Written by Allan Whiffin for Chelmer Valley Woodturners in July 2021

Turn Turn and Turn again (with apologies to the Byrds) 

My first experience of turning was in 1967, during my 6th form at Hornchurch Grammar, I was allowed to have extra periods in the woodworking room, as due to my asthma I could not take part in games. Dai, the wood work master, suggested I had a go at wood turning, the lathe was the standard equipment then, a Union Graduate, with outboard bowl turning. I can’t remember at all what chisels I used, and seemed to be doing ok, until turning a bowl from a piece of cherry, the wood split it two and half flew across the room, hitting the wall opposite, which was somewhat lucky, as had it flown it the opposite direction, it would have gone through the window I was turning beside, after that Dai decided there were other things he could find me to do. 

We bought a house in 1973-married in 1974-only to find our edwardian mid-terrace needed a lot more work than first realised, a lot of the problems had been caused by the previous owner who hadn’t got a clue, where he had rewired the ring main he had used 1.5 twin and earth-lighting cable-instead of 2.5 twin and earth this was only the start of our problems. But fast forward to about 1978, felt the need for a proper shed, a need which was fortunately supported by my wife-she of infinite patience - those of you that remember Moulsham Street at that time will remember Nicks DIY opposite the petrol station on the corner of St Johns Road and Nursery Road-we lived in Nursery road, having spent so much time rebuilding our house the owner of Nicks and I had become friends, I noticed he had four 7 foot by 7 foot cedar garage doors beside the shop, I asked if they were for sale, and they became mine for the princely sum of £16.00, so the first shed became 14 x 7, the roof and front and framework coming from a building being demolished in Brentwood, and transported in and on the roof of my singer vogue estate. 

Then in the Essex Chronicle, in the for sale ads, was an advert for a small hobby lathe, I immediately rang up and went round to see it, not being sure what I expected. Well the base was a singer being machine base, the bed was angle iron, and the 3 wheel pulley block was made of wood, the headstock and tailstock seemed ok to my very inexperienced eye, so the deal was done. I proudly set it up in my new workshop - too good to be called a shed, the lathe had come with a few chisels so I set to work, oh dear I was HOOKED. 

Over a period of time I replaced the wood pulley block with an aluminium one from picador-remember them? The bed being replaced by heavier duty angle iron. During this period I don’t remember there being tuition being available, the first book I found on woodturning, was by Fred Pain, whilst the book was a good starting off point, I have long remembered the comment Fred made “I can assure the reader there is absolutely no danger from wood dust” times were certainly different then. Then I had a breakthrough in a book shop in the Cotswolds; I found a copy of “The Craftsman Woodturner” by Peter Child. I spent a long time with that book open at the back of the lathe following the text and pictures. Chisels were of course all carbon steel, and sharpening was all by hand without any jigs, I made my first sharpening “centre” this was an upright picador stand with a “naked” grindstone, and I made a metal fitting at the front, which I could raise and lower, and angle, good job health and safety never saw it!! 

Then in 1980, the decision was made to upgrade the lathe, loads of research took place, I narrowed it down to a Myford 8 or the Coronet Elf, the decision was made, the Elf. The Myford bowl turning was outboard, whereas the Elf had a swivel head, and with a still small workshop it would fit in nicely. So off to the Woodworking Show at Agricultural Hall, the morning we set off for the station, my wife suddenly said, ‘I think I better tell you I think I am pregnant’, my response was, ‘well that’s buggered my lathe’, ‘no’ the current Mrs Whiffin replied, ‘get it today it might be your last chance for a bit’, never was a truer word spoken, and why she is still the current Mrs. Whiffin! Elf purchased. Did a deal, as on the outboard side of the elf, as standard was a grindstone, already had my sharpening set up so ordered it without grindstone, at a discount. A big step up from the previous lathe, I now had five pulley wheels to play with. Much to my surprise, I had a phone call from a friend of a friend who wanted to buy my first lathe - result.

About this time, high speed tools made an appearance, and I have vivid memories of buying my first high speed gouge, a Henry Taylor Superflute bowl gouge. From memory this was a radical departure from what had been produced before and received rave reviews from the then woodturning magazines, certainly with the size of it, it was a bit of a problem bringing it home on the train. I must give a name check here, Alan Holtham, Alan was, then a younger great woodturner, and at that time had a shop. I can’t remember where it was, but I had met Alan at some of the woodworking shows, and when I encounter problems - that was fairly often. He was happy to take a phone call and was helpfulness itself, I still have some of the chisels I purchased from him - Alan thank you for your time and patience, to what must have been, when you were trying to run a shop, a pain in the butt! 

In 1982 we moved from our mid-terrace to a 1930’s 3 bedroom semi still in Old Moulsham, I dismantled the workshop and we took it with us, bit of a result as there was already a concrete base at the bottom of the garden, another shed, and a garage - heaven. Much of the timber you could purchase in those days was mostly mahogany type wood, with beech and elm being a lighter coloured alternative, there were not the blank supplies then that we have now, I can remember haunting timber yards for their end of board offcuts. 

As a family we often took the children to Maldon, then much to my pleasure, at the bottom of the High Street, opposite to what is now the Promenade car park entrance, I found a private house that sold timber from the garage on a Sunday. My prize buy was a two and a half foot by 15 inches by 2 inches piece of french walnut, I think I paid £2.50, a piece of it is the large platter in the photograph. 

Then in 1985 we had a family nightmare, our middle son, Jonathan, who was then three and a half, was diagnosed with duchenne muscular dystrophy, and we were told not to expect him to live past 14. As you can imagine this turned the entire family’s thoughts for the future completely upside down, and turning became sidelined as we decided to hit life with a large sledge hammer and cram in as many life experiences as we could in the time we had. By this time we had another son, so life was an interesting balancing act! I was still going down to the workshop of an evening to do some turning, one of the beauties of turning is that you can turn for 10 minutes or 4 hours, and leave what you have turned, and come back to it when you want. I also found that it helped to take my mind off the problems we could see that were going to beset the family. We had then to face up to the fact that Jonathan would be in a wheelchair and it soon became apparent that we were going to need some major building works at the house. Unfortunately because we couldn’t provide their off street parking spaces, no form of planning permission would be forthcoming. Luckily this turned out to be a blessing in disguise and we decided the only way forward was to move. So in 1990 we moved to a detached dormer bungalow in a cul de sac in Great Baddow. I left the old workshop behind as in the garden was a 16 foot by 7 foot shed which was immediately earmarked as the new workshop - no the lawnmower was not going to go in it! I ran an armoured cable to the new workshop, fitted a consumer unit and wired it out - heaven - and set up the lathe and looked through the tool catalogues to find other kit to fill the workshop. In 1991 we had an extension built which gave Jonathan a purpose built bedroom and bathroom, complete with overhead hoists, which made life a bit easier especially for Denise my wife. 

Some else also occurred that year, I have a life long passion for shooting muzzle loading rifles and muskets, and had been a long time member of the Muzzle Loading Association of Great Britain, and had been regularly been taking part in the national competitions. I was then offered a place in the Great Britain International Team to shoot in Victoria, Spain, that year. I couldn’t say ‘yes’ quick enough. For the next few years, I carried on shooting internationally and with Jonathan's continued deterioration, plus work was demanding more hours from me, unfortunately my turning took a very back seat. Then in 2002 our son Jonathan died, the next 2 years were very difficult as how he died was particularly painful, not only for him but all the family that were with him, when we had to make the decision to turn off his life support. I don’t think I hardly went into the workshop over that 2 years, as the immediate and extended family was all too busy trying to support each other. 

Then several things happened, I suddenly found I had field mice in my workshop - not good. My wife suggested I get a new workshop - which had my total agreement, and suddenly out of the blue I was left some money, which meant I could upgrade what I could have built. I was recommended to a firm in Goats Lane off Potash Road Billericay. The outcome was a 20 foot X 10 foot workshop, with double glazed windows, and insulated walls, floor and roof, with the apex roof giving me storage for longer lengths of timber. I must admit that this was just the tonic/boost I needed and with the shed built, I needed to upgrade the equipment. We still had the Renault Traffic van we had had converted for wheelchair use, so off I went to the D & M show at Kempton Park. I was like a small child in a sweet shop. The good thing was I could try the different machines and make my choice, all of the companies I purchased from had the items I wanted in containers in the car park at the back of the building so I drove round and had the van filled up. I had taken the original workshop down and moved it further up the garden to use as storage, meanwhile the contents of the workshop were stored in a very large tent in the garden. I thoroughly enjoyed fitting out the new workshop, it seemed enormous at first, but as the years have passed I wish I had gone for a larger size, but I suspect I would have thought that, no matter what size I had had! 

The one obvious problem was the lathe, one major problem with the Elf was the bed was a single solid round bar, with a line milled down the top in the centre, to line up the tailstock, there was a line at the back of it, not always easy, the upside was that you could just drop it down the side out of the way when bowl turning. But reading all the reviews in the woodturning magazines, electronic speed control seemed to be the way to go, I looked at several makes but for various reason they weren’t appropriate for me, then I read a review for the Nova DVR 3000, which was then imported from New Zealand by Sorby. I looked up a local stockist, and found it was a chap called Simon Hope, who had a shop in a garden centre the other side of Clacton - I honestly can’t remember exactly where it was or what Simon’s company was then called. I rang Simon, and in those days, he held a club meeting I think every Sunday or it may have been monthly - it was a long time ago. He invited me to come along, as he was then using that lathe to demonstrate on, so I went, loved the lathe, bought it, and spent a somewhat expensive time in Simon’s shop, coming away as the proud owner of a Nova chuck, things were certainly looking up. 

One reason for choosing the Nova was that as the Elf was bench mounted, and I had configured the new workshop around a bench mounted lathe, the Nova was ideal. This was all totally new, a lathe which had reverse, like the Elf, it had a swivelling headstock, and you just dialled in the speed you wanted, and a very heavy twin metal bed, plus a larger diameter “over the bed”. 

Due to always having asthma and lately COPD, I installed a large ceiling mounted extractor. I must admit to having been very surprised at how quickly the filters fill up with dust. Latterly I have also made a coupling so the floor standing extractor that I have permanently connected to the band saw can be disconnected, and the hose connected to another pipe. The other end of which had a large hood which is connected to the lathe headstock by a large circular magnet. A Powercap battery powered respirator completed my dust protection, and when I leave the workshop, I leave the overhead extractor on as the remote control allows for a “delayed turnoff”. My second name check is the previously mentioned Simon Hope, as there was a serious gap in my turning, and I went back to Simon for a lesson, and an update on current “turning thinking”. One thing that surprised me was the speed at which turning now took place - nothing wrong with it - and it makes sense, just not sure my Elf was ever made to turn at current speeds! Having developed arthritis in both hands -I  hate getting old - Simon’s handles are great, as they are consistent in diameter and with the covering, makes holding the handles a much more pleasant experience, and the double ended gouges are superb. I have also found the carbide tipped tools and his negative rake scrapers are much better than the ones I had made myself. The other advantage is that as Simon is not that far away, I can pop up to his shop rather than wait for the postman! 

When I bought the Elf over 40 years ago I don’t think there was even a stand option, the only lathe - from memory - that had a stand was the Myford 8, which is certainly not the case these days, and the choice of wood types available has expanded beyond all recognition. Another big difference is the speed of turning now. I suppose the really major advance is the metals used for the turning tools, and the advent of carbide tools. Sharpening has also undergone a major change, with slow speed grinders, diamond wheels, and the Pro Edge.

The other excellent development in turning was the advent of turning clubs. I don’t know when Chelmer Valley started, but when I was at work, by the time I got home from work, and had my dinner I didn’t fancy going out again. When I became semi-retired - I still run courses for people new to muzzleloading shooting and safety courses either at Bisley or other club around the country - I joined Chelmer Valley and the Sandon Woodturning club, both are great, both have shops - very useful, and watching professional turners is a great boost to try something different, and lots of other members you can “pester” with questions. 

Finishing, when I started, from memory, was french polish, or a wax finish. I can’t remember if there were any oil finishes, certainly nothing acrylic, and all in bottles as aerosols weren’t available either. Texturing - I don’t think-was available until the 1990’s when the arrival of - in no particular order - The Henry Taylor Elf, Robert Sorby spiralling and texturing tool, and the Crown chatter tool. Before this I had tried using the texturing tool used on metal working lathes, but the results were nothing that I wanted to share with anybody else! Well, where do I go from here, as you can see from one of the photos I thoroughly enjoy using colour, and making miniature goblets, trying to find out how small I can actually make them - definitely work in progress. I have just purchased the equipment to have a go at piecing, and pyrography, made sure I purchased the extractor to use with the pyrography equipment.

Much to my surprise, regarding shooting, I thought this would be my last year, however having just won another medal in the national competitions, I think we may review this again next year. But it is obvious that turning is going to become a bigger part of my life in the future, and long may that continue to be. One thing I forgot to mention is that I always refer to my workshop as the Wendy House - well it is where I go and play - as you will see from the photo of the end of my workshop it is adorned with various items I have picked up cheap or repurposed, this I describe as “shed art”. Also when I am “in residence” I fly a union jack, if the Queen can do it when she is in residence it is good enough for me, plus my wife, if she has been out, she can see from the kitchen where I am. Lastly - honestly - I must thank the current Mrs Whiffin for her great forbearance over the years, regarding the shavings and sawdust I have bought into the house, when I have omitted to clean myself down properly on exiting the Wendy House. 

Allan B Whiffin

With Allan being rather humble about his (and his wife’s) achievements, we asked him to expand on some areas of his great achievement in a footnote. 

Footnote

I left school in 1968 (I was 18) and went to work for a Lloyds insurance broker in Mark Lane in London, initially in the office and then out in Lloyds of London as a claims broker, and the company market. We placed the insurance for Lloyds’ syndicates and companies on their cumulative exposure to major losses, storms, oil rigs etc. After 16 years and having risen to the position of claims manager, I changed tack completely and became a claims adjuster, and headed up the claims department. I was made redundant at the age of 62, and went to work as practice manager in a friend's pharmacy. Reached 64 and declared UDI, well not quite, working in the pharmacy I was self employed, and had set up my own company. 

For some years I had been running muzzle loading courses for the National Rifle Association, now I had my “freedom” I also ran courses at clubs around the country, a great way to make lots of new friends. This is also why I can’t always attend Saturday demos, the courses are still in demand - much to my surprise - currently working with a friend who will continue to run the courses after me. This bit I wasn’t going to put in, when I shot for GB, I shot Japanese matchlock, flint musket, standing and kneeling at 50 metres and match rifle, flint rifle, and military rifle at 100 metres. The Japanese musket was always my strongest discipline, being world and European champion on two occasions as well as lesser medals, and gold team medals. I’m also pleased to report I hold, and have, for some years, hold the flint musket national record. The other thing to mention is that Denise - my wife - is the founder of the J’s Hospice. When Jonathan died, 6 weeks short of his nineteenth birthday, we had discovered that once Jonathan reached 18, we could no longer use children’s hospices, for R & R. There was nothing, as other hospice’s only catered for those at the end of their life. There were two Young Adult hospices at this time (18-40 age group) one in Oxford and one on the banks of Loch Lomond. Denise decided we needed one in Essex, and The J’s - our son Jonathan was always known as J - was launched in 2003, with full company and charitable status, with Denise as founding trustee, which for the next few years became a major part of her life, in 2013 she was award a honorary Doctor of Health Science by Anglia Ruskin University in recognition of all her work with The “J”. Whilst we never managed to have a hospice built, we became a fully functioning hospice with a medical team undertaking hospice at home, and a dedicated fund raising team, and a wheelchair “friendly” vehicle was donated. Our “clients” could be taken out on trips of their choice. The logo was a dolphin, as J always loved dolphins. Approximately 4 years ago, The J’s became the young adult section of Haven hospice to maximise joint fund raising, and so it continues today.