Today we'd like to introduce you to craftsman, Refugio Morales (Reef). Reef is the talented maker of the Hand Turned Wood Pens that we are carrying at Hitching Post Supply. We asked Reef to tell us a little about himself and his work and this is what he had to share...
"Coming from a hard working migrant family, I was exposed to a great deal of woodworking items made by my father. Some of which included hand carved wood spoons, knick-knack shelves, bookcases and more. To this day he still enjoys working with wood when he has the chance. As for myself, my first exposure to woodworking came in the sixth grade when I was tasked with making a stagecoach for history class. Needless to say, at this young age, it was primarily built by my father. The first "real" project I can claim as being built by me was a rustic foot stool in shop class during high school. After a couple smaller projects later, I basically took a hiadus from woodworking until I built my own house several years later.
"Coming from a hard working migrant family, I was exposed to a great deal of woodworking items made by my father. Some of which included hand carved wood spoons, knick-knack shelves, bookcases and more. To this day he still enjoys working with wood when he has the chance. As for myself, my first exposure to woodworking came in the sixth grade when I was tasked with making a stagecoach for history class. Needless to say, at this young age, it was primarily built by my father. The first "real" project I can claim as being built by me was a rustic foot stool in shop class during high school. After a couple smaller projects later, I basically took a hiadus from woodworking until I built my own house several years later.
The hobby became a craft when my wife and I built a new home. I took on the task of building all the cabinetry, which included a kitchen, dry bar, coffee bar, and cabinets in our master suite and upstairs bath. Along with the cabinetry, I also took on the finish work, and to this day I still don't know why they call it finish work, it took me 6 years to "finish".
In the summer of 2006, workforce reduction gave me the opportunity to decide to further develop my woodworking skills. I was introduced to pen turning by a business supply owner and set forth to equip my shop with the neccessary tooling. My previous employment duties consisted of designing precision equipment and the transition to the lower tolerances of the art of woodworking made for some projects taking longer than they should. My wife would shake her head when I would sit at my PC to make a graphic model of a bookcase or shelf, but I believe it's that attention to detail that gives me the satisfaction of finishing a piece of work whether it's a pen or a bookcase. I recently read the following quote on a suppliers website; "Quality is when a customer comes back, not the product" and I intend on making my products with that philosophy in mind."
Refugio Morales Jr. 
Check out Refugio's hand turned pens on the Hitching Post Supply website. They make a great gift for that special person on your Christmas list!
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