Benjamin Franklin received only room and board as an apprentice printer. By his late 30's he was wealthy. A person can not earn their own way in woodturning as a beginner. Skill takes time to develop. No turner wants to have losses by bringing on a helper, so they cannot afford to train people. Mike Mahoney has people who do his sanding. If he could get people at a lower wage, he could train full apprentices with a range of skills.
We have minimum wage in this country to prevent passing on skills through all but formal union apprenticeships. It also serves to send work to foreign countries who have no minimum wage. It also prevents people from being paid what they are worth. In our state, Washington, minimum wage is $7.16/hour. So, rather than pay a beginning restaurant worker 5.16 and hour and an experienced one who is twice as fast and ambitious 9.16, we pay everyone 7.16.