Has woodturning as a hobby peaked?

[jpt]

On the subject of teaching Woodturning, anybody up to date on what the rules and reg's are, as regarding insurance, blah blah blah......?

There are no legal requirements at all if you are teaching someone in your own or their workshop if you are just helping a friend and not taking any reward for it.

However if you are going to take money for it that is a different matter. Certain associations such as the AWGB & the RPT give guidelines which they expect there members to follow. More information on that HERE

There are still no laws about qualifications etc, unless you are doing it for Ad Ed etc. But there are general laws which would apply such as Health & safety, possible sales of goods act but that is still to be tested in court as to whether a service like training is covered.

Insurance is not a legal requirement, as far as I have been able to find out, but it is a sensible thing to have. When you take out insurance you need to check what their requirements are as the ones I have seen all have various clauses you need to follow.

Hope this helps
john

 

[Jenx]

I guess like many things - Its probably a bit cyclical, and to a certain extent, follows the 'fashions' of a particlar period in time...
People seem to like hand-crafted natural wooden pieces in their homes currently, but I'm sure we can all remember times in history where the "Plastic, melamine, fablon, cheapo-veneered-black-ash' etc etc was the order of the day. It goes in cycles, I suppose.

Also as mentioned - anything that can risk even a tiny injury seems to be outlawed in schools etc nowadays.... we'll always struggle to foster an interest in something if the younger people are never exposed to it in the first place.... but sadly we now live in the 'we will sue you' blame-culture, where everything carrying even the smallest of risks is outlawed.

I'm a newcomer to this 'black art' of woodturning - and in being so, can maybe pass a comment of a little relevance ... if people such as the major contributors to this forum can be as encouraging, informative, supportive, friendly and enthusiastic as they seem to be.. it certainly will help to ensure newcomers such as I, 'stick with it' and try to learn and develop the skills to keep the art ( and I truly believe it qualifies as an 'art' ) alive.
Perhaps its good to think in terms of quality rather than quantity too ... I suppose its better to have 'some' highly skilled artists, rather than a plethora of woodbutchers for the future.

Trust to the power of positive thinking, and encourage anyone, be they young or old, to invest a little time and effort into something, and the results will hopefully exceed all expectations.

Long live the "art" 8) :wink: