Then

Teesside Woodturners’ Association was established in 1998. After an inaugural meeting in a Middlesbrough pub, premises were found in Darlington, then we moved back to Middlesbrough in 2000.

During the next sixteen years we had various venues in the south Middlesbrough area until we moved into our current home at Hemlington Recreation Centre in 2017.  Here we have the use of a hall considerably larger than our last one, our own exclusive storage for all our equipment and loads of car parking space.

We look forward to many happy and successful years in our new premises.

First meeting in our new home....3rd May 2017....

.....but with an average age of  60+ we will be struggling to observe this rule!!!!!

Now

Pre Covid we had over 100 members but having been shut down for 18 months our membership dropped to 73 and our average weekly attendance dropped from about 55 to 30, but we are slowly recovering.

We are not a 'teaching' organisation but we welcome everyone from complete novices to professional turners.  New starters are given a couple of hours one to one practical tuition to teach them the safety aspects of turning and the correct use and purpose of the tools, then they can attempt something on their own with plenty of assistance and advice available as required.

The third Wednesday of each month has always been Demonstration night where we have a visiting professional turner or one of our own members demonstrating an item being made on the lathe or an associated technique.  Visiting professionals are few and far between at the moment but we do our best to have up to 4 booked in for the year.  These nights are recorded and put onto a DVD for members to borrow and take home to have a go.

We have our own 'quartermaster' selling abrasives, polishes, pen kits etc. and a small wood store. We also have a large library of DVD's, from professional ones sold by the RPT turners and those recorded at our demo nights over the last 20 odd years.

For many years we have had a small team of enthusiasts who have attended local summer shows and events, demonstrating on two small lathes powered by a generator, to help promote the club in the area.

  Demo  & stand at Guisbrough Priory.................Our new gazebo at Ormesby Hall.........................and at Cleveland Show.