Turning it on for a turnout

Bendigo Woodturners members will return to Seymour to present their fine craft at this year’s expo.

Convener John Phillips said the exhibition was always quite popular.

“We’ll be doing some woodturning demonstrations for everyone as well as cross-sawing,” John said. Among the products on display will be wall clocks, wooden toys, bowls and a range of pens.

“There will be a few dinky items for the kids as well,” John said.

The club will also be selling tickets for its annual Easter raffle and one of the prizes — a butcher’s block — will be on display.

The club produces pieces from a range of woods, including red gum, spotted gum and ironbark among the native trees, as well as the popular silky oak from Queensland, which grows well in southern states.

“There is quite a lot of different woods suitable for woodturning, including elm, bull oak and all of the box gums,” John said.

One highlight that visitors look forward to is Geoff Maxwell, who makes a chain of individual links from a single piece of wood with a small knife and drill.

“He’s what we call a carver, but the more common term is whittler; he always attracts a lot of attention,” John said.