Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Chris Ramsey demo in Knoxville
John K Jordan
Last weekend Chris Ramsey of wooden hat fame came to the Smoky Mountain Woodturners in Knoxville for a demo. He turns a full-sized hat, a mini hat, and a mirror frame from each huge chunk of wood. Lots of good techinique, lots of stories, and lots of humor!
JKJ
Great pix; thanks John! Gobbles.
Student of Hannes ?
Re: Student of Hannes?
John K Jordan
He didn't mention where he learned to turn hats (that I heard). Chris does seem to have a good business making custom hats to fit as well as workshops and classes. He lives close to here (in Kentucky) and several of the area turners have had week-long courses at his place. He appears to have done a lot of hats for celebrities and politicians, and told the story of making one for George W Bush's uneven head and getting invited to the White House.
He turned all day at out club and didn't miss a beat.
I tried and like the u-gouge grind he uses, quite rounded with a very thin bevel running around and far back on the wings (quick pic, a bit dusty). Hard to make it catch.
JKJ
Re: Student of Hannes?
Brad Vietje
YA -- I watched a video linked on his site, and he sure is a talented guy, and he seems like a nice fella, too.
While I've known of his remarkable natural-edge work, I didn't even know he made hats. Once JoHannes Michelsen invented and perfected the form, I suppose anyone can make 'em and sell 'em. In his video he claims to have learned by trial and error, but since he even colors the band the same way JoHannes does, he certainly copied Hannes' work. Not a crime, that, but he probably should give Hannes credit.
Safe spinning,
Brad Vietje
Newbury, VT
Re: Student of Hannes?
Dave Long
Believe Chris took a one of Hannes workshops 15-20 years ago which got him started in hats.
There's a lot of water under that bridge
Geoff Whaling
time to move on. At some point the student becomes the master in all crafts.
Who was first
John K Jordan
We all learn so much from so many it's hard to know when and who to credit.
I have no idea who learned hats from who or was "first". A quick google search turned (pun intended) up a story about a man in 1826 who had turned a wooden hat.
http://blog.lostartpress.com/2014/03/28/a-fortune-made-by-a-wooden-hat/
I once read an article describing how a British traveler in the 1600's observed workers in India, IIRC, who were using shellac as a friction polish on wood turnings. Seems like there is little new in woodturning (and life, for that matter.)
I'll ask Chris next time about his influences. In an interview in Country magazine I read this:
"One day while Chris was making a bowl, Kathy commented that it looked a little like an upside-down hat. That spurred Chris to make his first wooden hat, and soon he began cranking out more and selling them."
JKJ
Re: There's a lot of water under that bridge
Dick Strauss
Hannes even taught that grind at least 10 years ago...
Re: There's a lot of water under that bridge
Barry Irby
Many years ago, when my son was fifteen (I had to lie about his age), I took him to Arrowmont for a class with David Ellsworth. David commented that they hated it when two people came together, because one was always better than the other. He thought I would be upset by the fact that my son was better than I. I told him I had taught my son all I could and now it was up to David to teach him more. He seemed slightly surprised I was not put off, and I told him it is a proud moment when the student surpasses the master.
Forgot one
John K Jordan
I forgot one interesting picture. Chris had cut a hat in half to show the thickness.
He said if anyone wanted it it was on sale for 1/2 price. I told him I had half a mind to buy it.
JKJ
Re: Student of Hannes?
Lyle Jamieson
The reason both Chris and Hannes need that grind is to do the little inside corner where the side wall of the hat meets the top of the top. This is a very hard spot to reach with bevel supported cuts. Scraping with the walls so thin would be tough. That little bump in there needs to be thin and uniform for drying. So they both end up with the same grind and use it for a lot of other turning now too. I know Chris learned much of his tool control skills from Rudy Osolnik, but he did take a class with Hannes.
Rude Osolnik
John K Jordan
>I know Chris learned much of his tool control skills from Rudy Osolnik
I wish I'd learned some skills from Rude! When I was a student at Berea College (1968 I think) and working in the wood shop I remember watching a man turning handles for a special order cherry casket. He turned the handles off-center with mounting blocks on each end. I found out later who he was.
My sister was his home nurse near the end. She said he was quite a character!
Chris said he was using a 3/16" bowl gouge with the same grind to get into the tight spots.
JKJ
Re: Rude Osolnik
Lyle Jamieson
Sorry, I spelled his name wrong, I should have looked it up. I have a set of his candlesticks. A rare set because I had him sign them.
Re: Student of Hannes?
Mike Gibson
Sorry Hannes did not invent making hats. They have wooden hats in a Belgian museum that were made over a 100 yrs ago. I also l understand Stetson made wooden hats for patterns in his business.
John K, was Zenovia your sister? I was ....
JamieDonaldson
...never sure about how she spelled her name?
Re: John K, was Zenovia your sister? I was ....
John K Jordan
No, I think I remember that name, but my sister is Ruth Wong. She said she spent a lot of time taking care of Rude near the end. I could ask her about the other nurses but she sometimes has trouble remembering things these days.
Ruth lived fairly close at the time and said she had known the family for years.
JKJ