About

Tom Lohr…

After 7th grade shop class, I was hooked on working with wood.  Finding the time and the space to work on a hobby is difficult when you are just getting started in life, but slowly I began acquiring tools and working on small projects.  As the kids got older and I was not coaching various teams or driving them everywhere, I started some larger furniture projects like shelving units and wine racks.  That developed into larger projects like entertainment centers and dining room tables.  As the complexity of the work increased, so did my ability to showcase the beauty of the wood.  Two members of my wife's Art Guild kept telling her that I should investigate woodturning.  Eventually, I took a beginners woodturning class and again, I was hooked.  I bought a small lathe and started practicing on glued together pieces of construction lumber.  After making a lot of mistakes, I graduated to hardwoods and began making usable pieces.  A lot of the enjoyment in turning is starting with a section of a log or a piece of rough cut wood and seeing the beauty of the wood emerge as you shape. .  You are always surprised with what you find when you start removing wood to shape the piece.  Amazing grain, texture and effects are exposed. As I started improving my skills shaping pieces on the lathe, I also began to learn more about decorating the turned object.  I now use carving, coloring, and pyrography, (wood burning), to decorate turned pieces. I continue to take classes from various Masters and attend symposiums to improve my skills.  I am a member of the American Association of Woodturners and a member of several of the local chapters of that organization.