About Us
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A bit about Abe Sloan -
Abesloan.com is a collaboration of efforts by the father/daughter team of Abe Sloan (the woodturner) and Andrea Goodsaid (honorable daughter and website geek).
Shortly before his retirement at the minimum required age of 62 (it’s a US social security thing) in 2001, Abe began what would soon have the makings of a full blown new career. He got his first lathe and began to turn wood.
Boy did he begin to turn wood!
Let’s just say that retirement has not left him idle ….
After making a few forays into the world of craft shows and gallery consignment sales, Abe quickly came to the conclusion that such activities were a whole lot more like hard work than retirement was supposed to be about.
He liked the interaction of retail selling, but the time that it took him away from his lathe was a certain conflict.
As the inventory of bowls began to run high and the space on his shelves began to run low, he began to consider his sales options again …. and his mind turned to the Internet.
Only problem? Abe knew little or nothing about marketing online.
Enter daughter Andrea …
In early 2004, Andrea stumbled across an interesting and seemingly sensible approach to website building. Following this program has allowed her to develop a content based website for herself that is consistently getting search engine traffic.
We hope you find what you’re looking for on abesloan.com … And if it happens that you haven’t, well, please give a shout. We’ll see what we can do to help 
Happy turnings!
Abe and Andrea
I'm still 10 yrs from retirement Abe, any tips on
Tom | April 20, 2009I’m still 10 yrs from retirement Abe, any tips on imrpoving my turning with the limited time I have after I’ve been a work all day? Actually I really only have weekends spare (after all the chore are done).
By the way waht kind of lathe are you using?
Cheers
Tom
Hi Tom, Let me answer
Abe | April 21, 2009Hi Tom,
Let me answer the easy question first. The lathe you see in the picture is a BV 36 Bowlmaster manufactured in England. It is my third lathe and I am very happy with it. I got my first one from another wood turner who was moving up to a better machine, and I sold it after about a year to a beginner.
The only way I know to improve your turning is to practice. There are several ways to make the practice time you have as fruitful as possible. First, find a turner in your area who will give you a few lessons (I will help you with that). Second, get involved with a local wood turning club. Third, as many take formal classes and attend demonstration as you can. Your club members will know about these. First, second, third and fourth, follow safety rules. That includes resisting the urge to work in the shop when you are tired. You cannot practice if you are healing from an injury or illness. So it also includes being aware that airborne wood dust in your lungs can be deadly so you need to protect yourself from that at all cost- and also protect lungs, eyes, and skin from finishes and solvents. You will find that most of us in this fraternity love to talk about the process and are very willing to help newcomers. Hope this is helpful to you. -Abe-
Tom, ( I will help you with
Abe | April 22, 2009Tom,
( I will help you with that) - Here is some contact information for your area.
wsq@bigpond.com
http://www.woodturnerssocietyofqld.com
(07)3397-8156
-Abe-
Abe- Thank you for sharing your story and work. While
Kevin | January 25, 2010Abe-
Thank you for sharing your story and work. While I am far from retirement, I recently discovered my passion for wood working and especially turning. Due to the economic woes in Florida, I am currently experiencing a slight pause in employment. This has given me a chance explore my passions, opening a new world to me-I am hopeful that turning and wood will play a more influnectual role in my future.
Seeing your beautiful work tonight is what I needed.
Thank you again.
Kevin
PS-The site is nicely done as well. I am also a computer geek and appreciate the clean look and feel.