Name: Brian Weick

How young are you? 43

Physical description: 5’ 10” 158

Burnie 01.jpg

Where is home?
Buffalo NY – 43 years- I have been New Yorker my entire life- love this place!

Family information:
I have 2 daughters Hannah is 21 going to college and Marissa is 14 attending high school and I have a great Ex-wife- unusual I know – but she is a good woman! I have a girl friend named Paula – wonderful person and a pleasure to be with.

Do you have a website?
Coming soon- I am re-doing the whole site.

Vocation:
I’ve owned my own high-end remodeling company for the past 5 years and I was an estate planner for Mutual of NY in NY before that.

Shop Overview:
450 square feet. I have almost everything I need except a bandsaw, which I hope to get soon. I do have an interest in ornate furniture but would not want to make a living on it.

How many lathes do you own?
1 lathe- My Oliver 20C pattern Lathe - I plan on incorporating 3 stepping motors and turning it into a CNC machine for helical patterns on architectural column works.

How many turning tools do you have?
80 - Store bought; 8 home made; 72 carriage holder bits. Favorites? Gouge

How long have you been turning and what got you started in the first place?
2 years

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Bosco – dark Chocolate

Five yard penalty, Brian. Herseys rules. Would have been a ten-yarder, but chocolate saved you.

What do you enjoy most about turning?
The creating part and design aspect and seeing the final product come off between the spindles.

How come you don't live in Wyoming?
I have no idea Andy- I think this is a trick question maybe- you got me!

Nope. Not a trick question. But you’ve obviously never been there. If you had, you’d never returned to Buffalo.

What do you enjoy the least about turning?
How everything came out just perfect and very detailed.

Do you belong to a turning club?
No - But I would like to if I can find the time- I lead a very busy and interesting life here in NY.

What was your first completed turned project? You get bonus points for a picture of it.
The making of a 4’ x 12” diameter staved column for a paired bathroom cabinet door

Grrr. I said picture, not thread.

What’s your favorite individual piece that you have turned, and why?
Some table legs that I made and designed for a small kitchen table are my favorite due to the ornate nature of them.

What’s your favorite form that you turn?
Columns for now- I am sure to be going to other avenues as time progresses. I am fairly new at this, but have read a lot of material and time experienced with some of the turning I have done- along with the mistakes as well.

What do you not turn now that you want to - or plan to - in the future?
I would like to try some ornate vases or bowls and I am planning on making some solid wood drums fairly soon.

How do you take your Moxie? (Straight up? beer chaser? neat? with corn flakes?)
With some Coke Classic.

Ewww! Hey. Even I have to draw the line somewhere

What’s your favorite form someone else turns?
All the segmented pieces I have seen on SMC – you are all very talented individuals and I admire your craftsmanship.

What’s your favorite individual piece someone else has turned, and why?
Chris Rolke’s segmented bowl.

What’s your favorite wood to work with and why?
Maple, cherry or oak – very easy to work with and haven’t received a call for anything else as of yet.

What brought you to SMC?
I was looking to buy a large lathe and started searching for Oliver lathes and clicked the link from the search engine and the rest is history!

What was your first post about? Or don’t you remember?
Lou Sansone’s Monster Lathe

Yup. New keyboard that night, huh?

Do you recall the first thread you started?
Yes- the above – Questions about purchasing a lathe.

Nope.

What’s your favorite old thread on SMC?
Lou Sansone’s lathe

Have you met or hung out with any fellow Creekers?
Yes- Greg Pavalowski – a native Buffalonian.

Got any nicknames?
Burnie, Was inducted by my childhood years – was always the one picked when it came time for the football games. – Receiver.

Now let's get a little deep... If you were a turning tool, what tool would you be and why?
A carriage - so many options I would have and the sky is the limit.

If you won the Irish Sweepstakes what part of your life would change?
Nothing ~ because there are always other things that would go wrong to replace the things we replaced! I am happy with whom I am and life is just that – a learning experience and I am fortunate enough to still be here learning from my mistakes- life would have no meaning without challenges!

Thanks, Brian.

Geez. Here’s yet another Creeker with a Google Gap.