(Story relocated to here, and expanded to full length version)
For those of us who started our woodworking aspiring to own some of the magnificent looking orange machines we had seen on display, and on demonstration at the local Bunnings, this name would be very familiar.
To those less certain, George Lewin has been one of the most influential people in Australia, let alone the planet in getting people’s foot in the door of woodworking, having been the inventor of the Triton Workbench, and what became the Triton system.
My big foray into woodworking was based entirely on the Triton brand, and as my workshop grew, it became more and more Triton orange. I took to demonstrating Triton in Bunnings, Mitre 10 on occasional weekends, and at wood shows, and was president of a Triton Woodworking club at Holmesglen (as well as creating their website, which became the largest Triton-based woodworking website in the world).
So it came as a complete surprise the other day when I had an email from the legend himself, saying nice things about Stu’s Shed, and asking about his beloved Triton.
George has kindly agreed to give us some background, of what he (and Triton) did back in the day, and also where he is and what he is up to today.
Please note, these will be in installments as George has time to write them.
George at 66, looking relaxed and kickin’ back in Thailand.
UPDATE: The article has now been relocated and extended, so check out the new, complete article here.
Filed under: Manufactures and Suppliers | Tagged: George Lewin, Superjaws, Triton, WC2000, Woodwork, WX7 |
Stu's Shed 
The George Lewin story brings back great memories. Looking forward to next episode.
Hi Stu….A great story from the master of Triton himself. Can’t wait for the rest of the story.
By the way, does TBC stand for ‘Triton By Command’
What a coincidence, you put this up the same day I picked up 3 of the mk1 super jaws off Gumtree. I’ll take it as a good sign 😀
Naturally, two of them weren’t working. But thanks to the brilliant simplicity of the design, it didn’t take much to fix. And it gave me a chance to reacquaint myself with quality Australian manufacturing. Man, that’s some top notch steel fabrication! I don’t know how many lifetimes they were built to last, but it’s more than one.
George deserves credit not only for the inventiveness, but for the determination to see them produced and for respecting buyers enough to build a product that lasts, in an era when disposability was fast becoming the norm. And after a week when leadership was filling the news, it’s refreshing to come here and be reminded of what a real leader is. Thanks Stu and George.
[…] (Original introduction here) […]