Hey Gloots!
My name is Slav Jelesijevich. I started woodworking when I got out of
the Navy in 1979. I made a room in the basement of my parents' house.
At that time, I needed to make speaker stands for my Bose 901's. What a
hack job! The first one is not always pretty. I started refinishing and
repairing furniture. I realized I'd rather build new than repair
someone else's mistakes.
In 1983, I tried to get a job in a shop in Chicago, but I had no luck,
times were hard. An old Serbian cabinetmaker tried to get me in. Back
then, it was a father-and-son trade. The foreman got his son in. My
brother, who was living in New York City, said "learn word processing
and move to NY. You can make $10 an hour. Try to get in here." I
worked for six months and got in there. I served a four-year union
apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker. At the same time I was taking classes
at the YWCA at 53rd and Lexington with Maurice Frazier, a fine teacher
who taught me much and introduced me to antique tools and Norris
Planes. Then I was hooked. After my apprenticeship, I went to Leeds
Design in Northampton, MA. for one year. That was a great experience.
My final project was a desk that I built for my brother. It came out
great. I was lucky enough to have it accepted by Fine Woodworking
Design Book 6. That gave me the confidence to design and build.
In 1989, after I finished school I moved back to Chicago to take care
of my dad who passed away three months after I returned. In 1993, I
sold my parents' house and opened up my shop, Mustang Design, in
Chicago. Some of my pieces are in Chicago City Hall on the 10th floor.
I made a couch, loveseat and chair and two coffee tables for the
Department of Planning and Development. My friend George Radulovich and
I did the entry staircase banisters and balusters for La Grange City
Hall in quartersawn white oak. That came out great.
During that summer, I also designed an iconostasis and alter table for
St. Basil of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church in Lake Forrest, IL. The
iconostasis was 40 ft. long and it was made out of red oak with 4x4
posts. The result was terrific. I will submit pictures in the future.
After completing that job, I was exhausted. I slowly began visiting old
hardware stores in my area, and that was when I got the bug. I met some
of the nicest people in those stores.
During the past three years, I've been a tool dealer, as some of you
may already know. At one of our local shows, I had the pleasure of
meeting Whitney Ostured, a violin maker, who has been a good friend for
the last few years. He's the one to blame for introducing me to files.
He would ask me to find Swiss pattern crossing files. He and Glenn
Berden taught me all they know. Now I am known as "the file guy." I've
had a blast finding files. People look at me like I'm crazy. They say
nobody uses those anymore. There is nothing like using a 14" cabinet
rasp and cabinet file. And no, I don't use my 49 and 50 much as I used
to.
A couple of years ago, I was driving back for the MWTCA Garfield farm
show. Then I got the idea that we should start some kind of tool club
in Chicago. George Cella is the trouble maker who started this. My
first show was at Rockford, where I met George. I bought a couple of
tools from him. He is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. The
only time I would ever see George was in Indianapolis, [Iowa], or at a
national show. And he only lives only 40 miles from me!
During a cigar break in the morning with my partners in crime, Rex
Poggenpoll and Steve Bodnar, I bought up the idea of a club. I offered
the use my shop. I have 2,000 sq. ft, while Rex has 1,200; so it would
be easier to conduct meetings in my place. During the first meeting,
someone knocked on my door and lured me into the hallway for a couple
of minutes. When I came back, Rex and Steve saluted me and addressed me
as "Mr. President." I really tried hard to get out of it, but I was out
voted 2 to 1. That was how I got stuck being the President of the CATS
Club in Chicago. The Club is named after the killer Kitties I have in
my shop. That is how the club got started. Someone told me to call Ralf
Brendler, and advised me that he wanted to do something like that. I
was told that he had been trying to get a national show in Chicago. Now
he's the Vice President of CATS. If any of you Gloots are passing
through town, we meet in my shop every 2nd Wednesday of the month at
7:00 p.m. You can bring a bag of tools to sell, trade or display.
I have enjoyed dealing in tools the last couple of years. It has been a
lot of fun. I met some of the nicest people at the shows, but it's high
time to get my shop up and running again and to start building cabinets
and furniture.
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