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Thanks to our very own Ken Maher for his presentation on woodturning. Reminded me of when I did woodwork at school and created a hexagon teapot stand with insert. Turned out every side was a different length!! Great woodwork skills were not on show there. However, Ken demonstrated some of his own work and it was significantly (by a very large factor) better than my effort. What is woodturning? In the most simplistic terms: Using very sharp edged metal tools, changing the shape of a lump of spinning wood which is held in a machine called a “lathe” The earliest signs of woodturning (besides stone carvings in the 6th century BC were in the middle ages when diagrams showed wooden lathes driven by a bow or pole and these were followed by treadle driven machinery. Ken got his machine in the 70's! Still using it and he called it a solid old clunker! A woodturner requires a lot of equipment for safety and to ply their trade/hobby, sharp chisels and gouges, specialty turning equipment, safety goggles, dust masks (the dust from woodturning is carcinogenic and requires a dust extractor in addition to the other safety equipment), sanding grit and polishes - traditional wax and Tung oil being amongst the favourites. So what skills do you need as a woodturner? Here is a list that Ken provided • Sourcing wood – scrounging • Cutting - chainsaw, bandsaw • Design • Redesign (eg after a catch) • Tool skills • Finishing Most Important Personal Attributes: • Persistence • Patience • Obsessions about not admitting the wood gets the better of you Did someone notice the use of the word redesign there? Apparently that's a synonym for "there is no such thing as a disaster" only for an opportunity to "redesign" Design trends Utilitarian – formerly the domain of production turners • Bowls • Platters • Dishes • Furniture components eg chair legs Decorative • Christmas/festive decorations • “Trinkets” Artistic • Segmented items • Additional materials eg metals, resin • Pens • Multi axial “Super” arty • Multiple materials • Multiple skills • Incredible imagination So woodturning is never easy to do and has its hazards. Ken was a few seconds away from finishing this item  when it decided to split on him. For the generally squeamish we will not publish a picture of the injury he received and it was significant. Needless to say it hasn't stopped him and he even went so far as to repair it in a unique manner using epoxy. This goes back to the comment on redesign! The repaired item  Seems like woodturning and creating items from wood can become quite a fanatical endeavour - Ken went so far as to make 7 chess bo0ards and pieces for his grandchildren. Ken gave us a final presentation of a number of his pieces and one can see why this hobby is cathartic when one sees the beauty that comes from working with wood. Thanks Ken, perhaps when I eventually retire I might take it up! or perhaps not!
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