This photo taken of a wood turner named George Sly who worked for Danerk Furniture in Stamford, CT back in the 1940″s. George, in his 80’s taught me wood Turing after school when I was when I was a teenager. His hands full of arthritis but he could turn a 100 pieces and they would all be the same. I’d usually arrive at his house about 3:00. George would be sitting at his kitchen table with a tank top and boxer shorts, his usually attire. A cup of black coffee and a pack of Camel cigarettes on the table. He would say with his raspy voice, “Hello Mark, Oh it’s time for your lesson”. He would walk down the stairs into the basemen, put his work apron on and turn on his wood length. He would then toss the cigarette onto the ground where there was a pile of sawdust that ran from the ground all the way up to his length. You can see craters of where cigarettes had landed and burnt themselves out. If you’re interested, I’ve posted allot of new information on Danersk furniture on my web site raphaelsfurniture.com.
