A New Woodturning Lathe is Donated to DT

A very big ‘Thank You’ to Elizabeth A-S’s parents for their wonderful donation of a Charnwood W824 Variable Speed Midi Woodturning Lathe to the DT Department. 

Mr Anderton and Miss Snart made the donation in the same term as STEM Fest and in the same month that a Hazlegrove Year 8 girl got the first DT Scholarship moving on to Senior School. This machine is a midi-size lathe with a digital manual speed-adjuster, which means that it can be used by a wider range of pupils in addition to our pre-historic graduate union lathe. The machine is more accessible to prep-age pupils and can be integrated into the DT curriculum more readily.

Woodturning is a fantastic skill for children to have and while it is a very traditional skill, it is extremely rewarding. It is a process of shaping and forming wood using handheld tools while the machine turns the wood at high speed. Pieces made by pupils using a woodturning lathe usually become highly regarded legacy pieces such as fruit bowls. It is an extremely cathartic and relaxing process that also helps to develop children’s aesthetic assessment and critique. Children will be able to turn wood into beautiful projects and pieces with this machine, and develop an appreciation of the different types of wood.

Lathes are used frequently throughout the Engineering industry and this is a transferable skill to metal turning and Computerised Numerical Control (CNC) lathes found in industry. Mr Anderton and Miss Snart are very passionate supporters of DT and see that preparing the future generation of Engineers is vital to our country and economies growth.

Thank you Mr Anderton and Miss Snart!

Mrs Barton