Name: Steven J Schlumpf
How young are you?
Managed to turn 55 this past May 16. Don’t feel I’ve changed over the years; but the mirror and the numbers don’t lie!
Physical description:
Well, I’m kinda hippie looking I guess. Figure I’m around 5’10”, 160 lbs., hair is mostly brown with some gray and white thrown in for texture, all tied in a ponytail that reaches to my belt. Keep thinking one of these days I’m going get it cut.
Where is home?
I live in Harvey, Michigan, which is about 5 miles south of Marquette; the biggest city in the U.P. Our house, is located a little less than ½ mile from the shore of Lake Superior and we hear the waves most evenings. I moved to the Marquette metro area (population around 65,000 for the entire county) in 1990 and have called it home ever since. Where else have I lived? Well, I was raised military as my Dad was career Air Force. As a kid we lived in Illinois, Alaska when it was still a US Territory, Indiana, Germany and Montana. When I turned 18 I left home and have lived in Wyoming, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska (when it was a state), Colorado, California and then moved to the Upper Peninsula Michigan. It’s not that I liked to move around a lot – it just seemed like something that I had to do every few years.
Family information:
My wife, Colleen, and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this coming Oct. We both had been married before and together we have 1 daughter, 2 daughters-in-law, 4 sons, 1 son-in-law, 2 granddaughters, 6 grandsons and the 9th grandchild is due this November!
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Do you have a website? If so, what’s the URL?
Always figured SMC was my website as it is the only place I post what I do, photos, opinions, etc.
Vocation?
I’ll start with “The previously” in the hopes the progression makes sense. I was in the Air Force from November 1970 to March 1978 and trained in electronics. March ‘78 to January ‘80 I was a commercial fisherman out of Coden, Alabama – mostly shrimp but did manage to pull my share of crab traps and learned how to rake and shuck oysters. Had hurricane Frederic hit September ‘79 and by relieving us (wife, son and I) of all personal property, gave us the opportunity to start over.
We moved to Colorado Springs where I was hired as a systems tech for TRW. Got divorced shortly after and I moved to Denver area and worked as a systems tech for Colorado Data Systems, which designed and manufactured automated test systems. Everything was going great until the shuttle blew up and the electronics industry came to a screeching halt. Wow, what a great chance to start over – meaning I was soon to be unemployed. I moved to the Silicon Valley area of California and once again found work, this time as a senior lab tech for ROLM – which designed and manufactured telephone switch equipment. IBM bought out ROLM a year later; and then Siemens bought the division from IBM a year after that. Went through the big Bay Area earthquake of 1989. I was lucky - many were not.
Well, I had been in California for about 3 years at that point so figured I would move someplace new. Thought about Seattle but decided to move where my folks were living – Marquette, MI – just to be around family for once. Arrived here and found no electronics jobs available. Worked in a music store repairing audio equipment and signed on as a tech with a production company which put on major venue Rock & Roll shows throughout the Upper Peninsula. The music store eventually closed and I went to work for a local retail store for a couple of years, then a printing company for 2 more. A good friend of mine had a DJ business and also managed a number of Rock & Roll bands – offered me a job repairing all the amps, light systems, etc. It was fun but to pick up a little extra cash I served legal papers – another of my friend’s businesses was process serving. You meet some of the nicest folks that way!
Eventually I started booking the bands and we did have a couple of them go national. About that time I helped my Dad build a screened-in porch on the back of his house. Had a blast working together and it was the first time either of us had built anything that complex. A couple of years later we built a front deck with a long terraced stairway and I decided that woodworking was something I enjoyed doing. Started working for a local construction company and learned about framing, roofing, siding, and windows. I eventually worked my way into finish work and managed to do some custom built-in bookcases, shelf units, vanity mirrors, etc. This year I got a DBA as SJSWoods and plan on going into business for myself.
Shop Overview (size, relationship to house, list of basic tools, woodworking interests other than turning – as if that were possible!):
We live in a ranch style house with a full basement. The shop takes up about 2/3s of the basement which works out really well for me as this area of the country gets more than it’s fair share of winter weather. Figured I would throw in a few photos of the shop. Everything is a mess right now as I am in the process of closing out my folk’s estate and have to find places to store the contents of their home.
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Over the years I’ve managed to pick up some basic tools: Jet 14” CS Bandsaw, Jet 6” CS Jointer, Jet JDP-17 Drill Press, Ridgid 13” Planer, Grizzly 1023 SLX 10” 3 hp left tilt tablesaw w/ 7’ rails, sanders, hand drills, routers, router table with a 2 ¼ hp Freud, lots of clamps and little things you know you just can’t live without.
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