Thread: How's your club going?

Talking to old hands in my club, recruiting new members is seen as a problem.

In marketing terms the questions might be ...

1. What is the club seen as offering?
2. What are prospective members looking for?
3. Is the message getting out there about what the club can do?

With the demise and only partial resurrection of tech schools/programs in Vic, I'd say a generation or two of young people have missed out on early exposure and interest generation.

With the volume of info on the net, I'd guess that many beginning turners would first be looking there for info (heaven help us).

With changes in employment practices, partic the rise of casual employment at any time of the day, I'd guess that night or Sat meetings will not be accessible to an increasing proportion of the workforce.

Finally, is it cool to be seen as a woodturner these days?

PS, two anecdotes.

When Kylie was on a soap in the 80s (?) there was a boom of interest among young women in motor mechanic apprencticeships (tho she was in bib and brace overalls!).

When doing a getting-to-know-you in pairs exercise this year with 1st year uni students, I mentioned to a bright well-educated young woman that I did WT. What was that she asked.

The club I belong too (Know Community Woodworkers. ) is already a general club that has quite a strong wood turning membership. And quite a number of people do two or three different things. I started out wood turning, but now am doing the "darksider" furniture making group as well.

At the risk of being howled down, I think a lot of wood turning is extremely old fashioned. Not many turners seems to look at modern design, except to criticize it. I think wood turning meshes quite well with other woodwork. And also gives heaps more scope for things you can make. How many bowls do you really need? And, otherwise you get weird furniture like those completely woodturned bobbin chairs, cos the turners guild wouldn't let you talk to someone who did mortise and tenons.
Our club is mostly men. The few women there are doing turning and/or furniture making with hand tools, like I am. ( : I'm such a cleche. ) Although a lot of clubs are set up specifically for men to socialize, ignoring women as potential members is prolly foolish. And I can only go during school hours.

Our membership numbers is going OK though. They are always talking of maybe having to close the books.

Woodturner's Soc. of Qld. Inc. has quite e few newer members but there is interest in getting more.
One problem with attracting younger people is that Tuesday is our day, and obviously unless you are retired or chuck a sickie then getting there is problematic.

The clubhouse has recently been enlarged. This will provide to chance ffor growth as the clubhouse is twice the size, has much better facilities and perhaps may attract more members. This will be particularly so if a couple more lathes are acquired.

One problem I think we have is the lack of other woodworking activities,. Apart from the Friday Toymakers there is nothing elses on offer.

Resistence to change is strong. so "flat" woodworking seems to be a forlorn hope.

im 23 years old and i went and had a look at at club because i am very novice and would like tips and ideas but there were two reasons that put me off and they were the hours that everybody meets some of us work during the day and i was talking to one of there senior members who told me that everything i was doing was wrong from the timber that i was using the tools machenery and process and that realy put me off. but there just my reasons

I can Sympathize with you Rhys. There are too many pig headed,but well meaning people, involved in some clubs.

We are quite safety conscious at our club so some sort of uniform approach is needed to get novices underway. With a bit of experience under their belt they then only seek advice when they cannot do something.


I don't agree with the "You are wrong approach" It turns people off. Much better to say "Can I make a suggestion?" or simply offer help via way of a demo.

My approach is to sus out the noted but approachable turners and ask for their guidance. Usually works a treat!

well its turned me of for a little bit but next time i here about a club open day i will definatly check it out there are quite a few around my area so i can keep trying untill i find one i like, and to answer rsser the things i would look for in a club are advice, a little bit of critisism a lot of praise of my work and the occasional hands on days.
And it is cool to be a wood turner these days its just nobody has herd of woodturning when ever i show my friends my work they all seem generally interested

Originally Posted by tea lady

At the risk of being howled down, I think a lot of wood turning is extremely old fashioned. Not many turners seems to look at modern design, except to criticize it.

Looking at the yearly display of wood turning here in Bendigo at Easter and the various wood turning clubs at the Woodworking Show I am always reminded of "groundhog day".

Nothing much seems to change from year to year, same old same old etc.

Little attention to design, poor finishing techniques.

Put that together with a bunch of "grumpy old men" very set in their ways and it is no surprise that the average age of members appears to go up every year.

Did I mention I'm not a member of a woodturning club? Noel Coward springs to mind

Edit:

About the only woodturning exhibition I really enjoy is the one at the Whitehorse Centre in June each year, some innovative stuff there. Bit far to travel every week though

I will put my two bob's worth in for what it is worth.

Northern Woodturners Club, until January last year operated out of a
room rented to us by the Salvation Army in Thornbury. At that stage we
had 25 members and things were going ok.

We lost our space there as the Salvos wanted it back and we moved to
a disused scout hall in Kingsbury. The best move we could have made.

We have ample parking, plenty of facilities for male and females with
separate toilets, a good kitchen, bbq facilities, microwave, frig, dust
extraction systems and reasonable storage areas. But more importantly
we have a happy, coordinated bunch of over 40 members ever ready
to cooperate with each other in our various pursuits. We have held
fund raising barbecues at Bunnings (excellent results financially),
had an exhibition/sales stand at the recent Kilmore Art Expo and
have been invited to do so again next year.

We have over 15 lathes in our establishment and some really first
class turners willing to share their knowledge. For example, Ken
Wraight is there just about every Wednesday morning to lend a hand
to anyone and is doing a demo tomorrow at our general meeting.

To cater for those unable to attend Wednesday mornings we have
introduced a Thursday night workshop. It is reasonably well attended
given that the nights are getting colder and some members dont like
travelling home in the fog.

The standard of turning and the variety of exhibits being shown is a credit
to the members who never fail to impress with their work. Enthusiasm
is infectious at our club both from a turning point of view and the
social interaction which is invaluable.

Allan

I agree with Big Shed.

The committees of Woodturning clubs are made up of old men set in their ways. This is probably because they've been members the longest and feel that no young upstarts have the right to tell them how to run their club. They conduct or arrange demo's that suit them, they set and judge competitions and they control meeting times to suit themselves and the majority of members who are also old fogies. Why should anything change, they're quite happy with the way things are.

Having said that, I feel that beginners can gain a lot by joining a club if they can keep an open mind to different styles and techniques. Clubs may have access to timber, tools and supplies that are difficult to source by an individual, or at discount prices. Participating regularly in competitions is probably the best way to improve your skills, especially if it means making something you would never choose to make and probably never will again.

You never know, there might be someone as talented as Brendan Stemp in your club who will be a regular source of inspiration. If so make sure the club appreciates his value as a member and encourages him to stay.

Another point that hasn't been raised is that the cost of buying lathes has come down a lot over the last 5-10 yrs, so a lot more people are most likely buying their own lathes, therefore they don't need to join a club whereas in the past a lot of people may have not been able to afford a lathe so they joined a club

Geez, this one is a can of worms.

First up - and we need to be clear on this - members of this forum (at least in Victoria, Australia) - constitute a Club. No mistaking that. A fine club it is too.

Yep. Some of us contribute more or less than others. Some ask silly questions (like me) while others answer the call. Just ask a question and you'll have answers in no time.

Against that, some lurk, some snipe (only occasionally) and some.... Well, it's a club. It happens.

We have our share of (dare I say it?) OS turners that have absolutely no idea about turning Cooktown Ironwood. Or mulga or gidgee. And yet they preach and preach ...... That's OK though. Just another pet project to work on.

I accept that some clubs work better than others. Community dynamics. People live and die, separate and find new interests in life. Hopefully, some turn to wood.

Yes, Clubs can become inbred. Or tired. Or reliant on the few.

Worse still, some clubs (and turners generally) may reject the advice of those more advanced.

I do not understand why - perhaps that is Fred's complaint - but surely each of us must know and accept our place. And welcome the advice of those better placed when advice is freely offered.

And it does sadden me when I hear of individuals and clubs that reject criticism at shows etc. Why wouldn't a club welcome an expert?

At my club - as a new member - I take a low profile. I sharpen the club's chisels (skews excepted) on the tormek most weeks. And I sharpen chisels better than most, if not all. After all, I've had Forum Club lessons!!! Days of lessons, not just a few hours. Thanks and Ken.

And I listen to the sounds in the Club shed.

I hear many things. I hear sounds that I probably made some time back. Turning against the grain. And I do see turners taking a roughing gouge to a bowl. So I gently interrupt and suggest that is not a safe practice.

And I do so in the knowledge that the same turner probably has been told the same thing before.

But I have done my best. And I do not despair that some in the Club - including some on the forum - will not learn. And are set in their ways.

But Brendan - and this is my plea - none of it should turn you away. At worst, the old is always replenished. At best, your efforts will encourage others to turn as you do and perhaps even better.

It's been said before by someone far wiser, but there is no such thing as a "bad" woodturner. Sure, they may not turn well and they may be opiniated (sound familiar?) but they like / love turning wood.

And for me, that's a great start to many friendships, all varied.

I think, nay, know, that I have made many, many fine friends here.

But it's just a club. A different kind of club. No strict rules, no minutes of meetings etc.

Maybe that's where we are heading.

All I know is this. I put a little show on over Xmas-New Year and Pat came all the way down from Sydney. And others from elsewhere.

It's on again this year and I hope we need some more lathes......

G`day Rhys the koonung woodturners have a monday night critic a Thursday workshop and a meeting every fourth saturday.

Mick

P.S and hopefully not too many pigheaded people to help assist beginners and some more experienced turners aswell.

P.P.S Recently we held our first open day which I think was a great success considering we have gained three new members and thursday workshops are becomeing quite crowded.

Brendon as woodturning is becoming more adventuress the need for extra specialty machinery is leading to turners looking for more options than a lathe to complete ther work. By the way I enjoyed Horsham I will be staying for the duration next year.

I spent a bit of time with the Maroondah woodturners, having followed Skew's suggestion to check them out. My area of interest was in improving my general technique, esp with the skew.

It was pretty good for a while, with the general membership supportive and constructively critical. After a while I was just not learning anything and there were no new members joining, so there was little for me to be able to offer back.

I decided to take things back into the shed, and use sources such as the 'net, woodworking/turning literature and this forum to read and take inspiration from.