Bonaquisti: Difference between revisions

Paul Bonaquisti began his involvement with wood at an early age. He was born and raised in North Greenbush, NY, a small town outside Albany, where his family was involved in a retail lumber yard with a large cabinet shop and later with a general construction business. Growing up in this environment was an exciting time for Paul, and during those early years, he would hang around his father's shop waiting for the day he would be old enough to strap on a tool belt and join "the crew." He eventually got that opportunity and served his apprenticeship under his father's guidance. His father, a talented carpenter and cabinet maker, is the one person Paul credits with getting him really interested in the woodworking field and wood turning in particular. He worked with his father and brothers all through his teens and full time for a few years after high school. Wanting to continue his education in a related field, Paul enrolled in a construction program at a local college, where he was later awarded a scholarship to continue his education in the architectural field. He eventually returned to the family business and worked there until 1984, when, with his brother John, he decided to start his own business a commercial woodworking shop that they continue to operate to this day.

Paul started smoking a pipe in high school when he "borrowed" one of his father's pipes and some tobacco. When he started earning some money, he bought his first pipe, a metal one with interchangeable bowls like a Falcon or Kirsten. After experimenting with different pipes, Paul eventually moved on to briar pipes, which he had been told were the best. Paul remembers that "although my friends smoked cigarettes and some even cheap cigars, I loved my pipe and took quite a bit of heat from my friends because of it." Despite the rocky beginning, he stayed with the pipe and over the years has amassed a sizable collection. His favorite shapes have become billiards, apples, pokers, large bents and long-shanked pipes, a taste that is evident in the pipes he makes. Paul experimented with pipe making for several years. He started with pre-bored blocks, as many hobbyists do, and then graduated to buying and carving pieces of plateaux briar and fitting his own stems. At first, he bored the blocks on a drill press and shaped the pipes with files and sandpaper. Later he explored hand turning pipes on a modified wood lathe. The more he got involved in the craft, the more he realized how much he enjoyed the work. Paul knew it was time to take his pipe making to the next level.

At the beginning, Paul knew little of pipe physics, although his initial efforts did show some promise. He also knew he could make his pipes better. In 1994, he decided toget more serious about his pipe making. He had been a wood worker most of his adult life, and working hands-on in this field for so many years had given him insights into wood and its secrets. Already owning a majority of the tools necessary for pipe making, Paul was confident he could produce quality pipes, but he realized that he needed some help with technique. After a year of trial and error, he decided to seek that help.

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