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SMC Turner Interview - Randy Privett
Name: Randy Privett
How young are you?
59 years young, but turn the BIG 60 next month (October), I guess they’re all the BIG from here on out.
Physical description:
6’, 210 lbs, and getting grayer every day.
Where is home?
Outside a small town in East Central Indiana, called Mooreland, lived here going on 22 years. We lived in and around Colorado Springs for about 18 years, but due to an inner ear problem that I developed, we moved back to the area that I grew up in. Less altitude and more humidity.
Family information:
Very happily married to my lovely wife, Claudia. We have three children, one son and two daughters. We now have nine grandchildren, four boys and five girls. They’re scattered all over, we’re in Indiana, and they’re in New Jersey and Colorado. Wish we could visit them more often. No dogs, to hard on us when they have to go.
Vocation:
Right now, I make lathe tools and accessories under the name Monster Tool to pay the bills. I spent some time in the Army, till we decided to part ways. Tool Maker, Tool Shop owner, Engineer. Not retired yet, don’t think I’ll ever retire, I have to be busy.
Why Monster?
The name came from Claudia, I needed a larger tool so I could stand behind the lathe, throw it under my arm and get mean with a big chunk of walnut. The tool was over 3 feet long. When she came out to the shop and saw me using it, she said “Wow that’s a Monster”. It stuck.
Do you have a website?
Yup. I’ll let it speak for itself.
How does Moxie factor into the production of your new mini-hollowing rig?
Moxie figures into everything I do, especially when making hollowing rigs.
Dang – I meant other than as an industrial lubricant.
Shop Overview:
The shop is basically right outside the back door, about 30 feet down the sidewalk. We built it before we built the house. The overall dimensions are 48’ x 64’ and it’s divided into two basic sides. The tool shop takes up ½ of it, the wood shop ¼, and the rest is for garden tractors and such. The tool shop has 16’ ceilings with an office and storage upstairs, with two offices/storage room/tool room/whatever room downstairs. It’s completely insulated, which makes it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
I have all the regular stationary tools in the wood shop, I have the Craftsman cabinet tablesaw that I bought my Dad for his birthday in 1964, it was used then. Made by King Seeley. When he died, that’s all I wanted, rebuilt it like new. It’s a heck of a saw. Router table, planer, jointer, chop saw, vertical bandsaw; all the regular stuff that sets around getting rusty and dusty. Although I still do some flat stuff, just not nearly enough.
How many lathes do you own?
Right now, I have four complete lathes, three wood lathes and one metal lathe, although I am going to pick up another metal lathe soon. I sold my other one, thinking I didn’t need it. That was a mistake, I really need two.
Tell us about 'em.
I have an older Rockwell/Delta that a guy gave me, when I got it there wasn’t a banjo, tailstock, or motor. Basically all there was was a cabinet, bed and headstock. It got moved around the shop for about two or three years. At the time I had a 45 and a 90 that I had re-done and converted to electronic variable speed, so I didn’t need it. As luck would have it, I ended up selling the Powermatics, and I needed something to turn on, so I had to fix this old thing up. I bored the head stock out added larger bearings, raised the head stock 2”, making it a 16”, made a new cast iron banjo, new tool rests, modified a tailstock that I found at a machinery dealer, dropped a 2hp 3phase motor with a Variable Frequency Drive. Makes for a pretty good lathe.
I recently picked up a Jet Mini, I haven’t really had the time to play with it, but I know I should have gotten the Variable speed. I also have a 1236 knockoff that I use as a second op machine for an item we make.
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I’ve also been working on a 26” prototype lathe, just don’t seem to have the time to see this through to completion. If I had one solid week, I could finish this. The design is complete and ½ the details are finished, just trying to get the time to do it.
Ahem – color and flavoring selections are rather limited, Randy. But may I suggest Maple – as in the color of the syrup, since most lathes end up that color anyway. At least the ones that get used do. Right, Fitz? :eek:
How many turning tools do you have? Store bought; home made; favorites?
I don’t have a clue how many tools I have, although not that many are store bought. Why should I buy them when I have the capability to make them, although if I was to put money against time, it would probably be cheaper to buy them. Not nearly as much fun though. My favorite tools are the hollowing tools, love hollow forms.
How long have you been turning, and what got you started in the first place?
I probably got started watching my Grandfather turn spindles. He was the person that ran the poor home, or that’s what they called it when I was growing up. Either that or old peoples home. It was a working farm that housed people that society didn’t want to mess with, so they’d put them in there. The buildings were made in the 1800’s and had all this ornate wood work and seemed like a million spindles on every floor. He was forever having to make new spindles for replacements. He would have me pump the peddle to keep the lathe running. I haven’t thought about that in years.
I got back into turning about 25 years ago while in Colorado. My mother wanted some knobs made, so like a good son, I made them. I didn’t realize how much fun that it was. Got hooked all over again.
What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Vanilla, because there’s so much you can do with it.
Yeah! Especially Maple Syrup!
What do you enjoy most about turning?
The freedom of letting your mind wonder, making something out of nothing and a sense of accomplishment.
What do you enjoy the least about turning?
Cleaning up the mess
Do you belong to a turning club?
Used to, but found out that as with any organization, the politics involved aren’t to my liking.
What was your first completed turned project? You get bonus points for a picture of it.
I’m sure there was something when I was really young, but I would have to say it was the knobs I made for my Mother. Sorry no picture.
What’s your favorite individual piece that you have turned, and why?
I turned an urn for a friend’s ashes. It was unreal how consuming it was, as if someone else was doing it, it didn’t come out anything like I had planned. After it was finished I couldn’t believe I had done it. I have never had another piece go as smoothly before or since.
What’s your favorite form that you turn?
Hollow Forms
What do you not turn now that you want to - or plan to - in the future?
I really like some of the natural edged pieces I’ve been seeing, or I might try some boxes, if I can find the time.
How do you take your Moxie? (Straight up? beer chaser? neat? with grits?)
Straight up.
What’s your favorite form someone else turns?
I like anything that has good form and finish, I enjoy looking at everyone’s pictures that they post.
What’s your favorite individual piece someone else has turned, and why?
Probably something that Travis turned, that guy has both the eye and the talent. Some have one or the other, but he has both.
What’s your favorite wood to work with and why?
Maple or walnut, being completely different woods, but I love the way they cut.
What brought you to SMC?
Was on another forum and someone was talking about SMC, I had to ask, then I had to go.
What was your first post about? Or don’t you remember?
Being that I don’t post much, I don’t have a clue.
As it turns out, you were being nice to me!
Do you recall the first thread you started?
Same answer.
Speaking of being without a clue (as in me, right now) – what were we talking about?
Have you met or hung out with any fellow Creekers? Tell us about it.
Got to hang out with Sean Troy a while this past weekend. Great guy.
Was it this Indy Fest? Or another one?
What about this Creeker visit? Oh right, you sent this interview to me before that occurred.
Got any nicknames? How'd you get them?
Just my initials RP the guys where I used to work tagged me with it. There are others, but you couldn’t put them here.
Now let's get a little deep... If you were a CNC Turret Mill, what color would it be and why?
Blue, I’ve always been partial to Cincinnati Milicron
If you won the Irish Sweepstakes what part of your life would change?
I don’t think it would change that much, but our grandkids lives probably would.
Thanks for checking in with us Randy. Always a pleasure.
