Starting Woodturning

 

I’ve been and gone and done it – bought a lathe, that is. I’d sought advice, listened to the experts, seen the demos, read the books, watched the videos, cogitated, reflected and changed my mind several times over, but finally I came to a decision which seems best to satisfy my own current and perceived needs and circumstances. It was a pleasant journey doing the research and I trust that I can now acquire the knowledge, skill and techniques which will help make me into a woodturner.

Why woodturning? How did I get to this place? Well, retirement brings a little more time, together with the chance and the need to re-appraise the things we could and should do before old father time takes away our drive and ability to do get things done. In 2000, after leaving the work I had done since completing my education in 1961, I spent seven years writing and editing legal text books, but as that was coming to an end in 2007 I had a further opportunity to tackle a ‘practical’ task I had long wanted to complete.

For many years I had thought about carving and constructing a traditional Rocking Horse. I had bought the book, The Complete Rocking Horse Maker, but never seemed to have the time to acquire the carving skills needed to set about the task. In early 2007 I was browsing the internet and found the website of the man who had penned the book – Tony Dew of the Rocking Horse Shop in Fangfoss in Yorkshire (www.rockinghorse.co.uk). He was tutoring weekend carving courses and promising that the participants would leave at the course end with a carved rocking horse head – probably the most intricate bit – along with the starter skills to begin the horse. That’s what happened and I came home with the head and sawn/planed timber sufficient to complete the horse and stand at home. I bought some carving tools and equipment, made some modifications to one of my garage/workshops and set about the pleasant task of completing the horse. I made several new acquaintances as I carved ‘Hector’. The neighbours came to see what the knocking and machine noises were - the garage has no natural light and so I carved with the door open as often as the weather permitted. One of the visitors was a cabinet maker and, as you will see later, became a super contact for future wood supply.

However, as the construction progressed, I did miss the regular chance to talk over the progress with other carver/woodworkers. I had only the skills acquired fifty years ago at school and topped up over my house-owning, boat-building and children’s’ toy-making years – nothing of a ‘professional’ woodworking apprenticeship.

After finishing the first horse in traditional ‘Dapple Grey’ I determined that I should make another one - ‘Lysander’ – but this time I would work directly from plans and the book, sourcing the timber locally rather than ‘kit buying’. My cabinet-maker neighbour introduced me to someone who could supply the required Tulip wood, Ash and Oak. Since I had no equipment to make the turned stand legs, he found me someone who could do that. But I still wondered if there was a club locally where woodworkers met and I started to research the internet for information. To cut a long story short, that’s how I found Weston Woodturning Circle. I realised when I went to the Club as a visitor that turning is a skill and hobby more common than carving, but that the people involved possessed the knowledge/skills/expertise I sadly lacked and more than this, they were willing to pass it on. I felt that I could learn from their expertise and I joined as a member at the April 2008 meeting.

The next big decision was about acquiring a lathe and the equipment to go with it. Several second-hand ones were available, but I needed to feel more comfortable with my turning needs before I made any quick purchase. I watched the club demonstrations, visited George Foweraker’s home, saw his set-up, and picked his brains. After this visit I was heading towards acquiring an Axminster M600, which seemed to fit the space I had available in the Garage/Workshop. However, the Yandle’s Show weekend was coming up and I decided to go and look over their woodturning exhibits. I watched the turning demonstrations, talked with the manufacturers, visited the Association of Woodturners stand and mulled over the details presented. After a good deal of  prevarication, I decided that I should go for a larger bed lathe with a swivel head and fit it in to the workshop by rearranging the location of the equipment it already contained. I purchased a Record Power DML 36 SH with Swivel Head and Cam Locks at the show price. I am under a little space constraint, since although I am lucky to have two adjacent garages in my garden, I still try to keep the space to put both cars away if needs be. I own a MGB tourer and I’ve found the trick is to leave free space to fit the car into the spaces between and under the benches and equipment, leaving when necessary, the other garage to put the everyday car in. I’ve managed it and still have room to operate the new lathe when there’s no car in.

All I need to do now is learn how to properly use the woodturning tools and equipment so that I can contribute something back into the club and not just draw from its available expertise.

See more in the Gallery