My journey to becoming a woodturner indirectly began in 1987, when I purchased a used Shopsmith. Somewhere in the process of learning that machine I discovered how fascinating the lathe was, and found myself using the lathe to the exclusion of the other Shopsmith functions. In ‘89 I sold the Shopsmith and purchased a Woodfast M408 short bed lathe from Dale Nash at Craft Supplies. 1989 was also the year I joined the AAW. In 1990 I joined four other AAW members from North Carolina form what became the first AAW affiliated Woodturning chapter in the state, the North Carolina Woodturners, or NCW.
I still have and use the Woodfast, it’s been a great lathe that I’ve used to scratch my creative itch thousands of times since 1989. Including shipping from Utah, I paid $2004.30 for the M408, which works out over the years to just pennies per creative scratch. For a young man with big dreams and a small budget 2k was a lot of money in 1989. Looking back now spending the money on the lathe and joining the AAW were undoubtedly some of the best investments I’ve ever made. My membership in the AAW has made my creative journey a corroborative process, through the skill and knowledge willingly shared by other AAW members.
I’ve attached a couple of photos my faithful M408 and a Woodfast (Richard) Raffan Collet Chuck that came with the lathe.
I still have and use the Woodfast, it’s been a great lathe that I’ve used to scratch my creative itch thousands of times since 1989. Including shipping from Utah, I paid $2004.30 for the M408, which works out over the years to just pennies per creative scratch. For a young man with big dreams and a small budget 2k was a lot of money in 1989. Looking back now spending the money on the lathe and joining the AAW were undoubtedly some of the best investments I’ve ever made. My membership in the AAW has made my creative journey a corroborative process, through the skill and knowledge willingly shared by other AAW members.
I’ve attached a couple of photos my faithful M408 and a Woodfast (Richard) Raffan Collet Chuck that came with the lathe.