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View Full Version : Anyone speak Samoan? (seriously)



Manuka Jock
10th October 2008, 05:53 AM
Hi folks , I'm bringing this over from another forum
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Hey everyone.....

I know this is an odd request....but do anyone of you know a wood turner who happens to speak Samoan?

Remember back a year or so ago I posted some photos of some hand carved bowls, platters, plates and weapons that were done by a friend , John Lafa'ele , in American Samoa? If you didn't see it do a search in the forum on Samoa and you will find the threads. If you haven't seen his work you will be amazed at what he is doing with an adze made from a lawn mower blade and a small tree limb for a handle held together with inner tube rubber, a chisel, and a handsaw, compared to what we do with our mega dollar lathes. It is reallllllly humbling.

He was here with his wife for a week last week and I had a chance to spend some time with him on my lathe and he seems to be hooked. Pretty neat! His eyes were wide, his palms were a bit sweaty, and his friends said he talked about the lathe a lot! You all know the symptoms.

But.........Before I encourage him much I want to be sure that there is someone around who could help him by phone or email when he really has problems or serious questions. He doesn't speak much English. Although I did fine showing him how to do things and explaining concepts when we were together I KNOW that I would have a much harder time trying to help him by phone or email. There are no other lathe workers in Samoa that I know of so he will be by himself out there. I can have his wife translate for me....but she doesn't know a lathe from a fruit bat and some concepts will be very difficult to get through if I translate through her. A Samoan speaking woodturner would be ideal for the trickier concepts.

By the way.....I made a deal with him. I agreed to take a week off during his next trip out here to teach him the lathe, or to take my Jet mini with me to Samoa if that ends up being the next time we see each other.......provided he doesn't abandon his hand carving for the lathe. He is the only traditional carver left in American Samoa. And he has not been able to get anyone to take it up in spite of holding free lessons for folks of all ages. I would feel horrible if my encouragement of him and the lathe cost the island its only remaining traditional carver.

So....if you know of anyone who is a turner AND speaks Samoan please ask them to contact me. I would feel a ton better encouraging John in his lathe envy if I knew there was someone to turn to when my inability to speak or write Samoan keeps me from helping him.

My email is [email protected] or they can PM me from this forum.

Anyone have experience putting a Jet Mini in an airplane's overhead compartment? :rolleyes:

Fa'afetai tele lava !!! Thanks very much everyone (in Samoan)!!!

Dave
__________________
Dave Somers
Volcano, HI

"http://tinyurl.com/3eu3h2"

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This relates to rsser's thread here

http://tinyurl.com/4cxxd8

Manuka Jock
10th October 2008, 06:16 AM
here is John's work done by hand
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He uses a string compass to draw the circles for the bowl shapes, both the inside and outside of the rim. Other than that it is all free hand, including the cylindrical pillars that form the legs of the Kava Bowl. The patterns are done completely free hand. No marks or layout done before carving whatsoever. His primary tools for roughing out the bowl shapes and smoothing them were handmade from old machete blades. The tool forms were shaped on a grinding wheel, and then wooden handles made to fit them. The final carved finish is done with a scraper made from the machete blades. It is a somewhat thicker version of a cabinet scraper that we might use. I tried to find out if he uses a burnisher to create the burr but his wife was not sure. I suspect the burr on the scraper is straight from the grinder. Sometimes he sands the finishes with sandpaper, but often he uses sand (literallly) rubbed into the wood with his hands, first dry, then wet, followed by other finer abrasive materials like fish skins. His choice depends more on what is at hand and what he can afford at the time.

Gil Jones
10th October 2008, 06:21 AM
If his Internet connection is broadband, he could easily watch many many woodturning videos on www.youtube.com. Plus, if he has access to a working DVD player / TV system, there are lots of woodturning DVDs out there of great value to a new (or old) turner. I know the DVDs would be expensive, but they are a continuous source of repeatable info. I know that, probably, none of these videos are in his language, but watching someone turn wood is pretty educational.

hughie
10th October 2008, 01:15 PM
Jock how about the NZ side of Samoa? and theres gotta be one in EnZed surely

OGYT
10th October 2008, 01:52 PM
MJ, after seeing this man's work, I'm ashamed of myself. You are a good man, taking this one 'under your wing' so to speak.
I don't speak it, but I hope someoe who does will answer you.

chrisb691
10th October 2008, 02:07 PM
That's nice work, I hope it works out.

Ua o le nu‘u e lepa malie.