woodturning courses

[novice]

i am a retiree who is really interested in woodturning. I have no experience but would like to know the best way to get started.
<!-- / message -->

[Ankali]

Join the ACT Woodcraft Guild. You can do classes through them.

http://www.woodcraftguild.org.au/

You can also do classes at CIT.

Ankali

[smidsy]

I would say that you are better off joining a woodturning club or guild rather than a tafe type course.
The courses tend to be rather structured whereas the clubs allow you to work at your own pace and do specific things while at the same time also providing a support and teaching structure - and the other great thing about the clubs is that everyone is on a different level and doing different things which always very interesting.
Cheers
Paul

[Babytoolman]

I agree with paul. We in the southern highlands are lucky enough to Have Mike Darlow as a member and he is a great source of information. We also have a coupe of guys who used to teach at tafe and teach at home now for a good fee.
So i would join a guild and get some lessons there.

roger

[Alastair]

FWIW

I started turning from scratch, teaching myself from books and videos. I then went on to join a Woodturning club, very similar to the Sydney Guild regions. Finally 3 years ago, I took the plunge and enrolled for the TAFE course at Lidcombe.

While I made progress in my early years, a major problem was that both from book/video, and at the club, what you encountered was an array of different and conflicting information and advice. While this is great once you have made some progress, and can evaluate what you are seeing, I certainly found it confusing at the time.

The 3 great advantages of the TAFE course, are as follows:

The instruction is consistent. You learn to master one way of doing something. It is a proven technique. You can then experiment further on your own to develop other techniques which you might prefer.

You are committed to 8 hours of turning a week, for 40 weeks, for 3 years. Most of us when learning get to turn for an hour or two every weekend or so. We also have a go or two at the basics, and then want to start producing projects, which means the basics never get learnt. After instruction, the next most important learning requirement is PRACTICE!

Thirdly, you are not troubled by stuffing up that great bit of ...... you paid through the nose for. There is as much timber available as you require. If you stuff up, get a new bit, and do it again. And again. And again. See 2 above.

I am completing the 3rd year of my course at the moment. I am a hundred times better than when I started. I am also not even 5% as good a turner as any competent trade turner. I know, as we have had 3 top grade trade turners teaching us, as well as George Hatfield.

Every month at our Guild meeting, when hands on demos are held, it is obvious that many of the members, while producing very good pieces at show and tell, are very unsure of the basics, and there is limited opportunity to learn, in spite of efforts to provide this sort of assistance.

To sum up: I would strongly reccommend attending a TAFE course if available. Failing this, a competently taught formal course, whether this is set up by a Guild, at a Community college, or by a private tutor. While hands on demos and assisted instruction at meetings are great, this is a poor second to the formal courses. My greatest regret for woodturning in Sydney is that the TAFE course is no longer offered. If it is available in your area, grab the opportunity.

Time to get off the soapbox. I did not intend to get this passionate, but I really feel strongly on the subject.

Alastair

[Ankali]

Alistair - I would agree with you wholeheartedly if the kind of course you describe was available at CIT. I'm not sure if CIT evens has an apprentice course in woodturning. The only one I could ever find was 3hrs, 1 night a week for 3 weeks where I learnt the absolute basics and nothing else. 4 nights with Les Fortescue through the Guild actually taught me to produce a reasonable turned article further improvement is up to me and practice, Les is always available for advice. Our Special interest groups are always there for further help and advice and watching Richard Raffan turn is an education for anyone!!

Ankali

[John Saxton]

I tend to Concur with Smidsy in that a woodturning club offers a lot more than learning.

Learning in a woodturning club enables you to make good contacts for your resources as well as progressing at the pace your ability allows moreover with folk that have collectively more years experience than you can count and possibly a lot cheaper than going to TAFE.
Admittedly doing a course at TAFE allows you to get directly to the nitty gritty of woodturning within a shorter time span but with a WT club your'e likely to come across and address the foibles of different machinery in your turning allowing an open minded progression.

Also WT members often go out of their way to not only nurture but take a personal interest in a novices learning path giving them access to various woods tools without the novice going to any expense and allowing them to
therefore have a mind dedicated to the task.

The TAFE experience is a good thing providing you can go home/ somewhere to practice your skills learnt so that the learning process remains ingrained such as joining a club!

Cheers :)

[Alastair]

John

Don't get me wrong, in that I am not suggesting that one steer clear of the Guild environment. Quite the contrary, for all of the reasons you put forward.

However for learning WT skills, the TAFE type course is better, for the reasons I posted, not the least being the reduction in confusing input. In addition, it enforces the practice of the basic skills, which does not happen in a Guild demo/ home turning situation.

Ankali

Where the structured courses aren't available, you do what is available :(

As I said, the Sydney course is no more, so we now face that situation here as well.

The problem I see with the shorter courses is also that in order for the teacher to justify his fee, he has to get you to a production point quickly. If he leans on you to get the basics right, he risks losing you. With TAFE they have you in their grip, so you have to grin and wear it. I know, just done that :D :D

Alastair

[RETIRED]

FWIW

I started turning from scratch, teaching myself from books and videos. I then went on to join a Woodturning club, very similar to the Sydney Guild regions. Finally 3 years ago, I took the plunge and enrolled for the TAFE course at Lidcombe.

While I made progress in my early years, a major problem was that both from book/video, and at the club, what you encountered was an array of different and conflicting information and advice. While this is great once you have made some progress, and can evaluate what you are seeing, I certainly found it confusing at the time.

The 3 great advantages of the TAFE course, are as follows:

The instruction is consistent. You learn to master one way of doing something. It is a proven technique. You can then experiment further on your own to develop other techniques which you might prefer.

You are committed to 8 hours of turning a week, for 40 weeks, for 3 years. Most of us when learning get to turn for an hour or two every weekend or so. We also have a go or two at the basics, and then want to start producing projects, which means the basics never get learnt. After instruction, the next most important learning requirement is PRACTICE!

Thirdly, you are not troubled by stuffing up that great bit of ...... you paid through the nose for. There is as much timber available as you require. If you stuff up, get a new bit, and do it again. And again. And again. See 2 above.

I am completing the 3rd year of my course at the moment. I am a hundred times better than when I started. I am also not even 5% as good a turner as any competent trade turner. I know, as we have had 3 top grade trade turners teaching us, as well as George Hatfield.

Every month at our Guild meeting, when hands on demos are held, it is obvious that many of the members, while producing very good pieces at show and tell, are very unsure of the basics, and there is limited opportunity to learn, in spite of efforts to provide this sort of assistance.

To sum up: I would strongly reccommend attending a TAFE course if available. Failing this, a competently taught formal course, whether this is set up by a Guild, at a Community college, or by a private tutor. While hands on demos and assisted instruction at meetings are great, this is a poor second to the formal courses. My greatest regret for woodturning in Sydney is that the TAFE course is no longer offered. If it is available in your area, grab the opportunity.

Time to get off the soapbox. I did not intend to get this passionate, but I really feel strongly on the subject.

Alastair
Alastair.
You were lucky to get a tafe course where the instructors knew their stuff.

NSW is the only state in Australia (that I am aware of) that has a dedicated woodturning course and have an apprenticeship in woodturning. The other states lump it in under wood machining and really don't cover it at all.

Most woodturning classes in Tafe are run by woodworking teachers that know very little about turning. I have seen some woeful examples of woodturning from students at these course. They are not even taught the basic turning skills but rather scraping techniques which are more suitable for pattern makers.

I also know of some excellent woodwork teachers that are brilliant turners too. Very short on the ground but a few.

[novice]

Thank you very much for your advice,

Regards,

Novice

[PeterS]

Are there any clubs in West Gippsland Victoria?

[RETIRED]

Are there any clubs in West Gippsland Victoria?
Yep.

The closest to you would be at Moe. They meet at Old Gippstown I think.

Ring the shire offices or the tourist bureau for a contact no.

HTH.

[PeterS]

Thank you

[John Saxton]

Alastair, your learning choice of TAFE in getting up to speed on the basics as well as some of the advanced requirements is in no way deletorious,rather perhaps more meaningful in you acquiring your skills more readily in the time frame open to you.

The WT club/guild will of course offer more in means of resources as has been stated and if going there as a greenhorn then your faith in them taking you to a fully fledged turner of note also has a profound effect not only the club but also those involved in your instruction over time.
Whilst I have done some courses in personal development at TAFE, I in no way decry the good purpose that it offers in instruction however you still have to move about in the community and this is where the WT Club will win out.

There are folk who have come to our club in the past from different spheres of life and are treated cordially, however no-one is more than welcome than a person who has come up thru the ranks and proven himself in his skills and contribution.

Though Woodturning covers many facets now from Art to meaningful practical purposes it is constantly evolving with and only with new ideas being introduced so I welcome you as a woodturner to challenge those ideas and enjoy your new found experiences by also bouncing those thoughts and sharing them.

Good luck with your turning.
Cheers :)

[rsser]

I think clubs and formal courses serve different purposes or perhaps the same in different ways, so it's not either/or.

In Vic the CAE runs courses from time to time, as does one or two of the TAFE colleges.

I've opted for private lessons from reputable turners; it's not cheap but not only do you learn technique but more importantly you learn an approach to the craft, esp. design, attitude and other intangibles. The kind of thing an apprenticeship provides.

Now I'm looking for a club - to benefit from others' ideas, swap turning blanks, enjoy the social aspect etc.

[g-art]

I am living on a remote island and would love to learn woodturning, I have internet and also a tafe college that is limited.
I would like to get some info on what sort of lathe to buy and how to begin.
Any ideas would be appreciated
G-art

[RETIRED]

Gooday and welcome to the Forum.

If you do a search for lathes and turning you will get information overload :D

[vsquizz]

G-art, Cairns has a few members on this board. They may be able to help you with lines of supply.

Cheers

[rsser]

G-art ... figure out what kinds of things you want to turn; that will help you choose your lathe.

Here's a good web intro to turning:

http://www.turningtools.co.uk/

[smidsy]

Work out how much money you want to spend and then get the biggest bang for your buck.
The minimum you will need to spend is around $400 for an MC900 which is the best entry level lathe there is.
Search this forum on the MC900 and do some reading.
Cheers
Paul

[Alastair]

Alastair.
You were lucky to get a tafe course where the instructors knew their stuff.

NSW is the only state in Australia (that I am aware of) that has a dedicated woodturning course and have an apprenticeship in woodturning. The other states lump it in under wood machining and really don't cover it at all.

Most woodturning classes in Tafe are run by woodworking teachers that know very little about turning. I have seen some woeful examples of woodturning from students at these course. They are not even taught the basic turning skills but rather scraping techniques which are more suitable for pattern makers.

I also know of some excellent woodwork teachers that are brilliant turners too. Very short on the ground but a few.



Thanks for enlightening me!

I have to admit my postings were based on my past history, and the experiences I have had with the Lidcombe TAFE course. I made the obvious mistake of assuming that the TAFE courses being mentioned in the posts were of equivalent stature.

As the Sydney course has now been discontinued, we are in a similar position. We are however blessed in the region, in that we have a number of professional turners, who are active in the Guild, and/or in private tuition. We also, as a result of having had the TAFE course, a number of "professionally trained amateurs" in the guild, who can help with passing on the basics. There is an initiative within the Guild to try and formalise the standards of beginner instruction along the lines of the above syllabus.

I still stand by my assertion that for the basics, some form of formal or semi-formal course is necessary, to ensure that these are learnt, and at least some practice is ensured. Speaking again for myself, I read about, and saw demonstrated, (say) bead turning, did one row of practice, and then went back to chewing bowls out of logs. Some time later, when I tried to turn some table legs, I was forced to modify designs to cover up the "spiral decorations", and again did as much as I had to. It was only 6 years later, in my course that I had to turn beads until I got the technique right. I'm still not good, but I can attempt any classic spindle design, and have a reasonable chance of success.

Alastair