How do you interest your wife in woodturning?

Hi Tom, Probably the same way that she got you interested in her interests and hobbies. IMHO, some things are best left alone to progress or not.

More to your question, you could sell a turning and give her the money to buy something she wants but hesitates to buy or you could buy it for her. That ought to excite her interest in helping to make your work sell for more. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

The quickest (not necessarily the cheapest) way would be to find a woman who likes woodturning and MARRY her......:-)

I dragged my wife to the New York Scroll Saw picnic this summer. I had to take her to her favorite out of the way craft store first, but it was not that far off this path, so that wasn't too difficult. There were two Jet mini-lathes being shown off, one turning Christmas ornaments, the other making bowls and plates. She ended up buying a pine salad bowl and that operator gave her an unfinished cherry saucer that fit under it very nicely. Now she wants me to run out and buy a lathe so I can make her some more. She made sure to get the info from the booth that had all of the hardwood blocks. She also wants me to use it to make some crochet hooks, since her favorite hook maker retired a while back and she needs some new ones.

Bob McConnell N2SPP

This is a slippery slope... one guy in my club got his wife interested. All of the sudden the Jet Midi wasn't enough and they got a One Way. The wife has taken it over and the guy has to wait his turn. ;~) The wife comes to all of our meetings and to guest speaker presentations... she seems to be into it more than he is!

As another poster suggested, if that's what you want perhaps you have to marry the right one... this is the second go around for both of them and they get along tremendously to the point where others are envious.

John

"T. Dougall" wrote: (clip) So my question is how do you guys get your better halves interested in what you are doing on the lathe? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I've been married 57 years, so maybe my advice is worth something. My wife and I have many common interests, which we enjoy together. We also have our individual interests, which we enjoy separately. I think your wife has made it clear that woodturning does not excite her. Be happy if she admires YOUR work--that's probably as far as you can take it.

Sounds like our deal. I don't sew, she doesn't turn, both do shows together.

Women sew, I can't even mend straight....

Two things: one, which has already been said, you probably can't interest someone in something they aren't interested in. More importantly, YOU probably can't interest your spouse in something YOU'RE interested in. Like teaching a wife to drive. uh, uh.

Secondly, I'm aware of at least a couple of spouses who accompanied their partner to woodworking get-togethers where lathe demoing was done, and the spouse was put in the hands of an experienced turner while the partner walked away and let the other turner work his/her magic. I'm not sure which is more expensive: a divorce, or a second turner in the household.

WoodCentral, my alternate home (as well as a few other wreckers), has several folks who host such gatherings. There's one coming up in Indy in a couple of weeks, and turning will be a large part of it. I went to the Indy one about 3½ years ago, and there were at least a half dozen lathes in use (including a Stubby, but don't expect that this year).

My guess is that spouses are either interested or not.. and it can't be forced... Maybe the best you're going to get is that she likes some of your stuff enough to display it in the house..

I guess I'm pretty lucky because my wife not only is very involved in my turning, but likes to spend time in the shop.. We both love wood and when I tried turning a chunk of firewood into a bowl after reading Derrel's page, she loved it.. (she had no idea that I'd been turning for years)

Things progressed pretty fast after that... a jet mini for Christmas, help 6 months later shopping for the jet 1442, encouraging me to spend money for more and better tools, etc...

She does the wood burning on all the stuff, from my name and the year to designs and highlights... and also has a really good eye for little shape details and is willing to come out in the shop when I need advise... Mac

Sewing is not that tough, George... think of the sewing machine as a band saw..

My wife helped me make a couple of shop aprons and I actually found myself enjoying running the machine... I didn't do it well, but it was interesting..

Mac

My shed is my only place where i can have personal R & R, inviting he

into your last retreat could be fatal. You would only be left with th dog house to hide in :-) If she's not interested best left alone. Mar

Read the last line quickly, and out loud.

Be very careful. She thinks my shop is too dirty and crowded. So now she has her own building, lathe, grinder, bandsaw, tools, supplies, drill press, wood, chainsaw, DC, vacuum, etc. Two admissions to symposiums. VERY EXPENSIVE!! However after 39 years I'll keep her. No, she does not have a sister.

Bill in WNC mountains

Tom, you gotta think this one through - if you teach your wife to turn, you won't get too, all your prime wood will disappear, and you'll be stuck clean up sawdust and doing dishes. Is that *really* what you want?

...Kevin

But Will she keep YOU?

Huh?? I know it's Monday morning, but I guess that went over my head??

Mac

O.K guys enough. I just wanted to have something else we could do together, but thinking about all you have said maybe best leave well alone. At least I don't have to share my lathe or wood or tools now, do I? Anyway after fifty one years of marriage I don't really need to see more of her.

Tom

one thought...

I enjoy making things.

My wife enjoys try> O.K guys enough.

Old joke. Mend straight = menstruate. More or less distinguishes us from the women.