Didcot and District Woodturners Club

Didcot and District Woodturners Club draws members from South Oxfordshire and West Berkshire

Interested in Woodturning ?

Didcot & District Woodturners is an informal and friendly club with monthly meetings in Harwell Village Hall, Didcot, Oxfordshire. OX11 0EX

If you have an interest in Woodturning it is the perfect place to come and find out more. You will be able to see what woodturning is all about and give woodturning a try under supervision by an experienced woodturner.

If you want to take things further, get advice on the equipment necessary, the types of wood which are ideal for turning and in particular, how to turn safely, then this is the best way to meet and tap into many years of useful experience.

Want to meet others and learn more ?

Our members ( male and female, young and old ) range from beginners who had never touched a lathe before, through the keen 'intermediate' hobbyists who probably make up the bulk of the membership, to highly skilled masters of the craft.

Generally we will have at least four lathes dotted around the hall. One or two of these will be demonstrating a technique or turning a themed item (see the Event List for that month's theme)

The remaining lathes are available for use by all comers. For those new to turning please make sure you have a more experienced turner to act as a mentor.

Next Meeting - Wednesday April 24th 2024

This meeting is a practical evening

'Hands On' - Beginners project; A platter

The Competition piece will be "A decorated Easter Egg".

Last Meeting - Wednesday March 27th 2023

The 'Hands-On' project was an Easter Egg in preparation for April's competition..

The Competition piece was "An item with three different woods". A good mix of competition pieces with several different takes on the use of multiple woods.

Coming Soon - Wednesday May 22nd 2023

Our 'Hands on' beginners project will be " A Hollow Form"

The Competition piece will be "A platter (>10:1 width:height ratio)".

Come and see what we have to offer.

Please feel free to turn up at any of our meetings, no need to book just come and spend an evening with us. Chat with the members, have a go on one of the lathes.

Beginners usually leave with a little something they have made. Your first couple of evenings will be free and we will even provide the tea & biccies.

When do we meet?

The club meets on the 4th Wednesday of every month. The hall opens at 7pm so we can get the equipment etc ready for a 7.30pm start. Activities finish around 10pm so we can get cleared up and leave by 10.30pm.

Extra hands during the set up and break down times are always welcome.

So what happens on a club night?

Didcot Woodturners Club Nights are heavily based on practical exercises on the lathe.

On three evenings a year we arrange demonstrations from well known professional turners, some working architectural turners, some art turners, both of which are always popular.

April Club Night
'Hands On' - Beginners project; A platter.

The definition of a platter is "a large flat dish or plate for serving food".
So a platter needs to be of a large diameter (though they don't have to be round!) but not very deep.

Some examples are shown in the picture. Note the use of pyrography on the spalted Ash to create a picture.

The Competition piece will be "A decorated Easter egg".

March 2024 Club Night

What a night; the hall was buzzing. Five lathes turning and lots of new guests most of whom had a go on a lathe thanks to our mentors.

We will probably repeat the sharpening demo at the May meeting using just the Robert Sorby Pro Edge system.

And a good range of items on the competition table. Not only in terms of the turning quality but also the design as shown in the picture.

May Club Night

The 'Hands-On' project will be "A Hollow Form".

Demonstrating turning a hollow form is generally quite 'boring'. The main purpose will to demonstrate different tools and techniques that might be used.

The picture shows some examples. Note perfume bottle (top right) shows how you can cheat. It is made of five separate pieces. Two pierced 'dishes', the centre ring , the collar and a foot.

The group of hollow forms is by Phil Irons. A cheerful chap who turns funeral urns, but he is an absolute master of the hollow form.

The Competition Theme will be "A platter (>10:1 width:height ratio)". We will not be measuring the actual dimensions but we will expect the platters to be roughly in those proportions.

Tools For Sale

Kim lives in Watlington. The lathe was her husband’s.

I don’t think he was ever a member of Didcot Woodturners.

While quite an old lathe, Myford lathes were well built and much loved by those who used them. They were also used extensively in schools.

The ML8A version comes with a bowl turning extension on the rear side of the head stock with an articulated banjo which allowed larger bowls to be turned. This lathe also comes with the full sized metal cabinet and appears to be in good condition.