On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 15:52:15 +0000, Mike Paulson wrote:
start all over again in this hobby / business / trade, what mistakes did
Books, videos, demonstrations, and symposiums are all
sources of woodturning knowledge, but private instruction is *BY FAR* the
best way to mastery. Do yourself a favor, treat yourself to some lessons,
and maximize the fun and satisfaction from your time spent at the lathe.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

While I have not yet had any private instruction, I did just recently view
my first video (Woodturning: Fundamentals of Sharpening) from AAW. It was
a good thing to see skilled hands performing this essential skill.

I'll take that back ... I took a class at Woodcraft in using the router.
In that case (and having been an instructor myself) I don't think I got my
money's worth. But there are any number of individuals (including a
couple I know locally) who I'd like to learn from. Although I'll agree
that the education I might get from it would be more than worth the
expense, traveling somewhere in order to pay a high tuition for a week or
even a weekend, just isn't possible for me just yet.

I had high hopes for that router class, but the joints I made (using the
instructors jigs) were better than the ones he made using the same jigs.
Printed material for the class consisted of Shop Notes photocopies and he
touched on too many topics to actually teach any of them ... finally
ending the class a half-hour early so some of the guys could go watch some
game or other.

Even so, I'll be keeping an eye out for a local class from a better
instructor.

Good tip.

Thanks,
Bill