Club meeting demo

[Eric Gourieux]

I was contacted by our local woodturners club today and was asked to do a demo. I've been trying to find a local club for quite a while. I just found out about this club and have never attended a meeting there. They have offered to pay me to do the demo, but I don't know what to ask. My intent would be to attend a few meetings to see what they are like before committing to a demo.

Recognizing the fact that prices coud vary widely, could somebody give me a ballpark on what to ask? I assume that it should cover any materials that I use and "something" for my time. I've seen several posts about Creekers giving demos but have not heard anything about being paid for the demo. Any help would be appreciated.

[Jim Burr]

I do them for church and high school shop classes 2-3 times a month. Not the kind of places you ask for $$! For the clubs in the area, materials are always covered, and if it's several hours, $200-300 is a good range...In This Area Only!!!!! If This Isn't Normal For Your Area...Sorry!!!

[John Keeton]

If you intend on becoming a member, I would not charge them at all. In our club, we encourage members to demo in order to increase the "community spirit" of the club. It inpires folks to learn more about turning and pass that information along to the members. Otherwise, for an hour or two - somewhere between $100 - $200, depending on the market, your skill level, the topic, and most importantly, your experience as a demonstrator. If travel is involved, then obviously this would not apply.

I would note that there is a significant difference between a skilled turner and a skilled demonstrator. A moderately good turner with excellent organizational and communications skills is much preferable to a highly skilled turner that cannot communicate with folks. A good demonstrator will talk continuously, progress through the demo at a comfortable speed, and communicate the steps/processes in a manner that is understandable by a diverse group.

[Doug Herzberg]

If you intend on becoming a member, I would not charge them at all. In our club, we encourage members to demo in order to increase the "community spirit" of the club.

+1. That said, our club's budget from dues is a few thousand dollars for demos, but we usually spend most of it on one or two well known turners. I think a good part of it goes for airfare, but we often time them to coincide with national symposia, when the demonstrator might be traveling anyway. Often, the demonstrator will also conduct a workshop for a fee on a separate day in one of the members' shops, thus supplementing his income for the trip. We usually ask the demonstrator to donate anything s/he makes during the workshop and demo to the club, which we then auction to supplement our budget for more demos.

I think some of the members who demonstrate are compensated for their time, but I don't know the amount. Some of them have a product to sell and their demo is part sales pitch.

Good luck. Have fun.

[Roger Chandler]

Our club pretty much mirrors what John said in his above post. I have done a demo, and have another to do in January.....I don't charge anything.........if long travel were involved, I would want that expense taken care of. A lot of it depends on if the demonstrator solely makes his/her living from woodturning and related teaching, IMO. A club getting a "professional" should know that, and the pro should also treat the club as best they can......courtesy should prevail on all sides.

One of the missions of AAW chapters is to expand the knowledge of wooturning to those who are interested in gaining this knowledge.......a bit of hands on learning at that, and I think all turners who are members should contribute to the mission without the foremost concern being "what am I going to be compensated?" Most turners I have gotten acquainted with are giving individuals........then on rare occasions, one runs across the guy that all he is concerned about is $$$$$.......

Personally, I would rather be associated with givers than the takers!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Eric.... ask them what they normally pay to bring in a demonstrator from outside the club. That's a legit question and one the club should expect to be asked.

On the other hand - I agree with your idea of attending a few meetings to see if you would be interested in joining their club. If you are, then I would do the demo for free as your way of contributing to the welfare of the club and getting to know the members. If you decide not to join and still wish to do a demo for them - then you know what the normal going rate is - for that club.

[Jamie Donaldson]

I encourage a club that imports a traveling demonstrator to schedule a hands-on day as well, when possible. This maximizes the time that the demonstrations take to benefit participating club members, and allows some of the demo trip expenses to be regained. When I'm traveling, I charge a much lower day rate for a hands-on session following a demo day or evening. Most of the expenses of hiring an outside demonstrator are in the travel expenses these days, so I like to maximize the time while I'm on the ground!

[Reed Gray]

If I had to travel a bit, I would want help for gas. If it involves an over night stay, then some one can put me up. Most of the time traveling big name demonstrators will do a workshop where attendees pay to come, and they also have tools and DVD's to sell. For my local clubs, I demo for free. I have turned down payment because I don't really need the money to help out, and figure the money might be better spent on some big name turners.

robo hippy

[Eric Gourieux]

It sounds like a consensus. I fully expect to join the club and look forward to meeting with other turners and learning from them. If they can teach me a FRACTION of what I've learned from the Creek, I'll be elated. I also agree that it would be best to do the demo for free - I was surprised that they offered to pay in the first place.

[Ralph Lindberg]

I actually will be doing the co-ordination for the local club starting in just weeks. What to pay is becoming an issue. It's getting to the point were some of the "names" are pricing themselves out of club demo's. Between travel and time/effort charges.
Keeping the costs down with local's is important to help pay for the special "out of towner" types.