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Designs in Wood
John J. Crouse
5453 Whiskey Hill Road
Wolcott, NY 14590
P
& F 315.594.1325
E
jjcrouse-22@verizon.net
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This article was
published in the October Edition of:
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woodezine - Volume
III - Issue X - OCTOBER 2005
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Turner of the Month
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John
Crouse
John Crouse is an
industrial arts graduate of the Oswego, New York campus
of SUNY, with graduate credits in woodworking and
furniture design from RIT. |
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| He operates a workshop and studio in
Wolcott, New York, where he designs and produces custom
cabinetry, fine furniture, and lathe turned bowls and
accessories. |
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John has been an exhibitor in crafts
shows throughout the Northeast, showing and selling
his work at Amercan Crafts Council fairs in
Baltimore (Maryland), Rhinebeck (New York) and
Springfield (Massachusetts). His work has appeared
in the 100 American Craftsmen exhibition in
Lockport, New York, and in the Ohio Designer
Craftsmen fairs in Columbus. He also has exhibited
at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Fine Craft
Exhibition. At left is one of his exquisite
lignumvitae bowls.
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| John has taught woodworking and
industrial arts at the junior and senior high school
levels in suburban Rochester. Below are three more of
his lignumvitae turnings. |
| John's interest in wooodworking dates
back to the early 1950s when, at the age of 13, he
bought his first table saw. His love for the medium,
appreciation for the inherent qualities of wood, and his
understanding of the tools and equipment necessary for
the production and finishing of his woodwork is evident
in the beauty and functionality of his pieces. Below are
three of his laminated bowls, a set with a tapered
design. The piece on the left of this photo awaits a
finish. |
| Below are a pair of his bamboo bowls.
The concave one on the right has wenge strips, and the
convex one on the left has Walnut strips. These pieces
are unfinished. |
| "I don't have a fancy
chuck for my lathe," John told Woodezine. "I screw the
back of the lignum vitae to my face plate, and turn the
bowl with a Revere-type bottom. When I'm done, I turn it
over and put it on a wooden face plate. Then I bolt a
plywood ring over the bowl and turn the inside of the
bottom, which removes the screw holes. I think I came
across that idea at Fundy National Park in New Brunswick
(Canada)." |
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| John once worked for a
company that made cases for Hamilton Clocks and Seth
Thomas clocks. He worked on specialty mantle clocks -
short runs, 100 to 200 at a time. There, he learned a
lot about making and using jigs. And he did "a lot of
work on a big, old, mean shaper with a couple of 1-1/2"
diameter spindles that were turning at 7,000 rpm. FUN!"
Pictured below are two views of a 5" x 9"
laminated concave walnut, maple and cherry bowl. |
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At left is a 4" x 8"
spalted maple concave bowl, and below right is a 4" x 8"
bamboo convex bowl. John gets the bamboo from plywood
scraps and the end grain looks like it's quartersawn. He
glues narrow strips together to attain this unique look.
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| Below are an assortment
of John's bowls awaiting their finish. As you can see,
he is quite prolific. And the bottom photo shows some of
his lignumvitae blocks. He has a substantial inventory
of these and might be willing to sell some, if anybody
is interested. |
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This is a fairly rare species
nowadays. According to our copy of "A Guide to
Useful Woods of the World", it grows in Florida, the
West Indies and parts of Central America. It's very
oily and extremely heavy, and its grain is wavy and
irregular.
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| The wood is used for bushings on
ships' propellers, bearings in clocks, mallets, bowling
balls and, of course, turning. There may be some
restrictions on its export, as it has been designated an
endangered species. You can contact John at the e-mail
and postal addresses listed below. |
Contact the Artist...
John Crouse
Designs in Wood
3435 Whiskey Hill Road
Wolcott, New York
(315) 594-1325
Visit him online at
http://www.designsinwoodbyjc.com
Or send John an
e-mail
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