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Young People are the Future of Woodturning

 

New pupil at East Herts junior section being supervised by an AWGB approved tutor

East Herts Club Starts a Junior Section

Concerned about the lack numbers of young people in Woodturning, the East Herts Club is taking steps to try to address this. In October, the East Herts club started a junior section for 13-18 year olds, on a different evening to the main club meeting. The reason for starting a junior section on a different night to the main club night was that it was thought that, initially, young people would wish to learn basic woodturning techniques and make things rather than watch a skilled demonstrator making something. It is hoped that they will become sufficiently skilled turners to be able to take part in the AWGB /WCT young peoples programme and possibly take up a practical career in the future. The aim is to start small and grow the section. As we have found when talking to young people at our ‘hands on’ woodturning Scout events, few schools have either the necessary equipment or the skilled woodturning staff to offer woodturning to the pupils. We have decided that setting up equipment each month can only be done efficiently at our base. When we set up to do ‘hands on’ woodturning at Scout event it takes most of a day to get the equipment moved and installed.

The first Junior Section Meeting was carried out more as a ‘hands on’ session with an initial brief safety talk followed by one to one sessions on a lathe supervised by a competent turner. At future meetings the young people will make a number of items and will rotate between different turners throughout the evening

The Junior Section has been supported by AWGB and the Bullfields Hall Committee and financially supported by The Worshipful Company of Turners, Stansted Airport Community Trust and Axminster Tools and Machinery. The East Herts Club gratefully acknowledges this support from these organisations.

 

For further information, please email John Leach of East Herts Woodturners, email address woodturningsurf@uwclub.net

 

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