Suggestions for teaching/mentoring in a local AAW chapter

[Hy Tran]

Our club (New Mexico Woodturners) has several newer members. I'm starting to do some "structured mentoring," and would like help and suggestions.

Last month, I put an announcement in our newsletter, offering to do hands-on sharpening in my garage, with people signing up for 30 minute slots where they'd bring their tools, and we'd work on using my sharpening setup to sharpen spindle roughing gouges, skews, scrapers, and parting tools on the platform, and spindle gouges and bowl gouges on the V-arm and varigrind. Over the course of the morning, we had about 12 people get to sharpen, so I think that was pretty successful.

So: Given the limitations on a home shop (only one lathe), what would you all suggest for a beginner-friendly-and-useful mentoring workshop? I don't want to just talk--I want the members to have some hands-on work, but also scale so we can get as many folks as possible during a half-day session.

Thanks in advance for suggestions, ideas, etc.!

Hy

 

[Ed Weingarden]

Does your club have a lathe where you hold your meetings? That would be one lathe. If you or another club member has a mini lathe, they're not difficult to transport. That would be a source for a second lathe. My suggestion is to get other club members involved and devise a plan so that you have all of the needed items to mentor beginners.

 

[hockenbery]

our club is having a sawdust session this Saturday. The host has 2 lathes And he keeps the club lathe. several students will bring mini lathes.
so it ends up about 2 people per lathe. Also at least 2 people will be mentoring.
this session is focused on last weeks demo.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Our club meets the second Saturday every month. The forth Saturday every month we have what we call open shop mentoring. We have eight lathes at our club. We get quite a few new turners at every open shop with at least three of the regulars that are well qualified to teach. It has been a great program so far.

 

[Dean Center]

12! Twelve! A dozen!

2 would have been good, so 12 is miraculous and a terrific problem to have. We would arrange something with our local high school wood shop, where there are 6 lathes. But we'd be lucky to get the 2.

 

[Garry Durfey]

We used to do garage days. Usually had one strong mentor, one that wasn’t the best at teaching, and then around 6 of us around one lathe. Yep, not the best, but we would not work on completing a project but working on trouble spots. Several of us would get to work on a single blank at times.

To the best, but I was also there for the comraderie and to have the confidence to go to the mentors in the future. Funny thing, I never did go back to the mentors but developed a couple of great friends.

I am exc to see this topic and your attempts. my current club membership is very weak in this area.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Based on the posts I read on this forum I feel very fortunate to have available all the hands on offerings my club has. Some may work for yours.

We have a “clubhouse” (a gracious member offered 1/2 a new shop for club use a few years ago) with 8 lathes, Wolverine and Tormek sharpening systems.

For most of the year we have OTT (open turning Tue 5-8 pm) every week. There are 3-4 experienced members typically there each week. The time is open to anything a member wants to do - turn on a lathe, receive help/instruction on most any aspect, or just bs with other members. Many times I have had a member make an “appt” with me (at monthly mtg or by phone) to cover a specific item/area with them).

2-3 times/year bowl turning 101 and 102 classes are offered at the clubhouse, and sometimes a spindle turning class.

Mentoring Program & Officer - there is a list of mentors. Members email the officer (or discuss at monthly meeting) who then match member and mentor based on need and geographic location, and the 2 work out scheduling etc.

The classes always get full in a matter of hours when sign up occurs. Otherwise, participation in the other opportunities is not as hi as I would expect but there is participation.

I think a lot of folks are just shy, maybe embarrassed to ask, not wanting to intrude on other’s time. Once they take the “plunge”, they are so glad they did and thankful for the time and effort expended.

The club also does “coffee shops” where a member invites others to their shop. As most members have shop Space limits, this is done with an email/online sign up. None were happening with the virus bs, but there are now a couple of them scheduled. These are not hands on, but a way to see shop layout, equipment, etc and sometimes the host demos something.

All are opportunities for socializing , setting up learning opportunities, etc.

 

[Richard Coers]

Always do the mentoring under the protection of your club's sponsorship, who hopefully carries a liability insurance policy. Doing mentoring under your name opens you up to the liability. In my teaching experience at Woodcraft, more than 3 lathes per instructor will wear you out if you are doing a beginner class. If the club is really backing you, apply for an AAW grant to buy two more mini lathes.

 

[Hy Tran]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions so far. You all have given me ideas. Some additional information:

• Our club (NMWT) has a demonstration lathe which we purchased shortly pre-COVID. It's not really transportable.
• We've done sharpening demos almost every year or every other year, based on the demand expressed during our annual planning. I decided (with chapter leadership) to do the hands-on "sort-of-open-house" on sharpening, as we'd done a demo on sharpening in 2022, and in the planning meeting, folks still expressed great interest in sharpening.
• We have six "teaching" lathes, along with six set of turning tools (I led the investment in turning tools when I was chapter pres a few years back). These are stored in a storage unit, along with the club's trailer. They're not easily transportable unless you have a pickup truck or a trailer hitch.
• We don't have a "teaching space"--we do have members who volunteer their garages, and the logistics/transportation committee (who own pickup trucks with trailer hitches). (The members who have clean spatious garages and the members who have the pickup trucks are not the same people...)
• Several years pre-covid, we did do classes for members on basics of turning--a five day workshop on spindles, and a different five day workshop on bowls. But this does not cater to our members who have a day job. There is (we think) demand to do something like this again--but we probably ought to survey our club to get hard(er) data than just gut feel. Since I'm the chair of the education committee, I probably need to put my day job aside, and spend some time planning education
  
• Our chapter has the basic chapter and the "private" insurance plan from AAW. I'm neither a lawyer nor an insurance agent, but I believe that the mentoring activity is reasonably protected.

Please, keep the ideas and suggestions coming!

 

[Doug Freeman]

we did do classes for members on basics of turning--a five day workshop on spindles, and a different five day workshop on bowls. But this does not cater to our members who have a day job

My club’s schedule for the classes I think is one evening a week for 5-6 weeks, to work around at least day work schedules. The “101” class is very basic, the “102” class a bit stepped up. 101 contains a lot of safety info, and about as simple of a bowl as possible. Designed to get past initial fears and engrain safety. 102 is geared toward some bowl design considerations, but still relatively basic. Perhaps less of a time commitment and “lowering the bar” gets more involvement.

 

[hockenbery]

Last month, I put an announcement in our newsletter, offering to do hands-on sharpening in my garage, with people signing up for 30 minute slots where they'd bring their tools,

focusing on a topic/set of skills like you did for this session will work.
if you can get participants to bring a mini or maybe get them to transport a couple of club lathes to a fro then you have more lates.

some topics
beads and coves with a spindle gouge - with 4-5 students and 1 lathe each student could take a turn with doing a bead or two.
every one watches and learns as you correct any miscue

turn a top- the next sessionyou can have them. Each turn a top. With the beads and cove skills should be 5-10 minutes for each to get a small top from a 2x2.


Bowl gouge push cut pull cut.
bowl gouge scrape bowel gouge shear scrape
bead on a bowl with a spindle gouge