Welcome to the Tiki Central 2.0 Beta. Read the announcement
Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / Tiki Carving

Anyone speak Samoan ? regarding woodturning (seriously)

Pages: 1 0 replies

Hi folks , I'm bringing this over from another forum , cheers Jock

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.( The American Association of Woodtuners forum )

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

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

Dave


Dave Somers
Volcano, HI

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

Although the post above is from April of 2006 , the situation is still current .

Jock


In the heart of my soul . I would that I had been born in Celtic lands
But I was born here . A Celt in Maori lands . And my heart is content

[ Edited by: Toataiaha 2008-10-12 21:45 ]

Pages: 1 0 replies