Wood Turning Class - Sign up list

Space and infrastructure Issues & Requests
1

Hi all!

I’ve been developing a curriculum for a wood turning class and we ran our prototype for the class last weekend.

Both participants finished the project and walked away with a useful object! They gave me some excellent notes, and I’m refining the class based on what I learned.

The next class is on November 2nd, but it has already full. Between the small class sizes (two people) and the initial interest, I figured I’d start a sign-up list here so I can make sure I get everyone in a fair method.

About the Class

This is a basic introduction to wood turning. I am not an expert woodturner, just an interested and excited novice that has turned a few things.

In this class, you will learn the basics of the lathe itself, and how to safely operate the lathe with a couple tools (we will not be going over every common tool profile, but if you have a specific tool you’d like to learn I can adapt the lesson to try to include it). You will also learn how to plan out operations so that you can order your cuts in a way that makes sense for your project.

This is a 3 hour class that will take you from never having touched a lathe to a completed form. Currently the project is a wood-turned lidded box (yes, boxes can be round). I use mine as a salt vault (used to hold salt for cooking, making it easy to grab a ‘pinch’ of salt).

I charge $10 for the class to cover materials. If material costs change, I will update the cost to reflect it (likely only down, as the wood I’m purchasing can probably be found cheaper than my current source). I aim to charge only the cost of materials (in the class, we will be turning some black walnut).

I’d like to take this list serially, but if there’s any reason you need to be prioritized, please also include that in your reply (for example, needing to learn to turn something to be included in an event that is approaching). I hope to keep up a cadence of 1 class every 2 weeks until I can’t fill the class (minus any vacations/work trips I need to take).

Thanks!

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Hi @mike
Please add me to the signup, Thank you!

I was observing the last class Mike conducted, it is awesome and just loved it.
Best,
RK

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Sign me up!

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Please add me, and thanks for doing this!

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Add me to the list please.

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At the risk of hijacking your thread (sorry Mike), if anyone is interested, the monthly meeting of the Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild is this evening at the Sapperton Pensioners Hall in New West which is pretty much across the street from Royal Columbian Hospital. There is a SkyTrain station next to the hospital.

I would highly encourage anyone who is interested in woodturning to attend one of the GVWG meetings. They are highly educational and the project people bring in can be very inspiring. The meetings are very well attended (50+ people) by people of all skill levels. There are a couple of demonstrations happening, one of which is aimed at beginners.

gvwg.ca

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Please add me to the list also! Thanks for doing this Mike.

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8

sign me up too please

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@mike the meetup email says 6:30am on the 2nd of November, suspect the calendar is wrong.

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The title should also contain [full], but I’ll investigate today.

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Haha, didn’t realize the AM… sigh

Thanks for the catch.

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24-hour clock rules!
(I have been burned by incorrect am/pm alarm settings; hence I made sure that my current alarm clock can display 24 hours).

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I’d love to be added to the list. :slight_smile: Thanks!

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Last night we had our 2nd Beta class and it was a great success. I’ve got more refinements to make, but so far all 4 beta class participants have completed their projects. Right now the class is running a bit long (about an hour over), so I’m going to be working on how to reduce the length of the class by doing a bit more prep work.

The first non-beta class will be with @covertneko and @wander on Monday the 13th at 6:30pm.

The cost is still $10, but I’m also looking for alternate material suppliers (and possibly buy in more quantity) to reduce the materials cost.

See you two then, and for the rest of you, keep your :eyes: peeled for future dates.

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Good news! The generous people over at West Coast Wood Slabs have donated some walnut and oak offcuts. This means we can run the class for many many more sessions!

I spent a few hours and processed the wood down into wood blank lengths, yay!

A couple years ago, I bought a desk from them and absolutely love it. While they made no stipulations with their donation, I want to just send out a link because they are awesome, their product is awesome, and the way they source their wood is awesome. Lots of awesome here:
http://www.westcoastwoodslabs.com

Tomorrow is the next class, the participants are confirmed; I’ll release the next class dates soon.

-Mike

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Please sign me up for a class.

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I would be interested, no rush but intend to be off the road for a while and would like to level up some skills.

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Hi @mike,

Please add me to the signup, thank you!

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Hi @mike , please sign me up for the wood turning class and thanks for putting these on!

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