November’s Monthly Meeting – Demonstration by Mike Taylor

What a great evening we had for our final demonstration of 2025! We were pleased to welcome Mike Taylor to the club for his first demonstration at Burcot, and it was not an evening to be missed.

After 30 years working in the steel industry, Mike took the decision to change his career and purchased his own woodland in Shropshire. Since 2010 he has been working to restore the neglected woodland, and coppices a different area each year.

As a result, Mike has a plentiful supply of “green” wood which he uses to turn and produce a number of items. Whilst he uses a powered lathe, the majority of his turning is carried out on a traditional pole lathe, which he brought along to the club for his demonstration.

Starting with a piece of Ash that was only cut a week ago, Mike talked the packed hall through the process of preparing and then turning a piece of green wood.

There was plenty to learn, and Mike was happy to answer questions from the audience about using “green” wood, and how to stop it from cracking when it dried.

Mike shared experience, hints, and tips for members wanting to turn “green” wood in their own workshops.

As the pole lathe was new to a large portion of the audience, especially our newer members, Mike explained to everyone the differences between how you turn on a normal lathe to how you turn on a pole lathe. He also explained about the differences between the tools that are used on each lathe.

Mike’s demonstration was very informative, and he extended an invitation to the club to visit his woodland and have a guided tour – something that a number of members expressed an interest in so we will see if something can be arranged. In the meantime, we will see if we can have the club Pole Lathe set up at our next Hands On evening in March next year for members to try their hand on. Watch this space!!

Here are just a few more photographs from the evening, including some of Mike’s work: