Name: Andrew Erskine Hoyt
DOB/Age: December 15th, 1953
Physical description (G-rated, please)
Taller than Dennis Peacock; wider than Jim Dunn; better looking than Loy Hawes, dumber than John Hart; and slower than Bob Noles. Soulash Binti comes to mind.
Location (for how long, previous locations, etc)
Benton Falls, ME since summer 2003; corporate exile in Vallejo, CA from 1994 to 2003; Springfield, VT 1992 to 1994; South Royalton, VT from 1985 to 1992; Westport Island, ME from 1981 to 1985. The list keeps going and going – I’m a firm believer in the greener grass concept.
Family information (brag on your spouse, kids, grandkids, dog, etc)
Married to Chrystine since 1982, one daughter Gabrielle born 1984; dogs Marlowe and Archie; and cat Crystal. As the only male in the house, I get blamed for everything.
Vocation (what do you do for a living, and what have you done previously)
Spent a long time in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman – highlights include a tour with the marines; being a plankowner of the USS Nassau; and duty as a SERE instructor in Rangeley, Maine. After the Navy I spent a year working for the Mafia in Ghent, NY but that didn’t pan out, so I went to work for a timberframing company in NH and stayed with them for about 17 years designing, cutting, and building new timberframed homes.
I now run my own business building timberframed architectural models and dollhouses. Same product for two different industries. Have sold some of my turned stuff, but turning is more of a therapeutic escape for me than anything else. I wish I could do it full time, since I need lots of therapy.
Equipment Overview (lathe, tools, etc)
Ancient Delta 10” Contractor’s TS; Powermatic 14” BS; Delta 6” jointer; Grizzly 1005Z milling machine; Jet JOVS-10 spindle sander; Oneway 1640 lathe; Oneida 2HP DC; Dewalt 12” CMS; Delta mortiser; plus the usual obscenely huge assortment of other stuff.
How many lathes do you own, or have owned? How many PMs do you wish you owned? Tell us about 'em:
I do not own any Private Messages, as they are all in the public domain. Started out on a Oneway 1018 that I bought used in 2001 and then sold to a fellow Creeker early last fall. I replaced it with a new Oneway 1640 and it’s set up with the outboard extension, which allows me to swing a 24” chunk; a vacuum system with a Gast pump; Stronghold Chuck; and the Moffat Light System. Would love to acquire a coring system and one of the big-boy hollowing rigs. Where’s Ketron Toolworks when you need ‘em?
How many turning tools do you have?
At last count there are twenty-nine, which is far too many. About ⅓ are home made. I always seem to gravitate to the same five or six.
Tell us about your shop:
It’s a 28’ x 30’ three-story barn attached to the house. Lower level is lawnmowers and stuff, plus the ducting for the DC. Upper level is a wide-open former hayloft. 75% is used for household storage and 25% is a dedicated and insulated finishing room / photo shoot area. The main (middle) level is on grade and has the mudroom, shop, and my office. After we bought the place in 2003, I gutted the main level and did a complete renovation.
Wish I’d known about SMC back then, as I’m sure I would have benefited from the collective wisdom while I was doing the work. Have a ton of photographs that would have made a great thread like that of Chris Padilla or Frank Pellow. When I started, I figured three months would be all it would take. Actually took close to a year and I only went over budget by 400%. The power of plastic exists on many levels.
As for the shop it self – while it might look like your basic shop with the usual assemblage of tools, it’s actually quite carefully orchestrated towards the models I make what with everything crammed closely together. The trailer lives in the shop during the winter for ease in snow removal, and outside for the rest of the year. This forces me not to locate tools here (which I like) as it leaves a nice 9’ x 14’ clear space for special projects.
Website? If so, what's the URL?
My business site is www.downscaledesigns.com which I maintain myself.
And I also manage www.mainewoodturners.org for my turning chapter.
How long turning?
First time I ever held a gouge was on September 10th, 2001, a pretty easy date to remember.
What got you into turning?
The notion first crossed my mind in 2000 when I was looking for a way to avoid tossing out or burning perfectly good pieces of scrap wood generated by flat-sided work since it seemed like a waste of money and resources. Pens, ornaments, and other similar stuff were thought to be the initial way to go. Also liked the thought that it was simple quick work with instant results – much like plowing snow or mowing grass. Boy was I wrong!
What do you enjoy most about turning?
I love to mount a sopping wet chunk of anything and let the cold wet shavings cover me from head to toe; make a huge mess; and relish in the marvelous sensation on your hands as you make really long curls come off the gouge. I could rough turn all day long.
What was your first completed turned project?
In preparation for selling our house in California, we re-landscaped the front yard, which meant I had to build a new picket fence. There were about seventeen posts, each with a finial on top. I think it took about 30 pieces to get 17 that looked close enough to please me.
What is your favorite form that you turn?
I guess I’m kinda like Ernie. I get great satisfaction from completing any piece that still resembles the vision I had at the beginning. This happens so rarely that when it does the sense of pride in the accomplishment is quite powerful.
What is your favorite form someone else turns/has turned?
I’m especially impressed with any piece that will hold a pint of Heath Bar Crunch.
What is your favorite wood to work with and why?
Cherry – because it’s so versatile – comes in a close second. But Freewood wins this contest, because I wreck so much of it.
Have you met or hung out with any turnin' Creekers? Tell us about it.
I met Lou Sansone and Syd Lorandeau at Mike Cutler’s house down in Connecticut when I got all that spalted hickory from Mike last December. Syd turns, but the others don’t (yet). It was a quick calorie burning visit, but enjoyable nonetheless. There are two well-known Creekers who have indicated a desire to stop by the house sometime over the next few months. Kinda isolated and off the beaten path up here in the top right corner, so visits are especially exciting. I’d name those two guys, but don’t want to jinx the visit.
What is your favorite individual piece that you have turned, and why?
There are a number of favorites, but the most treasured piece that I “helped” turn is Ken Fitzgerald’s Salmon Bonker. I wasn’t the only person to help, as there were scores of other folks on the assault team, too. Without sounding too drippy, let me say that the entire event was a pivotal point in my life – at least I hope so. Humanity routinely joins hands to help in times of urgent need; but I honestly cannot recall an event where so many jumped in to help someone they’ve never met just because they thought it would be fun and worthwhile.
What is your favorite piece someone else has turned, and why?
Ya wanna out me, huh? Okay, I’m game - anything by Travis Stinson. That he can produce his stuff on that crummy mustard yellow beginner’s lathe of his is astounding, and mighty impressive, too.
What do you not turn now that you want to - or plan to - in the future?
I’m hooked on hollow forms due to their complex issues. I’ve done lots in the 3” to 5” height range, but I want to go taller and wider. That means money – damned Abyss.
What brought you to SMC?
I always thought Internet forums were where teenagers spent all day exchanging locations, ages, and favorite movie stars. Then last summer a fellow chapter member told me about The Wows and the AAW Forum. That ultimately led me to the Creek and I fell in - all the way in – and I have no interest in climbing back out.
How is it that you deal with your "mustard yellar envy"?
I keep reminding myself that mustard yellow lathes need viagra to keep up with my white iron.
Got any nicknames? How'd you get it?
Sluggo – the story involves an evening in a Kuala Lumpur gin mill, a Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant, and my lack of sobriety.
Now let's get a little deep... If you were a tree, what tree would you be and why?
In honor of my recently retired two-faced avatar, I’ll pick two. There are the giant redwoods out west because they grow so old, so wise, and so tall that I feel thoroughly humbled in their presence. And the pine – in all of its variants – because it built North America.