in Memory of my Dad
john lucas
MY dad passed away last night. One more woodworker gone. He didn't get into woodworking until he retired. He took after it with a passion. He made hundreds of projects and gave them all away. I am the lucky recipient of quite a few. the fun part is (and I inherited it) he almost never made a major project without screwing up somewhere. A mis-cut here, a mis-measurement there etc. I have a Walnut Dresser that had turned legs on the bottom. He wanted me to turn them because he never was a good turner. He sent it to me with the top not installed. When I installed the top I noticed a saw mark about 3" from the back edge on the bottom side. He meant to make that cut along the rails when he was building it to hold the top mounting hardware and picked the wrong board. So I get to laugh every time I use that dresser.
He also hated finishing. My mother finished most of his major projects. He did finish all the little clocks and jewelry boxes he made. I have a trestle table he built and sent to me completely unfinished. I had to sand and finish it which I was glad to do. That was 20 years ago and it still sits proudly in our kitchen.
I will miss him but it was time to go. He had a stroke 3 years ago and had to give up woodworking and really was never the same. Will have to go to Indiana for the burial and won't know when that is for a few days yet.
I'm sure you all know this but if you have time to spend with your friends and relatives don't put it off. At this age things happen quickly. You want those good memories of a last visit. I've spent the last 2 1/2 months driving back and forth to Atlanta to help out and be with him. I'm glad I did.
Here is a photo of one of his many Pie safes. He probably made over a dozen and gave them away to family and friends. Everyone one of them has a flaw somewhere but that's what makes them great.
