Keith Tompkins
Hey Mike, Keeping the conversation focused on turning, think about the field in the 1970's. Although one could make a living at one time making turned parts, turning as a profession had become irrelevant...training school kids to turn was no longer a way to provide a job skill, and schools began shutting down the wood programs. Schools could train thousands of kids to become the computer experts of the future instead. Skills such as turning were dying...until the likes of David Ellsworth and John Jordan burst onto the scene. Their creativity has inspired thousands of people to take up the hobby...without them to lead the way, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. So even though they didn't reinvent the wheel, they steered it in a new direction. Progress isn't automatic; it's people like yourself that will take turning to the next level, by constantly pushing the envelope. Everything the author said was pretty much true, but he gave little to no credit to the importance of the individual, and their contributions.