20 YEARS
LATER ...
RICHARD SWARTWOUT WAS ON THE FIRST WOODSHOP
NEWS COVER. TWO DECADES LATER HE REMAINS A
ONE-MAN SHOP, AND HAS PICKED UP A FEW LESSONS.
BY JENNIFER HICKS / STAFF WRITER

Richard Swartwout of Andover, Conn., owner of New England Woodturners, began his woodturning career doing furniture repair in New Haven, Conn., in 1976, after serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era. He has relocated twice since he appeared on the very first cover of Woodshop News in 1986 — and Swartwout (the second w is silent) still gets calls from his original customers.

“It’s nice to know they’re still calling me. They trust me. They’ll send me a photo without any dimensions on it and say, ‘It’s got to look something like this,’” said Swartwout.

Now 62, Swartwout says woodturning is a comfortable and enjoyable way to make a living. An architectural woodworking specialist, and self-proclaimed “cranky Yankee,” he has turned only one bowl in his life. Both a niche market provider and subcontractor, he’ll make anything from a bottle stop to an exterior post. His focus is creating wood balusters, finials, stair parts, newel posts, moldings, fiberglass flagpoles, wood and fiberglass columns, spindles, medallions, rosettes and custom millwork. His shops have gotten progressively smaller through the years and he’s now working in a 960-sq.-ft. garage on his property.

“Obviously my business hasn’t grown. I’m still a one-man shop, but my reputation has grown,” said Swartwout. “I think there’s something to be said for being in business almost 30 years, and still enjoying your craft and still having clients use me as a primary source for whatever it is that they need.”

Self-taught turner

Born in New Haven in 1944, Swartwout served in the U.S. military for a total of eight years — in the Naval reserves after high school then in the Air Force

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RICHARD SWARTWOUT

PHOTOS: JENNIFER HICKS (BOTTOM 2)

Owner of: New England Woodturners Age: 62 Location: Andover, Conn. Shop size: 960 sq. ft. Experience: Self-taught woodworker of 30 years Main focus: Architectural woodturning, producing finials, porch posts, columns and balusters for restoration and new construction. Quotable: “People will say, ‘Oh, you’re so lucky you’re in business for yourself.’ Well that’s just not true. Most folks I know that own a small business, a one- or two-man shop, they really know how to work. They know how to work all day, maybe on the weekend too. What they really don’t know how to do is to take time off and go away.”