Story Photos
 Photo by Bill Wagner R.A. Long senior Jeff Lovie is at home building furniture, from tables to cabinets, as he prepares for a national contest. |
Standout grad: R.A. Long senior builds reputation as a 'fine craftsman'
Thursday, June 15, 2006 6:58 AM PDT
By Amy M. E. Fischer
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E-mail this articleJeff Lovie's come a long way since his Lego-playing days.
The hallway table Lovie built at this year's regional vocational competition won first place, and so did the appliance stand he made in six hours at the state Skills USA contest.
This weekend, the R.A. Long High School senior leaves for Kansas City, Mo., to compete with other cabinet builders at the national level.
"I think he'll do real well. I think he has the knowledge, skill and ability to take first (place)," said R.A. Long's woodshop and architecture teacher, Chad Gruber, calling Lovie "a fine craftsman."
He's always liked building things, said Lovie, a laid-back, thoughtful 18-year-old.
As a boy, he built models and played with Legos. His interest in woodworking caught fire at age 14, when he and his father built a wood and fiberglass 12-foot boat together, modifying the plans to suit their tastes.
Lovie signed up for high school woodshop classes halfway through his sophomore year. His early work was "pretty simple," said Lovie, who soon advanced to increasingly difficult furniture-building techniques. Now he's working with cabinet-maker Jeff Philbrook at Selix Cabinets in Kelso, learning to use professional-level tools and mass-production machines.
For Lovie, the toughest part of woodworking is remaining patient when the process gets tedious. Once, he spent a week of woodshop classes meticulously sanding a table.
It's satisfying to take a project plan and "add a twist to it, like maybe changing the wood you use," said Lovie, who has built several types of tables for friends and family members.
His dream project would be to build a classic cabin-cruiser style wooden boat with a berth and a galley. One day, Lovie hopes to design and build his own home "exactly the way I want it," he said. "I'd put into it things you don't usually see."
But first Lovie, a 3.5 GPA student, is going to college. He plans to pursue a career as an architect or a craftsman, building boats, furniture or cabinets.
"I feel pretty set on this," Lovie said. "I'm pretty happy with where I see myself."
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