Mike Waldt came down to the workshop recently to interview me for his YouTube channel. We covered eleven years of turning in a little over forty minutes. Towards the end he asked what advice I'd give someone starting out, and I gave him the same answer I give every student. Take a lesson.
I learned the hard way
I'm largely self-taught. When I started in 2014 there were very few British turners on YouTube, so I learned from American ones. I'd watch a video, try it in the garage, get a catch, then go back indoors and rewatch it to work out what had gone wrong. It was slow and frustrating, and it cost me a lot of wasted timber.
It also cost me a broken nose. In October 2015 a chunk of wood came off the lathe and caught me through a basic face shield. A quarter of that piece hangs on the wall here with a small plaque, and it's part of the safety brief whenever I teach. It reminds me, and everyone on the course, to respect the machine and the wood in front of you.
In 2016 I met Les Thorne, who put me straight on a few things. I'm lucky to have been corrected early by one of the best production turners in the country. Most people teaching themselves don't get that.
Unlearning takes longer
People often come on the two-day class after a year or so of teaching themselves, and they usually arrive with a habit or two that's holding them back. Unlearning something is harder than learning it fresh. It can take two or three lessons just to clear those habits away before the real progress starts.
A lesson near the beginning saves all of that. You start with a sound foundation, so every hour you put in afterwards, in your own shed or garage, builds on something solid. You also become a safer turner from day one, because you've been shown how the tools should move and how your body moves with them.
Seeing something done right in front of you makes an enormous difference. Mike made the point that if lessons aren't possible for you at the moment, joining a club is the next best thing, and I agree with him.
The rest of what I'd tell you
Learn to sharpen properly, because a sharp tool is a safe tool. Be kind to yourself when a piece goes wrong, since it isn't as easy as it looks when someone who has done it for years makes it look easy. Practise on pine or any softwood you have to hand. If you can get a good finish on pine, you'll manage one on anything.
Spend what you can reasonably afford on a decent face shield and dust protection. Most of us only get one face and one pair of lungs.
Where to start
Classes here are small, typically five students, and everything you need is provided on the day, from timber and tools to your safety equipment.
If you've never turned before, the Woodturning Experience Day gives you a full day at the lathe. The Two Day Beginners Class builds the whole foundation, and you go home with refresher videos to keep you on track.
If you've been turning for a while and something keeps tripping you up, you're just as welcome. That's often where a lesson earns its keep.
Thank you to Mike for the questions, and for lunch.