Woodturn 2004

Well!!! What a wonderful weekend of WOODTURNing it was.

For those that were not there, commiserations! For those that were there, congratulations!

I think it was our best WOODTURN yet, and I have spoken to several people who attended who fully agree with that sentiment. In fact, there have been NO adverse comments from anyone who attended, so I think that speaks for itself.

Our demonstrators, Richard Raffan, Soren Berger, Tim Skilton, and Theo Haralampou were all impressed and satisfied with everything about the weekend.

The organisation all came together on the Friday, and we left the venue, Meadowbank TAFE, about 5pm that day, satisfied that the event could begin on time the following morning.

It did! After a short speech from our Guild President, Peter Herbert, in which he welcomed our demonstrators and those attending, Peter introduced the demonstrators to the gathering, and then the assembled throng made their way to the various demonstrations to start their weekend.

There were no choices to be made by those attending, as the event was structured so that everyone who attended saw each of the four presenters for a 3.5 hour session, and so watched each demonstration from start to finish. Those attending were allocated to one of four groups, and moved through the various presentations during the weekend, and each presenter stayed in his own room for the entire event. (Except for meal breaks, and we did let them go back to their billets on Saturday night).

To list all the various activities, projects, hints, tips, information, and finished pieces those present were treated to, would fill an issue of By Hand & Eye, and that would mean leaving out the various jokes and humourous anecdotes that flew around during the weekend.

These articles must always include thanks to a lot of people, and of course, certain ones have to be singled out, while others won't be named for fear of leaving someone else out. Many thanks to all those who helped make WOODTURN 2004 such a great success!

Thanks to Keith Jeeves and Graeme Campbell for their work and support in the early stages of pulling this whole event together. Graeme had to withdraw close to the event, as he became unwell, but it was great to see him there for the two days of the event.

Thanks to Robyn, my wife, who once again organised the menu for the weekend and the ladies who helped out during the weekend. Special thanks to those ladies, Trish Darcovich, Edna Clark, Pauline Ades, and Claire Pentecost who worked all weekend to make sure everyone was fed and watered exactly on schedule. Thanks also go to Alf Lord, Bert Sims and Ken O'Donnell who spent one day each helping the ladies in their chores.

These events can never function well without such volunteers, and also other volunteers who turned up on the Friday to deliver equipment from various regions, even though some of them could not attend the weekend activities due to other commitments. These are the people who make the Guild a great organisation to be part of. Those who never really accept the fact that you only get out of something what you are willing to put into it, will always be complaining about something.

Part of this spirit was demonstrated on the Sunday afternoon when cleanup was completed, and we found that one lathe still had to be transported to Trend Timbers at Windsor. A non Guild member who attended the event volunteered to make a detour on his way home to deliver the lathe to Windsor for us, as he had had such a great weekend. The detour was more than we expected, as after the lathe was loaded, he announced that he was really headed for Pennant Hills from Meadowbank, but Windsor wasn't all that far out of his way anyhow! That is the spirit that a lot of people don't have, and it was a really impressive thing for this fellow to do for the Guild.

Anyway, the people I am alluding to don't really matter in the general scheme of things, suffice to say that once again, the Guild put on a great weekend of WOODTURNing, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Thank you to all those who helped in any way at all, all those who attended, and a special thanks to our presenters, who put in that extra effort to make the weekend the success it was.

People attended from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, England, Texas (USA), and South America, and our presenters were from Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, and New Zealand.

Most of these people, including our presenters, brought along some of their work for inclusion in the Instant Gallery, and once again, the Gallery was well received, and was made up of many varied and beautiful pieces.

The one sour note of the whole weekend was that we have in our Guild a member who attended WOODTURN 2004 who stole a beautiful Huon Pine scoop that was made by our presenter from New Zealand, Soren Berger. This scoop has particular significance to the maker, as it is the scoop that is featured in Soren's book, and he was good enough to bring it along as part of his presentation. The scoop will probably never see the light of day again, as the sick person who stole it will never be able to show it to anyone, but will only be able to look at it by himself behind closed doors, just like the tomb robbers of Egypt and their ill gotten gains. If the person who stole it has any conscience at all, just pack it well, and post it back anonymously to our Guild President, Peter Herbert at 71 Colo Road, Colo Vale, 2575. It will then be returned to Soren in the safest way possible. The Guild has reimbursed Soren for the monetary value, but the sentimental value cannot be counted.

Needless to say, if anyone has any idea who has this piece, please advise the Guild committee, and it will be further investigated, via recourse to the law if necessary.

To all of the other people who were in any way involved with WOODTURN 2004, thank you for making the event one to be remembered.

Doug Midgley


WOODTURN 2004 Well!!! What a wonderful weekend of WOODTURNing it was. For those that were not there, commiserations! For those that were there, congratulations! I think it was our best WOODTURN yet, and I have spoken to several people who attended who fully agree with that sentiment. In fact, there have been NO adverse comments from anyone who attended, so I think that speaks for itself. Our demonstrators, Richard Raffan, Soren Berger, Tim Skilton, and Theo Haralampou were all impressed and satisfied with everything about the weekend. The organisation all came together on the Friday, and we left the venue, Meadowbank TAFE, about 5pm that day, satisfied that the event could begin on time the following morning. It did! After a short speech from our Guild President, Peter Herbert, in which he welcomed our demonstrators and those attending, Peter introduced the demonstrators to the gathering, and then the assembled throng made their way to the various demonstrations to start their weekend. There were no choices to be made by those attending, as the event was structured so that everyone who attended saw each of the four presenters for a 3.5 hour session, and so watched each demonstration from start to finish. Those attending were allocated to one of four groups, and moved through the various presentations during the weekend, and each presenter stayed in his own room for the entire event. (Except for meal breaks, and we did let them go back to their billets on Saturday night). To list all the various activities, projects, hints, tips, information, and finished pieces those present were treated to, would fill an issue of By Hand & Eye, and that would mean leaving out the various jokes and humourous anecdotes that flew around during the weekend. These articles must always include thanks to a lot of people, and of course, certain ones have to be singled out, while others won't be named for fear of leaving someone else out. Many thanks to all those who helped make WOODTURN 2004 such a great success! Thanks to Keith Jeeves and Graeme Campbell for their work and support in the early stages of pulling this whole event together. Graeme had to withdraw close to the event, as he became unwell, but it was great to see him there for the two days of the event. Thanks to Robyn, my wife, who once again organised the menu for the weekend and the ladies who helped out during the weekend. Special thanks to those ladies, Trish Darcovich, Edna Clark, Pauline Ades, and Claire Pentecost who worked all weekend to make sure everyone was fed and watered exactly on schedule. Thanks also go to Alf Lord, Bert Sims and Ken O'Donnell who spent one day each helping the ladies in their chores. These events can never function well without such volunteers, and also other volunteers who turned up on the Friday to deliver equipment from various regions, even though some of them could not attend the weekend activities due to other commitments. These are the people who make the Guild a great organisation to be part of. Those who never really accept the fact that you only get out of something what you are willing to put into it, will always be complaining about something. Part of this spirit was demonstrated on the Sunday afternoon when cleanup was completed, and we found that one lathe still had to be transported to Trend Timbers at Windsor. A non Guild member who attended the event volunteered to make a detour on his way home to deliver the lathe to Windsor for us, as he had had such a great weekend. The detour was more than we expected, as after the lathe was loaded, he announced that he was really headed for Pennant Hills from Meadowbank, but Windsor wasn't all that far out of his way anyhow! That is the spirit that a lot of people don't have, and it was a really impressive thing for this fellow to do for the Guild. Anyway, the people I am alluding to don't really matter in the general scheme of things, suffice to say that once again, the Guild put on a great weekend of WOODTURNing, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Thank you to all those who helped in any way at all, all those who attended, and a special thanks to our presenters, who put in that extra effort to make the weekend the success it was. People attended from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, England, Texas (USA), and South America, and our presenters were from Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, and New Zealand. Most of these people, including our presenters, brought along some of their work for inclusion in the Instant Gallery, and once again, the Gallery was well received, and was made up of many varied and beautiful pieces. The one sour note of the whole weekend was that we have in our Guild a member who attended WOODTURN 2004 who stole a beautiful Huon Pine scoop that was made by our presenter from New Zealand, Soren Berger. This scoop has particular significance to the maker, as it is the scoop that is featured in Soren's book, and he was good enough to bring it along as part of his presentation. The scoop will probably never see the light of day again, as the sick person who stole it will never be able to show it to anyone, but will only be able to look at it by himself behind closed doors, just like the tomb robbers of Egypt and their ill gotten gains. If the person who stole it has any conscience at all, just pack it well, and post it back anonymously to our Guild President, Peter Herbert at 71 Colo Road, Colo Vale, 2575. It will then be returned to Soren in the safest way possible. The Guild has reimbursed Soren for the monetary value, but the sentimental value cannot be counted. Needless to say, if anyone has any idea who has this piece, please advise the Guild committee, and it will be further investigated, via recourse to the law if necessary. To all of the other people who were in any way involved with WOODTURN 2004, thank you for making the event one to be remembered. Doug Midgley