Since I wrote Turning Wood in the early 1980s, the craft of woodturning has undergone a reformation. And that was after it developed in leaps and bounds in the very late '70s. In the early to mid-'70s, it was difficult to find another woodturner, and the range of tools and equipment available was extremely limited. Today there are numerous woodturning clubs all over North America, Europe, and Australasia as well as a number of national associations. Woodturning symposiums run by clubs and associations have disseminated information, while specialist woodturners' stores offer a bewildering array of stuff pertaining to the lathe. New chucks make life a whole lot easier, and lathes are better than ever. And while most turners are content to make a fairly conservative range of traditional forms and objects, others are not. Some are determined to get their turnings accepted as serious works of art that will make their way into art galleries and into the hands of woodturning collectors, who in turn (so to speak) have their own association.

The craft is now a long way from its mass-production origins.