I've always been impatient which is why I think wood turning suits me.

I can mount a piece of wood on my lathe and within a relatively short time I can have a finished piece...well, that's the theory. 

I started turning more than 20 years ago when I owned a gallery, framing & restoration business with my wife on the Isle of Wight. It was an ideal opportunity for me to develop the skills required to turn pieces which were good enough to sell in the gallery.

I co-founded the Isle of Wight Wood Turners Club and we had regular meetings with guest turners doing demonstrations every month. I started doing some demonstrations myself to save the club money and these demonstrations intensified my learning curve. The club is still going strong and I left the island and moved back to Scotland where I had bought some land and built a house. Wood turning took a back seat as I concentrated on the build but eventually I was able to get back to it and now have all the time I need to concentrate on turning.