SHARING THE GIFT

None of us are going to live long enough to make all the mistakes or discover all the tips, tricks, and secrets there are to be learned during our Woodturning lifetimes. That’s why it is so important to share the gift. If you are new to Woodturning there is no better place to learn than a nearby wood turning club.

A Woodturning club affords you the opportunity to watch skillful Woodturners demonstrate and explain the methods, techniques, tools and jigs they use to make a myriad of turned items. Many of these items are ones that you will want to make for yourself and your family. You could invest the time effort and energy to figure it out yourself, but how much more quickly and how much further ahead will you be if you are able to learn from someone who’s already made the investment? A Woodturning club will put you in contact with folks willing to help you solve problems, overcome obstacles, and correct mistakes that you may be making and didn’t even know it.

I am very privileged to be in front of the lathe close to 300 days a year. My unique challenge is that I rarely get to watch someone else turn because I’m always the guy doing the demonstration or, I’m at the function as a vendor. I jump at opportunities to attend all–day hands on classes when they are taught by other skilled turners. As much turning as I do and as much as I have learned over the many years, I never fail to learn things which are very useful, although at this stage, usually nothing earth shattering. When I first started turning there was no way I could appreciate or really even understand all the information being given to me. Nonetheless, it got me pointed in the right direction.

Let me interject a small disclaimer here. There are usually at least five different ways to do the same thing and all five of them may be equally effective. So, when an instructor tells you his way is the only way and if you don’t do it that way you are doomed to eternity in the lake of fire, take it with a grain of

salt and keep an open mind. My approach has always been to learn and understand as much about my instructor’s technique as possible and then apply what I can after I leave. It has served me well.

You may have developed a particular expertise with one or more types of turning. I would encourage you in the strongest possible terms to become one of those instructors and pass along what you have learned to others. You will find, over time, that some of your students will become your teacher and you will be much better off for it.

Turning clubs where you can watch a demonstration in person are wonderful but not always possible. DVDs are excellent because you can watch them over and over and at your own pace. The Internet is a modern–day wonder with YouTube, Vimeo and on demand how–to Internet programs. Take what you learn, make it happen for yourself, and then pass it along to others.

In other words “Share the gift.”

Your friend,

Ron Brown

A very good source for turning clubs which may be near where you live, is the AAW – “American Association of Woodturners”. The link is www.woodturner.org. Click on the tab marked find a local chapter.

I received a link to a short video of CJ Telfer (11 Years Old) turning a spin top Tuesday morning. You will really enjoy this clip. I share it in the spirit of this week’s newsletter. http://vimeo.com/90437412

More info on this family http://www.philliptelfer.com/index.html

Luke 6:38 NIV

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Good friends are hard to come by. When you are lucky enough to find one, be a good friend back to them.