Second Nate Sighting
Now this is getting a little weird. Until yesterday, I'd never seen this Nate Davey guy. Then today, I saw him again. Second day in a row! I think this guy is stalking me or something!
Actually, I drove about 30 minutes to the other side of the mountain Monday and spent the afternoon playing in Nate's shop - swapping tales and shavings - followed by a great steak dinner. I had a fun time getting to spin some wood, and it's always nice to meet a fellow woodturner/Family member and learn how other folks do things. Plus, Nate and his wife Joy are great people to hang with (and very good cooks, too).
As a bonus, I got to see a bunch of Nate's turnings in the flesh. I can attest to the fact that he does great work. Like all of us, you can see how his skills progressed as he gained experience, and now he's turning top-notch pieces.
The centerpiece of Nate's shop is his Nichols lathe. Prior to today, my Powermatic 3520B was the biggest lathe I'd turned on. It's a midi lathe compared to the Nichols. The Nichols is nearly twice the weight of my Powermatic, and that's before you add the optional 400-some-odd pounds of sand to the headstock. You know, for stability.
It has a very versatile telescoping bed system, and everything about it says "BIG". I was getting ready to joke that all it needed was a mobile base, but then I looked and saw that it has wheels built in. Just raise the huge leveling pads to lower it onto the wheels, and your 1200+ pound lathe is mobile. Nate will have to chime in here with the specs, but it's capable of turning some huge stock.
We picked a piece of very dry (and hard) maple off his wood rack, and started turning a bowl. We (mostly Nate) spent a while knocking the corners off the blank, but after he got the un-fun parts cut away, I spent some cruising time with the gouge, too. We managed to get the outside turned to finished shape before it was time to start the charcoal for the steaks. Here are a few action shots featuring Nate. Check out the lathe. It was hard to fit it all in the frame. (The box to the left of the headstock is the vacuum pump housing.)
That's a 3 HP motor. It's huge. I've seen smaller 5 HP motors...
And proof that I still do turn (on occasion)...
Nate has a nice view out his shop door...
And the obligatory group shot to prove that we're not really just one guy pretending to be two. This one also shows our collaborative bowl so far. We'll work on the inside of it next time we get together...
And apparently the Great Tarantula Migration is happening in Nate's neck of the woods. Saw this guy just as I was leaving Nate's place. He was the second one I'd seen within a quarter mile of his house today...
All in all it was a wonderful afternoon and evening with good people, and I know we'll be seeing each other again.
Many thanks for the hospitality, Nate!