Lathe Orientation during Wood Turning Demo

[Dave Bunge]

I'm getting ready to do a wood turning demo for my general woodworking club. Does anyone have tips for orienting the lathe so people can see?

I'm used to seeing demos where the lathe is set up parallel to the first row of chairs. The demonstrator stands behind it facing the audience. Cameras overhead and maybe hand held show close ups of the action on video screens. Unfortunately, we don't have any cameras or video screens, so if I set up this way, I don't think people would be able to see what is happening. Also, I'm going to talk about staying out of the line of fire as one of the safety aspects, and the parallel to front row approach puts folks in the center of the room right in the line of fire.

I was thinking about setting up the lathe at a 90 degree angle to the front row, with the tail stock end of the lathe closest to the audience. Then at least some of the people could see what was happening where the gouge meets the wood. There will probably be about 25 people at the meeting. I'll be using a Jet 1221VS lathe on a stand that I borrowed from another club member.

I'd be happy to hear any advice, any stories on what has worked and not worked for others.

Also, any tips for keeping the wood shavings under control in a large, open room?

Thanks
Dave

[Reed Gray]

It depends on what you are turning. If you are turning bowls, and have the lathe at 90 degrees, and don't have a protection shield for the audience, then have them set up an isle where the line of fire will be. If you rotate the lathe to 45 degrees to the audience, for bowls, then most will be out of the line of fire any way, but caution them. For most spindle work and hollowing, you can have the lathe at 90 degrees.

robo hippy

[Roger Chandler]

I have done a few demo's............I personally believe that the traditional setup will work the best. If you are concerned about audience safety, then a plexiglass screen should be set up, but if you do not have one, then try to position the chairs so that they are not crowding the lathe area, and you could also leave an aisle down the center and have the chairs angled in rows to allow better viewing. Many auditoriums use an angled setup for seating to facilitate better viewing and the aisle down the center would allow for a clear gap for a safety zone.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Before cameras became the norm , most had suspended overhead mirrors. The mirror reflected down on the lathe. Maybe a quick build of a frame or support? A borrow camera one a flat screen tv works well. With 25 members someone should have the av equipment needed. Put out an email and it will come together.