. 306 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:12,566 Wow. 307 00:13:12,566 --> 00:13:14,433 Well, you got some others? 308 00:13:14,433 --> 00:13:17,266 - I have plenty. - All right, show us. 309 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:22,500 - You know, I made a lot of flowered ones over the years, 310 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:25,066 this just happens to be one of the latest. 311 00:13:26,766 --> 00:13:29,133 Just a little carving, a little airbrushing, 312 00:13:29,133 --> 00:13:31,200 trying to play with it all. 313 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,400 I've done ginkgo leaves, I've done maple leaf flowers. 314 00:13:36,866 --> 00:13:39,233 - Well, I heard about one that you did 315 00:13:39,233 --> 00:13:41,766 that has something to do with burning. 316 00:13:41,766 --> 00:13:42,900 - Well, I made this one. 317 00:13:42,900 --> 00:13:44,700 I was trying to enter a competition 318 00:13:44,700 --> 00:13:46,600 called Turned and Burned. 319 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,400 And I couldn't come up with any ideas, 320 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:49,666 I was racking my brain. 321 00:13:50,666 --> 00:13:52,666 And I was out burning leaves 322 00:13:52,666 --> 00:13:54,500 and I happened to scratch the match and went, 323 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:56,700 "Oh, I can make that." 324 00:13:56,700 --> 00:13:58,366 Actually, this is what happened. 325 00:13:58,366 --> 00:13:59,933 I was turning epoxy one time 326 00:13:59,933 --> 00:14:03,900 and mixing huge amounts of thickener in the epoxy. 327 00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:05,166 And apparently when you do that, 328 00:14:05,166 --> 00:14:07,500 it creates bubbles in the epoxy. 329 00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:09,033 And so I remembered that and thought, 330 00:14:09,033 --> 00:14:11,233 I can make that look like a match head. 331 00:14:11,233 --> 00:14:12,966 So I kind of came up with the overall theme, 332 00:14:12,966 --> 00:14:15,566 but how am I gonna make it fit Turned and Burned? 333 00:14:15,566 --> 00:14:17,966 So I turned the opening, put the mirror in there, 334 00:14:17,966 --> 00:14:19,400 and then it's burned. 335 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,533 And it says, "Success is not the result 336 00:14:21,533 --> 00:14:23,033 of spontaneous combustion. 337 00:14:23,033 --> 00:14:25,566 You must first set yourself on fire." 338 00:14:25,566 --> 00:14:27,766 (John chuckles) 339 00:14:27,766 --> 00:14:30,866 Fred Shero said that, he was a hockey coach. 340 00:14:30,866 --> 00:14:33,766 And so I entered in the competition, 341 00:14:33,766 --> 00:14:37,266 and I got a letter back from the judges. 342 00:14:39,766 --> 00:14:42,133 They liked this the best of all, 343 00:14:42,133 --> 00:14:43,333 but they felt like it had 344 00:14:43,333 --> 00:14:44,833 so little turning and burning on it 345 00:14:44,833 --> 00:14:46,566 compared to all the other entries 346 00:14:46,566 --> 00:14:49,133 that they would've taken a huge amount of flak 347 00:14:49,133 --> 00:14:51,200 if they had made me first prize. 348 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,100 So what they did was they gave out the prizes 349 00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:56,233 to the other pieces that were actually extraordinary. 350 00:14:56,233 --> 00:14:59,266 And they all personally sent me a letter saying, 351 00:14:59,266 --> 00:15:01,333 this is the best piece in the show, we thought, 352 00:15:01,333 --> 00:15:03,233 and why they, you know, did that. 353 00:15:03,233 --> 00:15:05,066 So I felt pretty honored about it. 354 00:15:05,066 --> 00:15:06,433 - That's wonderful. 355 00:15:06,433 --> 00:15:07,933 - One of the things I've been doing over the years 356 00:15:07,933 --> 00:15:09,333 is trying to make some mirrors 357 00:15:09,333 --> 00:15:11,766 from some of the people that I respected growing up. 358 00:15:11,766 --> 00:15:14,366 Of course, Alfred Hitchcock was one of the greats 359 00:15:14,366 --> 00:15:17,466 and I was learning airbrushing so I developed this 360 00:15:17,466 --> 00:15:20,233 and started learning how to burn the wood. 361 00:15:20,233 --> 00:15:22,100 A lot of times I learn a technique 362 00:15:22,100 --> 00:15:23,500 and then I try to figure out 363 00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:26,033 how am I gonna use that technique on something I do. 364 00:15:26,033 --> 00:15:30,266 And handwriting with a wood-burning tool 365 00:15:30,266 --> 00:15:31,766 is really difficult. 366 00:15:31,766 --> 00:15:36,166 - So it's got "The Birds," "Rebecca," "North By Northwest," 367 00:15:36,166 --> 00:15:37,100 all of his movies. 368 00:15:37,100 --> 00:15:38,333 - All of his movies are on here, 369 00:15:38,333 --> 00:15:40,000 you know, somewhere or another. 370 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,500 - I bet it took a good evening to do this. 371 00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:46,000 - Takes patience. (Charles chuckles) 372 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,866 My current mirror that I'm working on, 373 00:15:49,233 --> 00:15:51,600 always been fascinated by Picasso 374 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,666 and particularly his cubism style. 375 00:15:53,666 --> 00:15:58,633 And so I'm building this to represent his cubism paintings. 376 00:15:59,766 --> 00:16:01,233 And one of the things I'm gonna do 377 00:16:01,233 --> 00:16:03,066 is I'm gonna break up the glass and glue it on here 378 00:16:03,066 --> 00:16:04,433 so that when you look at it, 379 00:16:04,433 --> 00:16:07,266 you see yourself as a cubism painting. 380 00:16:07,266 --> 00:16:09,233 So I got a long ways to go on this, but. 381 00:16:09,233 --> 00:16:13,133 - That is pure John Lucas. (chuckles) 382 00:16:13,133 --> 00:16:15,000 That is just great. 383 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,700 (cheerful music) 384 00:16:26,766 --> 00:16:30,333 (cheerful music continues) 385 00:16:39,700 --> 00:16:43,266 (cheerful music continues) 386 00:16:52,133 --> 00:16:55,666 (cheerful music continues) 387 00:17:05,033 --> 00:17:08,566 (cheerful music continues) 388 00:17:12,966 --> 00:17:16,000 Right back here we have something 389 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,833 that is kind of new for you. 390 00:17:17,833 --> 00:17:19,633 - This is a trembler, I've never made one. 391 00:17:19,633 --> 00:17:21,000 I've always wanted to. 392 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,766 For years I always thought I had the skill, 393 00:17:22,766 --> 00:17:24,566 just never took the time to do it. 394 00:17:24,566 --> 00:17:26,700 And so I finally made it a priority 395 00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:31,000 and I turned one of these, a smaller one, and I liked it 396 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,600 but it was a little bit too small in diameter. 397 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,466 Each element, it needs that contrast in size 398 00:17:35,466 --> 00:17:36,833 to look really nice. 399 00:17:36,833 --> 00:17:38,866 So I made this one the other day 400 00:17:38,866 --> 00:17:40,166 and it came out pretty well. 401 00:17:40,166 --> 00:17:43,466 - [Charles] And is the purpose more an exercise 402 00:17:43,466 --> 00:17:45,566 to see if you can do it, the challenge? 403 00:17:45,566 --> 00:17:49,166 - It is, in France the man that I saw do it first 404 00:17:49,166 --> 00:17:51,100 was Jean Francois Escoulen. 405 00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:54,266 And he teaches wood turning classes over in France. 406 00:17:54,266 --> 00:17:56,533 And one of the graduation projects 407 00:17:56,533 --> 00:17:58,300 that they have to do is a trembler 408 00:17:58,300 --> 00:17:59,900 because it takes a lot of skill to do it. 409 00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:03,500 So you're showing everybody that I have the skill to do this 410 00:18:03,500 --> 00:18:05,666 as a professional turner. 411 00:18:05,666 --> 00:18:06,900 - Well, you're a person 412 00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:09,333 you definitely don't want to challenge 413 00:18:09,333 --> 00:18:13,333 because you'll take the challenge, I know you well. 414 00:18:13,333 --> 00:18:16,366 How do you do that, how do you keep it 415 00:18:16,366 --> 00:18:18,766 from just tearing all apart on the lathe? 416 00:18:18,766 --> 00:18:20,333 Any little pressure? 417 00:18:20,333 --> 00:18:21,900 - Well, it'll be much easier to show you 418 00:18:21,900 --> 00:18:23,966 because it's hard to talk about 419 00:18:23,966 --> 00:18:25,966 what it takes to actually do one of these. 420 00:18:25,966 --> 00:18:28,266 - Okay, well let's see it. - All right. 421 00:18:28,266 --> 00:18:32,033 - John, you've laminated a piece of stock here 422 00:18:32,033 --> 00:18:33,500 and mounted it on the lathe. 423 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,566 Does this lamination help at all? 424 00:18:37,566 --> 00:18:39,466 - No, it actually causes some problems. 425 00:18:39,466 --> 00:18:41,833 Part of the reason I laminated was 426 00:18:41,833 --> 00:18:43,666 you have to have the grain running continuous 427 00:18:43,666 --> 00:18:45,000 from one end to the other. 428 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,366 So I was selecting wood outta my pile 429 00:18:47,366 --> 00:18:50,066 that had a continuous grain and the piece that I picked 430 00:18:50,066 --> 00:18:54,833 was wide enough, not thick enough. 431 00:18:54,833 --> 00:18:55,933 So I built up the thickness 432 00:18:55,933 --> 00:18:57,900 by adding these laminating layers. 433 00:18:57,900 --> 00:19:00,533 But the problem is the cherry is not as hard 434 00:19:00,533 --> 00:19:01,966 as the hard maple. 435 00:19:01,966 --> 00:19:03,833 So it actually creates a little vibration in the tool, 436 00:19:03,833 --> 00:19:05,300 fights me a little bit 437 00:19:05,300 --> 00:19:07,600 And any vibration is transmitted to here. 438 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,133 - Yeah, the density of the wood changes 439 00:19:10,133 --> 00:19:12,666 and the strategy has to change a little bit. 440 00:19:12,666 --> 00:19:15,066 - Exactly. - Yeah, the pressure used. 441 00:19:16,333 --> 00:19:20,633 But again, all the grain needed to be straight. 442 00:19:20,633 --> 00:19:24,333 Any short grain, this would not make it at all. 443 00:19:24,333 --> 00:19:25,700 - Right, one of the problems 444 00:19:25,700 --> 00:19:27,700 with turning one of these things is 445 00:19:27,700 --> 00:19:30,200 any mistake and the piece is history. 446 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,566 - (chuckles) Yeah, and you've got 447 00:19:33,566 --> 00:19:36,566 a unique way to support it. 448 00:19:36,566 --> 00:19:39,033 - Right, this is what Jean Francois Escoulen 449 00:19:39,033 --> 00:19:41,500 was teaching back in the days was, 450 00:19:41,500 --> 00:19:45,066 what I do is I turn the pace between centers first. 451 00:19:45,066 --> 00:19:46,333 then I move this away 452 00:19:46,333 --> 00:19:48,000 and I drill a little center hole in there 453 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,066 to put a hanger on later. 454 00:19:50,066 --> 00:19:52,133 And the tail stock is no longer supporting it. 455 00:19:52,133 --> 00:19:55,300 You can kind of see that it's sticking in that hole, 456 00:19:55,300 --> 00:19:58,366 but all it's doing is reducing the chatter and the flex. 457 00:19:58,366 --> 00:19:59,733 And as you turn every, 458 00:19:59,733 --> 00:20:02,533 everything starts to chatter and flex. 459 00:20:02,533 --> 00:20:04,300 So you put these little string steadies in here 460 00:20:04,300 --> 00:20:07,300 to kind of reduce how much it can move. 461 00:20:07,300 --> 00:20:09,833 And then you have to change the speed of the lathe 462 00:20:10,733 --> 00:20:12,233 up and down. 463 00:20:12,233 --> 00:20:15,566 If I go too fast, you'll see that it starts to shimmy. 464 00:20:15,566 --> 00:20:16,766 - [Charles] Yeah. 465 00:20:16,766 --> 00:20:17,866 - So I can either go a little faster 466 00:20:17,866 --> 00:20:19,400 and see if it goes away, 467 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,566 or I can back it back down till it stops moving. 468 00:20:22,566 --> 00:20:24,733 And that's where I've gotta turn right now. 469 00:20:24,733 --> 00:20:27,000 Now I can continually vary the speed. 470 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,133 I wanna turn as high a speed as I can, 471 00:20:29,133 --> 00:20:30,833 but, like you saw a minute ago, 472 00:20:30,833 --> 00:20:34,200 as I turned that speed up, the vibration gets too intense. 473 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,166 I could maybe put a third 474 00:20:36,166 --> 00:20:38,900 string steady right there to help that. 475 00:20:38,900 --> 00:20:42,366 But we may need the third one down here, maybe a fourth one. 476 00:20:42,366 --> 00:20:44,600 And right now I only have four, so. 477 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:46,133 - All right. 478 00:20:46,133 --> 00:20:50,500 - But to turn, like I say, you can't make any mistakes. 479 00:20:50,500 --> 00:20:51,966 So I can't get a catch. 480 00:20:51,966 --> 00:20:54,466 And because the wood wants to chatter a little bit, 481 00:20:54,466 --> 00:20:56,433 it's like turning the lip of a bowl. 482 00:20:56,433 --> 00:20:58,500 If I cut too aggressively right there, 483 00:20:58,500 --> 00:21:00,766 it'll run back on me and I get a catch. 484 00:21:00,766 --> 00:21:03,366 So I have to be very careful at the start of the cut. 485 00:21:05,833 --> 00:21:07,633 See, you can see it's kicking back. 486 00:21:07,633 --> 00:21:11,833 So what I wanna do is I wanna get the tool started properly. 487 00:21:11,833 --> 00:21:14,466 (tool scraping) 488 00:21:15,733 --> 00:21:17,500 And I need to support it with my fingers. 489 00:21:19,833 --> 00:21:22,466 (tool scraping) 490 00:21:28,466 --> 00:21:31,033 So we'll start to cut a little more gently. 491 00:21:31,033 --> 00:21:34,266 (tool scraping) 492 00:21:34,266 --> 00:21:35,866 Now, one of the things I've learned 493 00:21:35,866 --> 00:21:39,300 when I started doing these was cutting parallel to the grain 494 00:21:39,300 --> 00:21:42,966 is incredibly slow and causes a lot more flex. 495 00:21:42,966 --> 00:21:46,166 So I found that I'll cut across the grain. 496 00:21:46,166 --> 00:21:48,766 (tool scraping) 497 00:21:50,466 --> 00:21:51,800 And while it's still thick 498 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,233 I can get away with cheating a little bit. 499 00:21:54,233 --> 00:21:56,766 You'll notice that I'm actually scraping now 500 00:21:56,766 --> 00:21:57,633 instead of cutting. 501 00:21:59,033 --> 00:22:02,366 (tool scraping) 502 00:22:02,366 --> 00:22:05,100 Take little bites, don't put any pressure on the bevel. 503 00:22:08,900 --> 00:22:10,733 Then I'll reduce it some more. 504 00:22:10,733 --> 00:22:13,866 Again, I can reduce it crossing the grain, 505 00:22:13,866 --> 00:22:15,533 I don't create as much vibration 506 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,700 on the piece so I can kind of get by with it. 507 00:22:19,700 --> 00:22:22,333 (tool scraping) 508 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,800 So what I wanna do is get the full length 509 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:36,900 of this particular element, 510 00:22:36,900 --> 00:22:39,033 which is gonna be roughly where my line is. 511 00:22:43,266 --> 00:22:46,966 - [Charles] And all the elements were a little different. 512 00:22:46,966 --> 00:22:49,433 - That's the idea is to, 513 00:22:49,433 --> 00:22:51,500 you wanna do different designs, different things. 514 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:53,700 You'll notice I added a captured ring here. 515 00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:57,100 You wanna show your skills is part of the piece 516 00:22:57,100 --> 00:22:59,533 is to be able to do a different design on each one 517 00:23:00,866 --> 00:23:02,833 and to be able to cut very, very cleanly 518 00:23:04,633 --> 00:23:05,933 because you can sand, 519 00:23:05,933 --> 00:23:08,366 but you can only sand to a certain point. 520 00:23:08,366 --> 00:23:09,866 I stopped the lathe, 521 00:23:09,866 --> 00:23:12,166 I was getting a little bit more chatter than I wanted. 522 00:23:12,166 --> 00:23:15,133 Sometimes these wheels get just a tiny bit loose 523 00:23:15,133 --> 00:23:16,566 and that causes that. 524 00:23:16,566 --> 00:23:18,800 And I need to go back and clean up this area. 525 00:23:20,300 --> 00:23:22,000 Because when you start a cut, 526 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,633 if the wood is out around it wants to catch the tool. 527 00:23:25,900 --> 00:23:28,966 So I put the bevel on there, rotate the tool. 528 00:23:28,966 --> 00:23:31,433 Again, I can't put any pressure on it. 529 00:23:31,433 --> 00:23:34,066 (tool scraping) 530 00:23:35,866 --> 00:23:37,366 Your tool has to be sharp. 531 00:23:40,300 --> 00:23:41,400 And in fact, I'm finding, 532 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,200 which is kind of interesting to me, 533 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,600 that I am having to sharpen more frequently 534 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,966 on something this size than I do on a bowl 535 00:23:50,100 --> 00:23:52,200 because the sharpness is so critical. 536 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:53,833 If I don't have a sharp tool, 537 00:23:53,833 --> 00:23:58,733 any pressure I put going forward causes a problem. 538 00:23:58,733 --> 00:24:03,600 (lathe whirring) (tool scraping) 539 00:24:08,866 --> 00:24:11,233 - [Charles] Just fascinating. 540 00:24:13,766 --> 00:24:16,900 - [John] The problem is, part of the problem anyway, 541 00:24:16,900 --> 00:24:18,166 you're only taking off 542 00:24:18,166 --> 00:24:20,766 about 10 thousandths of an inch per pass. 543 00:24:22,466 --> 00:24:24,733 Because much more than that and you'll break it. 544 00:24:28,833 --> 00:24:31,966 - This looks like about what, an eighth of an inch here? 545 00:24:31,966 --> 00:24:33,700 - It's a little bit over an eighth of an inch, 546 00:24:33,700 --> 00:24:36,300 140 thousandths roughly is what those three are. 547 00:24:36,300 --> 00:24:37,666 - [Charles] So you've gotta bring that one down 548 00:24:37,666 --> 00:24:39,000 just a little bit more. 549 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:40,466 - Yeah, you can see if you look at this one 550 00:24:40,466 --> 00:24:44,400 and look at that one, I've got about 50% more to go. 551 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,200 - There you go, this is just outstanding. 552 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:49,500 Thank you for showing us the trembler. 553 00:24:49,500 --> 00:24:52,800 Thank you for showing us all of your great artwork. 554 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,133 It's such a pleasure. 555 00:24:54,133 --> 00:24:55,700 - You too, thanks for coming by. 556 00:24:56,900 --> 00:24:58,466 - I'm gonna be heading down the road 557 00:24:58,466 --> 00:25:01,900 to find a story of another great woodworker. 558 00:25:01,900 --> 00:25:06,100 See you next time on "The Volunteer Woodworker." 559 00:25:06,100 --> 00:25:08,900 (cheerful music) 560 00:25:17,833 --> 00:25:21,400 (cheerful music continues) 561 00:25:24,566 --> 00:25:28,166 - [Announcer] "Volunteer Woodworker" is funded in part by, 562 00:25:28,166 --> 00:25:30,600 since 1970 Whiteside Machine Company 563 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,100 has been producing industrial grade router bits 564 00:25:33,100 --> 00:25:34,766 in Claremont, North Carolina. 565 00:25:34,766 --> 00:25:36,500 Whiteside makes carbide bits 566 00:25:36,500 --> 00:25:40,066 for edge forming, grooving, and CNC applications. 567 00:25:40,066 --> 00:25:42,900 Learn more at whitesiderouterbits.com. 568 00:25:44,466 --> 00:25:48,066 Real Milk Paint Company makes VOC-free non-toxic milk paint 569 00:25:48,066 --> 00:25:50,366 available in 56 colors. 570 00:25:50,366 --> 00:25:52,600 Milk paint creates a matte wood finish 571 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,800 that can be distressed for an antique look. 572 00:25:57,900 --> 00:26:00,100 Good Wood Nashville designs custom furniture 573 00:26:00,100 --> 00:26:02,633 and is a supplier of vintage hardwoods. 574 00:26:04,100 --> 00:26:06,833 Keri Price with Keller Williams Realty has been assisting 575 00:26:06,833 --> 00:26:11,066 middle Tennessee home buyers and sellers since 2013. 576 00:26:11,066 --> 00:26:12,700 Mayfield Hardwood Lumber, 577 00:26:14,066 --> 00:26:16,833 supplying Appalachian hardwoods worldwide. 578 00:26:19,133 --> 00:26:21,333 Anna's Creative Lens, 579 00:26:21,333 --> 00:26:24,800 crafters of resin on wood decorative arts. 580 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:26,933 Visit CharlesBrockChairmaker.com 581 00:26:26,933 --> 00:26:29,300 for all you need to know about woodworking. 582 00:26:30,266 --> 00:26:32,066 If you'd like to learn even more, 583 00:26:32,066 --> 00:26:35,100 free classes and a variety of subjects are available 584 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:38,833 for streaming from CharlesBrockChairmaker.com. 585 00:26:38,833 --> 00:26:41,466 (gentle music) 586 00:26:43,100 --> 00:26:44,766 (light contemporary music)