Cover me!

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Well folks, I had a FULL day :D

I got to bed around 4 AM.... or so, and got up around 9 AM.

My lovely wife and kids decided to go to Costco to do some shopping, the kids love the pizza and hot dogs, the loads of clothes from the US (the styles and colors are somewhat different that the stuff here) yes, my girls are becoming "THAT" age :rolleyes: so they left and I was here getting ready of a 1 PM start to the photo shoot.

I headed down to Tokyu Hands, a kind of arts and crafts store that has some decent tools too, to buy a larger diamond hone, and a new smooth mill file, as the one I have is worn out, and I find I need to file the stock Nova tool rest A LOT.......... (seems it is rather soft).

I got back to the Dungeon about 11 AM, and had some quick lunch, and then found a good clean pair of coveralls to wear (one more problem out of the way!!).

I did some more practice, went over what I was going to do and the order of doing it in my head again, and then turned a new handle for the file I bought, I could not wait for the show to get on the road!!

To be honest, I was really nervous and worried if I'd be able to pull this off or not............ :eek:

1 PM arrives and there is a knock on the Dungeon hatch, the Editor (Ito San) and the photographer and an assistant editor come on down, we all exchange business cards and chat a bit, then I start explaining what I'm going to do and how etc. Just then, the doorbell rings..........:huh:

It is another guy from DoPa, but this guy is the "BIG BOSS" of the parent company that owns DoPa and about 50 other magazines, I could tell he was the big boss, by the way the other three guys went from a casual chat in the Dungeon, to respectful silence......

Oh boy, now the pressure is on.

I start turning, and explaining and stopping for pics and such, when I'm done the first leg, we decide it is time for a coffee break. The Big Boss is chatting to the photographer and looking at the pics he took, then he apologizes and says he has to go, but thanks me for my time and the tour of the Dungeon, as he goes, he asks Ito San to have word with him, topside.

Myself and the assistant editor and the photographer start talking about workshops stuff, I show them Kermit and they are real interested in the cyclone.

Ito San comes back and we proceed to do another leg, and then stop, as it is getting on in the day, and they have to go. It sure takes a LOT more time to turn a leg, when you have to stop and explain what you are doing, stop for pics, pose for pics and help them take notes etc. The whole time the assistant editor had a hand held video camera running as well.

Then Ito San asks if they can take a few pics of the cyclone, so we do that, they took about 50 pics of the cyclone and nearly 200 of me turning :eek: (digital cameras are great!).

As Ito San leaves he tells me that the Big Boss was really impressed with everything, and he came, just to meet me and see the Dungeon, he had a good look at the various pics, and told Ito San to tell me that I'm most likely to be on the cover of the magazine :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Not 100%, but he really like the pics and thought it would make a great cover..........

Boy oh boy, did that blow me away!

So, I HAD to see these pics, I asked the photographer to show me some, and man, can you tell that guy is a Pro, as the pics make it look like I actually know that the heck I'm doing :dunno: The pics showed a real wood turner at work, I was S-H-O-C-K-E-D to say the least!

Ito San is coming again tomorrow to pick up the four legs.

When I started I went into great detail telling them how I'll make four "Similar" legs, but if they want four exact copies, they should go buy some made on a router machine in China :rolleyes: :D

They said they understood that "Handmade" meant that they would be "Similar" not exact copies, and in the end, I think I did that...............


four_similar_legs.jpg
......... sure not exactly the same, but they are similar...? :eek:

wild_grain1.jpg
here is some of the WILD grain I had to deal with......

wild_grain2.jpg
The guy who is making the table, who made up the blanks, knows NOTHING about turning.......... can you tell?

The wood was "White Maple" and I tell you, it was total crap to turn, hard as a rock, chippy and flexy at the same time :(

Oh well, I did my best.........

dopa_guys.jpg
The DoPa guys, the assistant editor on the left, the photographer in the middle and Ito San on the right, nice guys, very easy to get along with.

OK, that done, I then got ready for the guy coming to pick up my old C-man lathe, he came a bit early, and I showed him how it all works, and then we got chatting, and he is a TOTAL beginner, so I took a chunk of wood and put it between centers and gave the guy a half hour lesson, letting him do most of the work, he was having fun, but he had to leave, I think I just pushed my first victim into the abyss :D

Soon after my lovely wife and kids came home (they got stuck in BAD traffic, as Costco is near Tokyo Disney Land), helped them unload, and then we had steak for supper, with apple pie :thumb:

What a day, I'm beat!:D

Cheers!
 
Stu buddy I am proud of you. Would you have ever thought when you started not that long ago you would be on a magazine cover. Get some sleep bud and please post some pic's when the mag comes out.
 
Congrats, Stu! I hope you have an agreement, as part of the deal, to have access to the original photo files and PDF files of the mag pages you're on. Not to publish or have rights, just for your portfolio and maybe web site later.
Just the former graphic artist in me speaking.
GET SOME SLEEP!
 
Stu , that sounds like a great experience. We'll be needing some of those magazines over here, be sure to buy enough for all of us.:D

It's interesting how you mention that when the big guy walks in the the rest go into "respectful" silence. When working with my Korean and Japanese suppliers I notice the same thing. The first time it happened I was wondering what the heck is going on.
 
POOR BABY...................had such a BAD day! THAT is one GREAT GLOAT and well deserved. As the kids say "You Rock!" (at least I thing they still say that.)

Congratulations. Make sure to post the "COVER" shot!

Bruce
 
Last edited:
Hey Thanks everyone, I'm sure glad that is over! :D

I was getting sick of turning the same thing, again, and again and again! My hat is off to the guys that do a lot of spindle work, it is a lot harder than I thought, makes bowls look................easy :D

Cheers!
 
Stu

That is great news, glad you had a full day!

Does the magazine have an English version? I bet that there are a few of us here who would like to see a copy. What do you think it would cost to bundle a bunch up and send them to one address here? Of course, the one with you on the cover! And then that person could send them out to those of us who "subscribed".

I would do it if the issue could arrive here before the end of May. After that, I'll be working on putting the house to bed prior to our summer travels and time is at a premium.

Jay
 
Hey Stu, a Published Interview (twice now) "Is Good", BUT a Pictured Feature is BETTER, and now a COVER maybe..............FANTASTIC!!!!! (I'm glad however that it wasn't a CENTERFOLD):rofl: :D Just Two more Covers, and you'll be ready to run for Office.:D

Congratulations Big Fellow. Your energy and willingness to seek knowledge and try new things certainly makes you an excellent choice for their magazine. :thumb:
 
Hey Stu sounds like a very cool day. The spindles look like they turned out great. BTW if the DoPa crew are in need of a story send them down my way. Maybe they can do a story on micro-managing a woodwork shop in a one kei-car (660 CC engine car) garage. :huh:
 
Top