| Q:
How did you get into woodworking?
A: Fell
into it, really. I was looking for an apprenticeship
as a carpenter but was never comfortable walking
around ten feet off the ground on a piece of
wood three inches wide. I left after a month.
I was offered a job as a wood machinist. Didn’t
know what a woodmachinist did, but took it on
anyway. I spent the first three months of my
apprenticeship sweeping floors.
Q:
Who are your woodworking heroes/gods/gurus?
A: I
really don’t have any heroes in woodworking.
I do appreciate anyone who makes a video or
writes a book, anyone prepared to share what
they know with others or stick their neck out.
Q:
What do you mainly make?
A: As
a woodmachinist I have made the bits and pieces
for just about everything. Later on in my career
I took up the computerised woodworking machinery
and made a name for myself in the Victorian
teaching community as a bit of an authority.
Q:
Your thoughts on traditional vs ‘new’
and digital?
A: I
believe that we can never lose the basics of
the trades, but to compete internationally we
need to adopt new techniques where we can. There
is no doubt that distances are shrinking and
that like it or not, we must be part of the
broader community.
Q:
What are you pet woodworking hates?
A: Machinery
salespeople who tell lies.
Q:
What is your desert island hand tool/ machine/
timber/ woodie book?
A: Sorry
to be boring, but recently it’s been CNC
programming, high-tech tools and stuff like
that.
Q:
The best thing you’ve ever made?
A: I
re-designed and made eight computer workstations
for our Institute a few years back. Each one
was for 12 computers in the shape of a three-spoke
wheel. That brought me some satisfaction.
Q:
Your best excuse for not getting something quite
right?
A: None,
I’ll do it again.
Q:
Your most often-made mistake?
A: No
particular oft-made mistake springs to mind,
but I do make them.
Q:
Your biggest woodworking disaster!!?
A: Once
I blew three wide belts on a sanding machine
in one morning. I’ve also sent the tool
on a CNC machine into the table on several occasions.
Once it was being filmed for a corporate video
but because of the guards, no one noticed (and
I never said a word).
Q:
The thing I would most like to change about
wood is…
A: The
thing I would most like to change about wood
is the splinters.
Q:
The thing I would most like to change about
woodworkers is...
A:
The thing I would most like to change about
woodworkers is the ‘I know it all’
attitude. No one knows it all.
Q:
The thing I would most like to change about
woodworking is…
A:
The thing I would most like to change about
my own woodworking is to get my hands dirty
a little more. My role at Holmesglen TAFE is
mainly one of management and I don’t get
out into the workshop as often as I would like
to.
Q: My final word
on woodwork is…
A:
My final word on woodwork is to enjoy what you
do and keep on learning.
Write to Philip at philipa@holmesglen.vic.edu.au |
