Vern Tator
Member
I was born in Connecticut and grew up racing sailboats on Long Island Sound and skiing in Connecticut and Vermont. I had my first turning experience in high school during the early 60's. After graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in Marketing, I moved to Vail Colorado and taught skiing and worked as a carpenter. I built my first cabinet for hire in the summer of 1971. I bought a Sears lathe and a set of turning tools in 1973. My dad, who still lived in Connecticut, and I both bought Dale Nish's first woodturning book in 1975. We would practice and then phone each other once a month to see how we were doing.
I moved from Vail to Henry Island, in the San Juan Islands, in 1980. The lathe came with me. In 1989 I decided to take a long sailing trip, perhaps around the world, so I sold most of my tools. I bought a 45' yawl in Newport Rhode Island and started sailing south. After six months I decided that while I loved the boat, outfitting and upgrading it for a long offshore voyage was more money that I was willing to invest, so I had it trucked back to Washington. I lived on the boat in Friday Harbor for four years and restarted my cabinet shop. I turned a little during this time on borrowed lathes. I joined the Northwest Corner Woodworkers, which meets in Mt. Vernon, in about 2002. That was the start of a slippery slope. Many members of the group belonged to the Northwest Washington Woodturners. I soon joined that group and bought a used Jet mini lathe. After a year or so I had the urge to turn bigger bowls, so I bought a Vicmarc VL300 shortbed. Today I have a 450 sq ft shop in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle.
I am an active member of the American Association of Woodturners, Northwest Washington Woodturners, and the Seattle Woodturners.
My grand daughter, age 9, wanted to learn to turn, so I thought pens might be a good start for her. Having never turned a pen myself, this seemed easy. Once I learned enough to be a poor example, I started her. Being 9 her attention span was too short to go very far, we may continue again next summer. However I was hooked, and here I am.
I am a full time turner, selling at craft fairs and farmers markets in the Northwest.
I moved from Vail to Henry Island, in the San Juan Islands, in 1980. The lathe came with me. In 1989 I decided to take a long sailing trip, perhaps around the world, so I sold most of my tools. I bought a 45' yawl in Newport Rhode Island and started sailing south. After six months I decided that while I loved the boat, outfitting and upgrading it for a long offshore voyage was more money that I was willing to invest, so I had it trucked back to Washington. I lived on the boat in Friday Harbor for four years and restarted my cabinet shop. I turned a little during this time on borrowed lathes. I joined the Northwest Corner Woodworkers, which meets in Mt. Vernon, in about 2002. That was the start of a slippery slope. Many members of the group belonged to the Northwest Washington Woodturners. I soon joined that group and bought a used Jet mini lathe. After a year or so I had the urge to turn bigger bowls, so I bought a Vicmarc VL300 shortbed. Today I have a 450 sq ft shop in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle.
I am an active member of the American Association of Woodturners, Northwest Washington Woodturners, and the Seattle Woodturners.
My grand daughter, age 9, wanted to learn to turn, so I thought pens might be a good start for her. Having never turned a pen myself, this seemed easy. Once I learned enough to be a poor example, I started her. Being 9 her attention span was too short to go very far, we may continue again next summer. However I was hooked, and here I am.
I am a full time turner, selling at craft fairs and farmers markets in the Northwest.
