Monday, July 31, 2000

Crafters take chunk of wood and turn it into art

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Hobby club has grown to 130 members

By Jenny Callison
Enquirer Contributor

        SYMMES TOWNSHIP — As far as John T. Lannom is concerned, one good turn deserves another. And another.

        Mr. Lannom, retired from an engineering career with Cincinnati Milacron, has turned his attention to woodturning. What started as a casual hobby has become a passion.

        “My wife bought me my first lathe 2¹/₂ years ago,” Mr. Lannom said. “Turning's so much fun; it's addictive. You get instant gratification because you can finish turning a bowl in about three hours.”

        Woodturning, like many other crafts, is enjoying a revival these days, said David Morrical, vice president of the Ohio Valley Woodturning Guild, of which Mr. Lannom is treasurer.

        “When we started in 1989 we had seven or eight members. Now we have upwards of 130 in the Greater Cincinnati area, Kentucky and Indiana. It's a great way of making friends and sharing our enjoyment of our craft.”

        Mr. Lannom has done various kinds of woodworking in the past, from crafting a mountain dulcimer to making intricate wooden boxes.

        But nothing has given him the satisfaction of cutting into a chunk of wood and discovering the secrets within.

        There's a story embedded in each bowl or vase. Mr. Lannom can tell the history of the wood by looking at the stresses, insects and fungi that left their marks on it.

        “We have a reverence for the wood,” Mr. Morrical said. “We don't cut down trees, we find logs that are already cut and see what Mother Nature has provided for us.”

        Guild members usually work with green wood.

        “It's not dusty, and it's free,” said Mr. Lannom with a grin as he chiseled the lip of a bowl on his large lathe.

        After an object is turned and sanded, Mr. Lannom works several coats of tung oil into the wood to finish it. Soft wood requires 20 or more applications; hardwood takes only a few.

        As demand for his creations has grown, Mr. Lannom has turned an outbuilding behind his home into a studio and shop.

        He's also stocking up for the Hyde Park Art Show in early October, where he will have a booth. His experience at Summerfair 2000 was positive, he said, estimating that he sold 18 to 20 pieces.

        “Our club goes down there every year. We take our lathes and demonstrate woodturning, and we also sell what we make,” he said.

        Mr. Lannom can be reached at 683-3129.

       

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