I took up wood turning some twenty years after I retired and have been doing it now for several years. Before that I was a teacher. I mostly taught physics but I got involved in teacher training too, for teachers in further education. I myself have taught at all levels from primary to higher, including further education.  (8 to 80 year olds)

Some of the skills I picked up in wood turning  were passed on from a former hobby, pottery.  In pottery, you get totally immersed in what you are making.  In a sense you become part of a bigger whole.  With wood turning, you are separated from the spinning object by the tools you are holding and it is difficult to see any detail in what is forming. When the lathe stops spinning and you see the grain for the first time, you have that “wow” feeling. You ask yourself: Did I really make that?

Both hobbies are simply fantastic.                                                                          John