Ted Fink Of
TJF TurningsLLC
Shelburne,
Vermont
Sizing up a massive oak burl
My interest in working with wood began very early in the workshop of my grandfather. I  
found the wonderful mixture of smells of wood, glue, waxes and oil finishes
captivating. He and my father taught me the basics of making pieces of furniture from
hardwoods taken from the forest on our land. As the years passed I visited every
woodworker I could find and always came away more knowledgeable for the encounter.

In 1997, my wife pointed out that I had filled the house with furniture so I had to find some
other pastime. That gave me the opportunity to concentrate on the aspect of wood working
that I had always enjoyed the most, woodturning. That year I took an intensive course with
master turner, Dick Montague of Groton,  Vermont . He introduced me to the local Chapter
of the American Association of Woodturners in Vermont, namely the Woodchuck Turners
of Northern Vermont. Among these skilled turners my woodturning education steadily
advanced.

My challenge in woodturning is to reveal to the utmost the natural beauty hidden in each
piece of wood, at the lathe. I do much work on my original lathe, a Powermatic 45
purchased in 1980 but have recently acquired a heavier lathe for turning large unbalanced
pieces more safely. I use a 3rd lathe (NOVA 3000) that is mobile for demonstrations I give
around Vermont at various festivals and other venues.

One of the unique aspects of woodturning is that we can utilize to best advantage  wood
that has defects that all other woodworkers assiduously avoid. These include bark
inclusions, crotch wood, bizarre grain and unusual pigmentation. From each tree we reap
these precious scraps just before the firewood gatherers arrive.  

The great joy of woodturning is the capacity to create something so functional and beautiful
from a rough piece of wood. The effort has borne fruit by garnering me a total of 11 awards
in the first 5 years of Vermont Design Showcase annual competition. The award winning
pieces for 2008 can be found on the Board Bowl page of my website.  
Turning the inside of a large
ambrosia maple bowl.
Photo by Kate Fink