Board of Directors Bios
Wilford has a degree from the Engineering School at Auburn University and is the Laboratory Director for a specialty chemical company. He is a member of the Alabama Woodturners where he has had the privilege of doing several demonstrations and serving as a teacher in their hands on classes (There are several DVD’s available for sell from the Alabama Woodturners Website showing his demonstrations). He was also a special guest demonstrator at the 2008 Southern States Symposium. He specializes in traditional turning using dry wood and is known for his use of texturing and spiraling performed on the spinning lathe using the Sorby Texturing Spiraling tool. His latest publication “Shopemade Outboard Tool Rest” appeared in the Winter 2007 Woodturning Design.
In addition Wilford enjoys researching tools and actually making tools that are no longer available. He has recently added a propane fired forge to his tools to enable annealing and tempering of steel to take the tool making to a higher level. He enjoys learning and teaching the use of such tools as the Bedan that has actually been used in woodturning since the 1700’s.
In addition to all of the above Wilford and his wonderful wife run a registered Charolais cattle farm. Needless to say they stay quite busy and you will find Wilford turning at night and on rainy weekends!
Wilford is very concerned that the traditional woodturning skills needed by all turners are being lost and not taught to new turners. This is the concern that has been the driving force in first setting up the Conventional Woodturning Forum on MyFamily and now to help get Conventional Woodturners Association organized and running. There are many wood art pieces out there that are embellished and are quite beautiful but do not show the work done on the lathe, and while he believes these pieces have their place in the art world, they don’t belong in a dedicated woodturning association. He will consider CWA a major success if we can preserve the lathe as the terminal tool used to produce pure woodturnings in addition to preserving the history of woodturning for future generations.
Wilford believes that CWA has a place for all turners – both hardcore traditional and the art based looking to improve their turning skills prior to doing off the lathe work on the pieces. We are here to pass on pure turning to all who yearn for the knowledge – come join us and help us teach while we all learn!
Mike Lucckino - Secretary and Incorporation Board Member
My dad was quite the handy man. As far back as I can remember I always followed him and helped as best I could with his projects. Most involved wood in some way. In third grade we were asked to make something for show and tell. I made a wood structure with paint, plastic and cloth. Shortly after I brought it to school the teacher gave me a note for my parents. I always found some sort of trouble to get into, but nothing it the past couple of days. Why a note? The next morning my mother came to school with me to see my teacher. The teacher explained the project was for me to do, not for my father. My mother laughed and said he did it himself. It was then I figured I was pretty good at doing “stuff” with wood.
Looking back on 3/4ths of a lifetime I did do a lot of “stuff” with wood. I like to think most of it was well done. While designing a new shop I purchased a second hand Shopsmith in 1987. After completing my shop I was asked by a neighbor to fix a leg from a treasured chair of her grandmother. I knew the Shopsmith had lathe capabilities and turned a chair leg for her. She told a few folks and the work started.
I knew retirement was soon approaching and decided to join a woodturning club in 1998 to learn more in this fascinating area of woodwork. I soon bought a Nova 3000 lathe. I was smitten after turning my first bowl, and the rest is history.
In regards to organizational history I was secretary to an unauthorized fraternity in my last 2 years of high school. In college I helped found the 62nd chapter of the National Speleological Society and was its secretary for 2 years. While serving in the Army and stationed in Berlin I was a Scout Leader for 7-8 months. During my career as a Special Agent I was the membership director, store buyer and manager for 13 years and vice-president for 2 years of our Federal Officer’s Association. In retirement I was the still photographer 3 years, videographer 2 years and president one year of the Arizona Woodturner’s Association. Along with Sean Troy we incorporated the AWA as a state non-profit corporation. Later I filed paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service for the AWA to become a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt educational entity. I was a chairperson for the first Desert Woodturning Roundup symposium, held in Mesa, AZ in February 2006. I was the chairman for the second DWR held in 2007 and am the chairman for the third DWR to be held in Mesa, AZ in February 2009.
I met Wilford on line re: some folks believing or at least arguing their point that they could actually patent their design of a lathe turned wood object. We exchanged emails for several months and found some common ground. A mandatory trip back east allowed me to visit with Wilford and his lovely wife. We discussed, at no surprise, woodturning at length. We also commented on the lack of basic teachers of the craft of woodturning. There were hundreds of people willing to teach their art of pyrography, dying, segmenting, piercing, stenciling, drawing and carving, etc their signature pieces.
What about the person who just wants to learn to turn? Wilford found a few likeminded folks and we have been working on this Conventional Woodturner’s Association to help you learn to turn.
Kurt Whitley - Treasurer and Incorporation Board Member
I began woodworking in the late 1990's; inspired by New Yankee Workshop, "Family Handyman" magazine, and various home improvement offerings on the DIY channel.
I bought my first lathe (a Delta Midi) in the summer of 2004 - it sat for a couple of months. I went into the Atlanta Rockler and asked some questions about turning. Art, one of the salesmen said "Here, let me show you how to turn a pen..." and such was the start of my slide down the slippery slope!
I consider myself an enthusiastic student of turning and take advantage of being near Atlanta to see demonstrations with professional turners. I have received hands-on training from Bill Grumbine, Dick Sing, John Jordan, Al Stewart, Nick Cook, and Jimmy Clewes.
Some of my woodworking equipment was sold to make room and funds for turning - I have a Powermatic 3520b, a Rikon Mini, and a Nova3000 (non-EVS) in my shop.
I am an engineer (degrees in mechanical and industrial) and currently supervise a Test Lab. My 11 year old daughter is my pride and joy. Between work and family, I spend precious few hours actually turning, but I know that the day will come too soon when my daughter moves on and I will start logging more hours in the shop.
I support the community of woodturning when and where I can. I am currently VP of the Atlanta Woodturners Guild and am delighted to be a charter member and to be able to serve as treasurer of the Conventional Woodturners Association
Rev. Doug Miller - Assistant Chairman
Artisan of wooden pens, bowls, platters and boxes.
Native of KY but have lived all over the south. Dad was a minister and was so typical in that we moved pretty often. Someone once asked how many homes I had lived in. I started counting and at some point that stopped me to ask, "Was your dad military?" I said minister and he said, "Just as bad." So, they know me not only in KY, but AL, GA, FL, and NC. I'm married to Connie for the last 28+ years. Met her in college where her first room mate was a girl I had dated once while in
high school. Graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
December 2000. Worked at the Kentucky Baptist Convention for 5 years before accepting a call to be the pastor of Hardinsburg Baptist Church in 2005.
Started turning when I was in high school in Jacksonville, FL. The shop teacher didn't quite know what to do with me since I had done both of the prescribed projects for the semester. I came up with a picture of a
2 legged chair that I wanted to do in graduated sizes. It had a turned front leg. He accepted it and I guess I completed 4 or 5 sizes before we moved to Louisville, KY. Unfortunately the shop teacher there was putting in time and really didn't care about his shop or his students and my desire to stick around faded quickly.
I didn't turn again until about 10 or 12 years ago when I went by to visit with my dad. He had gone to a pen turning class at Woodcraft and wanted to show me this new stuff. He let me give it a try and I was surprised how I fell in to it. Before long I was buying kits and blanks like crazy. Ebay became my vice of choice. Dad calls me one day and asks if he could give me a bowl turning class for my birthday. Being one to jump at new opportunities, I agreed. Talking about a vortex. I was sucked in so far, I haven't been able to see much more than saw dust and curlies anytime I see a tree since.
I have pens all over the country that were purchased here in Kentucky and sent everywhere as gifts. Of course I can't tell you how many I've given as gifts. I have the most fun saying that I'm an international turner. Went to Germany in 2003. I knew there would be several folks who would be taking care of us while we were there. As a thank-you, I would give them a pen anytime someone new would do something for us.
None of them had even heard of such a thing as a hand crafted wood pen.
Who knows where these pens have gone since.
Bowls have been my focus for the past 5 years though. Any shape or size, nearly any wood I can get mounted up, various finishes, I just love to turn and experiment with the craft. I joined the Louisville Area Woodturners, AAW, Wood Central, Woodturners Resource, Family Woodworking, and now CWA. I've taken the lesson at Woodcraft that sucked me into the craft, and taken an all day lesson with Jimmy Clewes. I turn on Nova lathes, a Mercury mini and a 1624. I have bowls all over Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and California that I know of. Who knows were they went after they got to the original owner.
