Hello All,
As the title says, I'm hooked on woodturning - did a little bit at school in the 60s and always had it in the back of my mind to give it a go when I retired.
Fast forward 50 years and here I am, a widower with all the little birdies flown the nest and a nice big concrete garage. Two years ago on my retirement, I emptied it of all the accumulated detritus of 35 years of family life (think "The Hoarder Next Door") and set up my man cave, based around a nice big lathe (originally a RP CL-1 but now an Axi AT1628VS), bandsaw (RP BS350S), radial arm pillar drill, sharpening system and a few other goodies. Oh, and LOTS of chisels .
Now I spend most of my free time in there, happy as Larry.
I got some lessons when I started, which was a VERY good idea and may well have saved me from serious injury from misuse of turning tools. I've turned something like 200 items since then - bowls mainly but also hollow forms, vases, boxes, christmas decorations and of course the dreaded mushrooms.
I've given half of that output away - the early stuff not quite bad enough for nextdoor's woodburner to the charity shop, to family, friends and neighbours and even sold a few bits and pieces.
Here's a pic (sorry, crappy phone...) of what's left - with the (dearly departed and sorely missed) missus gone and the kids all left home the dining table never gets used, so it's a useful repository.
The first reaction from visitors is usually "Bl**dy hell!!"