American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Alan Zenreich

Maybe I should use my 3D printers to create the parts to assemble a treadle lathe

agreed! and more...

GaryG in MD

Right on, Charlie.

AAW is really doing amazing new things in general, and particularly in their "2020" initiative.

Kudos to Phil and all the Directors and Volunteers for a terrific job with all their new publications and tools. This is a very thoughtful and hard working group, and they are leading the way.

I cannot think of a good reason for not being an AAW Member. ...GG

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Lyle Jamieson

It is amazing. I was demonstrating in Georgia and California last Thursday. Got great feedback and had lots of fun connecting with many clubs I would not normally be able to reach. I do a test link up next Tuesday in England.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Hugh Buttrum

As the club member who makes arrangements for the outside demonstrators to come to the club......I have a question......How much does the demonstrator charge for the demo? Without the travel days, and the lay over days.....It would be much better for the demonstrator. Do they charge less this way? Not counting the travel fees and all that.

Are all demos heading this way?

Is it going to be much different that a YouTube video? Or watching a DVD?

Thanks.

Hugh

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Alan Zenreich

Georgia and California on the same day, eh Lyle?

You're getting to be quite the cyber globe-trotter!

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

tomB

I think one of the benefits of this new technology is that it will bring in a younger group of craftsmen who will push turning to its next level

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Alan Zenreich

Hugh,

Remote demonstrations are live, two way, video conference calls.

The demonstrator can see and hear the audience, and interact with them, so it's quite different than a streamed video or a recorded video.

Fees will vary, but the main thing is that there are no travel and lodging expenses incurred. Many demonstrators never really factored in travel time into their pricing, so the base demonstration fee might not change much.

One nice thing about remote access, it the ability to do a shorter, secondary "talk back" session a month or two later, to answer questions now that some audience member have had a chance to think about, or try techniques shown in the demo. This would be impractical for a traveling demonstrator.

So, it's just a different take on demonstrations... making more demonstrators available to more audiences... a good thing for woodturning education.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Alan Zenreich

tomB,

I very much agree with you. These technologies make it easier for up and coming demonstrators to gain visibility.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Hugh Buttrum

Thanks Alan.

I realize that it is a "live" show. It will be interesting to see how the club members react to this?

I see the advantage for the clubs....no prep other that the TV setup, internet connection.

No pick up at the airport.....no wood prep.......etc.

I would miss the hosting part.....the visit during the off hours. But then I would not have to clean the house either......might work?

Lyle....do you charge the same fee?

Thanks.

Hugh

A lot of concern about 3D printed chuck parts

Dick Coers

I retired as a modelmaker from Caterpillar. I was there for the absolute start of computer 3D work, up to about 2 1/2 years ago. My concern for part holding work is the adequate fusion of layers in little table top printers. These things are glorified hot melt glue guns, and the idea of spinning a block of wood at speed, being held by layers of "plastic extrusion" frightens the hell out of me. I've seen resin 3D printed material snap like a twig. It may develop into being used in some cases, but I consider it a big safety issue for part holding.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Alan Zenreich

Hugh,

Club members have been quite happy. They like seeing a turner work in his/her own shop... lots of tips to pick up just by looking around.

Re: A lot of concern about 3D printed chuck parts

Alan Zenreich

Dick, delamination is often mitigated by considering the orientation of the layers during printing (by rotating the part to make sure the layers are printed optimally). It's much the same as orienting wood grain direction to maximize strength under load or stress.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Lyle Jamieson

Thanks for the inquiry Hugh. The fee will depend on what your club wants to do and how big the club is. But, Yes, It is a lot cheaper than paying me travel, meals and you don't have to clean up shavings. Give me a call for details.

The demo is actually better from my shop and with my tools, and my camera system. You can see up close and personal every move and actually hear what is going on.

The live remote demos will never take the place of Hands-On workshops, but you could not afford, or you would never pay the costs, for me to come to your club for a 2-3 hour demo. I don't get out to California much. But I had a great time last Thursday, demonstrating with the Red Coast Turning club. Ask them what they think. So this might be the way of the future for clubs to have big name instructors periodically.

Much Much different than YouTube or DVDs - - -ITS LIVE!! - - -. I see you, you see me, I hear you, you hear me, its interactive, just like I was standing there. I ask the group questions and you ask me questions, and we get the answers even. If I WAS standing there the participants don't come up and look over my shoulder, they look at the monitor. The people on the right side of the room can see inside a bowl, the people on the left side of the room see the outside of the bowl, so what do they do??...they look at the monitor. You don't even need a shop to hold the meeting, it could be done in a school or church basement, wherever there is a computer to the internet.

TOOOO Much Fun

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Lyle Jamieson

Younger?? Thanks Tom. I think the experience is what we need to share.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

bowlman

I'll be doing remote demos starting after the first of the year, and, I have already decided that the fee will be around $300 for any sized group, for up to 4 hours. This represents a 40-60% reduction and represents my time to load, unload, set up at the location, transportation to and lodging at the site, food, and then loading and unloading when the demo is complete, transportation and lodging for the return trip home. Plus, I offer a followup 30-45 minute Q&A session after 30 days have passed. This gives the recipients on the other end time to try things out and if they have questions/concerns, I can help answer them.

So, I too think that remote demos are another tool to enhance demonstrators' ability to reach out to turners world wide. Like Lyle, I hope to connect with turners everywhere.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Stuart Johnson

If this is an over the internet connection is it possible for some one to access the demonstration from a home pc? A reasonable fee could be charged by the hosting club and/or the demonstrator. I'm sure there wouldn't be a way to hook up a camera to ask questions but possibly have a chat feature sort of like twitch. Those of us that for one reason or another don't belong to a club could then see some live demonstrations.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Alan Zenreich

Stuart,

Yes it is possible to have multiple audience sites... it's essentially a video conference call. This would be useful for some folks who simply can't get to the club meeting venue. For example, I heard from one fellow who belongs to a club but does not attend meetings because he cannot drive at night.

One of the things I like about the remote demonstration approach is the ability to reach audiences that are not currently well served.

I am working with a few demonstrators, helping them get up to speed... hopefully this will accelerate the adoption of the approach.

Re: American Woodturning-Use of Technology

Lyle Jamieson

Alan is THE man to explain the possibilities. I do not have the capability now but it is very possible I will have it soon.

Remote demonstrations will be a boon to turners

David Walser

Ignoring the potential costs savings, remote demonstrations will be a boon for turners because we'll be able to see and learn from the demonstrator working in his or her own shop. Everything from the way the blanks are prepared and stored, the workspace is arranged, to the way work-in-progress is managed will be on display. The learning experience will be much more than "just" the project being demoed.

This new technology will also help turners benefit from demonstrators who are otherwise too far away to see. This will help cross-pollenate the turning world and spark additional creativity. Even very experienced turners can learn something new.

However, its not all good. Many very good turners have little to no technical skills. They may be shut out from demoing because in the new world you'll need to be both adept at turning and in turning your shop into a television studio. Also, while not expensive, setting yourself up to put on such a demo will require investing in new equipment and many turners might opt out of demoing for that reason. Finally, some of my best experiences when attending a demo were from chatting with the demonstrator during breaks. Those chances will be far fewer in the new world.

Still, remote demonstrations will be a boon. The art of calligraphy isn't what it once was, but I'm still glad for the printing press.

Re: Remote demonstrations will be a boon to turner

Dave Delo

Personally, I've liked the idea since I first saw Alan writing about it back a year or so ago. Even brought it up at a chapter board meeting and received a somewhat chilly reception. I agree there's a lot of upside to this type of presentation. One downside (at least for our chapter) is we usually have a spring and fall feature presentation with all day Saturday and then "hands-on" with the presenter on Sunday & Monday with 8 members who pay extra for the extra classes with the presenter for those two days. Not that it's a great money maker, we generally are lucky to break even but the hands on experience 1 on 1 with the professional turner is a real draw and we never have a problem getting the extra classes filled. Our size is about 100 dues paying members with 50-60 showing up for any months regular meeting. I see this as very positive progression for any/all chapters that want to take advantage of the technology, especially the smaller in numbers clubs.

Re: A lot of concern about 3D printed chuck parts

Dick Coers

Sorry Alan, but I just don't feel anyone should turn with those printed jaws. Too much at stake!

Re: Remote demonstrations will be a boon to turner

Lloyd in Mississauga

Maybe if the demonstrations can be done online, maybe the the hands-on sessions can under go a bit of a change as well over time.

If you can get a few of the experienced turners in the local clubs to help out and work with the remote demonstrator, you could have one be the assistance and help the instructor out during the hands-on day.

They could help carry the camera around and represent the instructor. It would be a different than now, but could still work out depending on the topics. The assistant could link up the the instructor a few days before hand online to go over the way they want the day to proceed and things that they want it cover and how.

A lot of folks would not have thought video calls would work out for demonstration until someone showed them a different way of looking at it. I think hands-on days could have a similar make over, though it would not be the primary route.

For one-on-one sessions you are hearing a bit more about people doing it over video chats, so there is some flex in that direction.

Re: Remote demonstrations will be a boon to turner

Alan Zenreich

Lloyd,

I titled my session and video "Rethinking Demonstrations" for a reason.

If it does nothing else, it has started a conversation about the various ways we can potentially improve demonstrations and make them available to more people.

So keep the ideas coming!