Name: Stuart Ablett
DOB/Age:
May 11th 1964 41 years young
Physical description:
just about 6' tall, way to heavy but working on it. Brown hair cut short, blue eyes.
Location:
Tokyo Japan, for nearly 16 years, prior to that 5 years in Vancouver Canada at UBC, then the rest of my life in Kelowna BC, my hometown.
Family information:
I've been married over 12 year to my lovely wife Emiko, we have two daughters, Erika, who will be 12 soon, and Mizuki who will be 10 in July
Vocation:
Now we run my wife's family's liquor shop (www.masutoh.com) previously I ran an English school here, and I've had too many other jobs to list, from weldor, to carpenter, to waiter.
Equipment Overview:
Always got to bring up my lathe that’s not here yet don't you guys.....Goodness, 8" old Iron Jointer, Makita 13" planer, DeWalt BT744 TS, Compressor, Hitachi B601 re-saw bandsaw, BT drill press, Hobart Handler 175 MIG welder, Arc welder, Self built Pentz's design Cyclone, Hitachi CB8 SCMS, Self Built Router table, Various hand tools, and drills, etc. Kreg 2000 Pocket hole jig, Keller Dovetail jig....
How many lathes have (or do) you own? Tell us about 'em.
Got to keep bringing up this lathe thing......... Well I'll have an old Craftsman 12" tube bed lathe this or next week, it was a gift from a buddy in the US. It will be my first real lathe.
How many turning tools do you have?
I have 4
Tell us about your shop:
It is a Dungeon, no windows, no doors, a hatch to get into it, but it is the best I can do living down town in a city of 12 million people.
Website? If so, what's the url?
www.ablett.jp/workshop
How long turning?
Here we go again......this week or NEXT week..... I'll start....
What got you into turning?
I have a crappy little drill operated lathe, I used it to make a replacement stringer for a chair in our house, it was fun for sure.
What do you enjoy most about turning?
Certainly not doing "Interviews"
Dunno yet, but I think transforming a block of wood into a thing of beauty (I hope)
What was your first completed turned project?
Chair Stringer
What is your favorite form that you turn?
The virtual form, as I don't have my lathe yet!!
What is your favorite form someone else turns/has turned?
Dunno, sorry
What is your favorite wood to work with and why?
I would think it will be Sakura, as I have a bunch
Have you met or hung out with any turnin' Creekers? Tell us about it. No, no, no no, I don't want to drag my rep down
What is your favorite individual piece that you have turned, and why?
The chair stringer, as it is the ONLY piece I've turned....
What if your favorite piece someone else has turned, and why?
Too many to list
What do you not turn now that you want to - or plan to - in the future?
The sky is the limit as I'm new to all of this!
What brought you to SMC?
A high speed internet connection.... No, really, someone here, a guy named "Bob Borzelleri" Found my shop and link to it here, then someone on another WW forum I frequent said "Hey Stu, the Creekers have found you", so I checked this place out, and I have come to like it very much.
Got any nicknames? How'd you get it?
No, not really.
Now let's get a little deep... If you were a tree, what tree would you be and why?
Well certainly most would choose the mighty Oak, the most mythic tree there is, but for me, it would be the Maple tree, partly because I'm Canadian, eh, and also because we had a really big beautiful Maple in out back yard, it gave us lots of shade from the hot sun in the summer, and way too many leaves to rake up and then jump into the piles. We had a hammock under that tree, and I spent many a lazy summer day reading in that hammock, I first read Lord of the Rings there about 30 years ago. The Maple is a great tree, it has nice wood, and the symbol of the leaf is recognized all over the world as the symbol of Canada, my birthplace.
The only other tree I would think of would be the Palm, as it symbolizes the triumph of Christ's rising from the dead, and victory for Christianity.
Logging in Tokyo with the Tokyo Log Hog
Cheers!
Reply With Quote
(I was thinking of throwing another turning question out there but, thought better of it!
) Hey, one question not listed is: How the heck did you end up in Japan, in the first place??? It's not like going over to the next town or even the next state!
