Thanks to our very own Ken Maher for his presentation on woodturning. Reminded me of when I did woodwork at school and created a hexagon teapot stand with insert. Turned out every side was a different length!! Great woodwork skills were not on show there.
However, Ken demonstrated some of his own work and it was significantly (by a very large factor) better than my effort.
What is woodturning?
In the most simplistic terms: Using very sharp edged metal tools, changing the shape of a lump of spinning wood which is held in a machine called a “lathe”
The earliest signs of woodturning (besides stone carvings in the 6th century BC were in the middle ages when diagrams showed wooden lathes driven by a bow or pole and these were followed by treadle driven machinery. Ken got his machine in the 70's! Still using it and he called it a solid old clunker!
A woodturner requires a lot of equipment for safety and to ply their trade/hobby, sharp chisels and gouges, specialty turning equipment, safety goggles, dust masks (the dust from woodturning is carcinogenic and requires a dust extractor in addition to the other safety equipment), sanding grit and polishes - traditional wax and Tung oil being amongst the favourites.
So what skills do you need as a woodturner? Here is a list that Ken provided
• Sourcing wood – scrounging • Cutting - chainsaw, bandsaw • Design • Redesign (eg after a catch) • Tool skills • Finishing
Most Important Personal Attributes:
• Persistence
• Patience
• Obsessions about not admitting the wood gets the better of you
Did someone notice the use of the word redesign there? Apparently that's a synonym for "there is no such thing as a disaster" only for an opportunity to "redesign"
Design trends
Utilitarian – formerly the domain of production turners
• Bowls
• Platters
• Dishes
• Furniture components eg chair legs
Decorative
• Christmas/festive decorations
• “Trinkets”
Artistic
• Segmented items
• Additional materials eg metals, resin
• Pens
• Multi axial
“Super” arty
• Multiple materials
• Multiple skills
• Incredible imagination
So woodturning is never easy to do and has its hazards. Ken was a few seconds away from finishing this item 
when it decided to split on him. For the generally squeamish we will not publish a picture of the injury he received and it was significant. Needless to say it hasn't stopped him and he even went so far as to repair it in a unique manner using epoxy. This goes back to the comment on redesign!
The repaired item 
Seems like woodturning and creating items from wood can become quite a fanatical endeavour - Ken went so far as to make 7 chess bo0ards and pieces for his grandchildren.
Ken gave us a final presentation of a number of his pieces and one can see why this hobby is cathartic when one sees the beauty that comes from working with wood. Thanks Ken, perhaps when I eventually retire I might take it up! or perhaps not!