Good afternoon all

I have a question to put before the membership. Many of you know that I am a turner. I have been turning professionally for over 10 years now. Since 1995 I have also been teaching, and have taught almost every facet of turning to all kinds of people, from children to grandparents, men, women, physically challenged people, etc. During a recent class my student du jour approached me with the possibility of making a turning video. He is not the first one who has suggested the idea to me, but he is the first one who has the connections to make it happen.

This whole thing is in the most preliminary of planning stages - we are just talking seriously at this point about the concept and general procedure for actually producing this thing. The video, which could be the first of several depending on its success, would be a synopsis of the bowl turning class I teach. It would start with identifying the log in the field, cutting techniques with the chainsaw, preparation for the lathe, and then the turning sequence itself. All of the cuts and body movement techniques I use would be illustrated as clearly as possible with multiple camera angles. In fact, it would be a comprehensive moving picture covering the same subject of my bowl roughing article of a few days ago.

For those of you who have seen me turn, or have spent time with me on a formal basis, this would be a valuable review tool. For everyone else, it would be a way to see how I do it without actually having to come and see me in person. I do not want to minimize the personal aspect of learning this stuff, but a video is the next best thing, and not nearly as expensive.

This video would be professionally produced and made available in both DVD and VHS formats. It is not a small undertaking, and so I am posting here and in some other places to ask, what say ye? If I made this thing, are there people out there who would buy it? Do you think I am going in the right direction with this or am I out of my mind?

Comments, questions, etc, both public and private are welcome, and I hope to hear from a bunch of you.

Thanks for reading this.

Bill