Thread: An article I wrote that was just published by FWW on one of our finest craftsmen

Originally Posted by Siggykc

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Disclaimer: I am diagnosed as dyslexic whilst being an engineer, so my writing style isn't as refined as most!

Cheers,
Siggy

Thanks, Siggy, a really interesting article. But your disclaimer about your writing skills is totally unecessary.

One of those "piano stools" came up at a clearance auction in Hobart about a year ago; the maker was not attributed but, if anything, it was even more outstanding than you suggest. Glorious design, absolute functionality, great engineering - the complete package.

Stool.jpg

So good to see that Frank is still going strong, and it's great that you have written an article that does him justice. I first met him at Bungendore during the first Studio Woodwork exhibition, and to hear him talk and see his work was an absolute education and pleasure.

And as Graeme says, you have no need to apologise for your writing skills.

I knew Frank as a member of the "Woodcraftsman's Guild" back in the 90s & spent time with him as a fellow demonstrator at the early TWWW shows (when they still included lots of sawdust-making & not just selling stuff made in other countries ). He was sponsored by Lazarides & had a corner of their stand where he would work on some current project, stopping immediately to answer questions & chat with his audience. He seemed to love interacting with all & sundry, amateur & pro., sharing knowledge freely & had a delightfully patient manner with all. He was never a "this is the only way" sort of person, & though he certainly had his own methods derived from long & thoughtful practice, he always seemed ready to listen & learn something new. I came to know that the only way to tell if he thought you were spouting BS was a distinct twinkle in his eyes - he would then very gently tell you his version without insisting he had the patent on what was "right".

A capital bloke, the likes of which make the world a better place, for sure......
Cheers,

I absolutely loved that Vimeo video.

What an absolute character.

Love it. Love it!

Good use of the word gestalt ... It's not used often.

Those monster screws interest me greatly. Wouldn't mind seeing his secrets on how they are made, especially the nut

Excellent article and enjoyed the video - very well done

Impressive.

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Originally Posted by IanW

I knew Frank as a member of the "Woodcraftsman's Guild" back in the 90s & spent time with him as a fellow demonstrator at the early TWWW shows (when they still included lots of sawdust-making & not just selling stuff made in other countries ). He was sponsored by Lazarides & had a corner of their stand where he would work on some current project, stopping immediately to answer questions & chat with his audience. He seemed to love interacting with all & sundry, amateur & pro., sharing knowledge freely & had a delightfully patient manner with all. He was never a "this is the only way" sort of person, & though he certainly had his own methods derived from long & thoughtful practice, he always seemed ready to listen & learn something new. I came to know that the only way to tell if he thought you were spouting BS was a distinct twinkle in his eyes - he would then very gently tell you his version without insisting he had the patent on what was "right".

A capital bloke, the likes of which make the world a better place, for sure......
Cheers,

Ian,

Oh wow, so you would have absolutely known Robert Dunlop as well perhaps? Yeah, Frank still has a lot of timber he obtained from Gareth Lazarides, infact he is still in touch with the family. When I was up there, I asked to make some screws for a workbench that I have started building, and it was of 4x4 Bolly Silkwood that Gareth sold him perhaps 3 decades ago and dry as a bone.

I had this distinctly memorable evening with Frank and Joan on one Sunday. I had never really been to Toowoomba before, and he invited me over for dinner. After dinner and discussions, we sat in front of a roaring fire fueled by all his offcuts, and watched a video of the Woodcraftman's Guild made in the mid 1980s. It was interesting to see how much more focused it was on the demonstration of skills and how humble a lot of the makers were, and how articulated they could describe all the processes and techniques that they used - and most of them were not professionals. Robert Dunlop got up and presented some certificates and awards to young school students who had submitted some pieces. And Frank sat there and all he could do was heap praise on others that came up in the video.

I'll remember that evening, not only because it was nice of them to have me over, but because I never thought I'd be sitting in front of a huge stone fireplace in Queensland!


He does have that twinkle, you're not wrong - to this day. I was working at his bench and made a jig to quickly do some repetitive marking....he was way down the other end of the shed, sharpening cutters for his molder, and I remember he began to wandered over. I was about to nervously blurt out and justify what I was doing...and as he got to me he just winked and basically said everything i was about to say, and that he had observed it from the other side of the room 20 meters away, commended me, gave me a pat on the back and put some Kenny Rogers on, and sang along in a very very strong German accent.

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Impressive.

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Yup! and whats freakish, is the output he has at which he can produce those items. He currently has a batch of 6 standing presses that he is about to lacquer.

Siggy,
I also have been published. (WWJ, October 2017)

However, I was more known to the New York City police department as a juvenile delinquent. So, the fact that you may be dyslexic is irrelevant. The work and the information that you have conveyed to the woodworking community is far more important than any disability that may have affected your work.