Woodturners in Albuquerque

[Nate Davey]

Barring the unforeseen, I will be moving to Albuquerque in Aug. Any Creekers out there?

[allen thunem]

hey on your way through stop by denver with a load of some of those eastern hardwoods we dont see out here

[Tim Rinehart]

Nate...say it ain't so man!! Please be sure to stop by again before leaving...I promise to give you something to provide extra burden to your load!

[Nate Davey]

Allen, I'm no geologist ;), but Littleton is exactly "on the way."

Tim, yeah afraid so, next job is out there and I really like to eat. I am loading up the truck with wood on the way out. Pinon isn't exactly my dream wood to turn.

[Dane Fuller]

Nate,
I wish you well on your move. If you don't already, you should learn to fly fish. NM has some awesome fly fishing opportunities!

[allen thunem]

nate
the door is open if you need a place to rest before going on to abq
have an extra bed and the wife is a helluva cook

[Marty Eargle]

At least you'll have part of a good ol' NC summer before you leave. Congrats on getting out of Fayettenam.

[Nate Davey]

Thanks Allen, your generosity and hospitality are greatly appreciated.
Marty, I'll be honest, I won't miss the humidity :D

[Randall Houghton]

Nate
There are few creekers around the Albuquerque area but most of them are involved with flat work. As you are aware hardwoods do not grow in the desert so turning blanks are scarce. Local wood harvested by tree trimmers is primarily cottonwood. If you bring wood with you it needs to be heavily waxed or sealed because humidity levels in this area have been about 10 percent or less for the last year or so as we are experiencing a prolonged drought. There is a local AAW chapter in Albuquerque if you are a member. I usually purchase blanks off of Ebay but shipping cost can be high. I started doing segmented turnings because it was easier to obtain materials for that type of work as opposed to blanks. There is no longer an exotic wood dealer in this area as far as I know and Phoenix or Denver are about the closest places for that type of material. That being said Bud Latven who is a well known segmenter wood artist lives and works here. New Mexico culture is totally different than anywhere in this country so be ready for change. Hope your move goes well and you settle in quickly.
Regards
Randy

[Nate Davey]

Thanks for the info Randy. We've been looking at places in Tijeras/Edgewood area. I'll add an extra coat of anchor seal to my blanks as well.

[Marvin Hasenak]

In the past I have gotten some good wood around Ruidoso, NM. There were several small sawmill operations in the area, I have found walnut, pecan and various fruit woods to be fairly easy to find.