The high school I went to in Hobart’s inner north in the 1970s was formerly a technical college. At the time, nearly half of the school was dedicated to workshops of one trade or another. There were classrooms exclusively set up for technical drawing, workshops for woodworking and metalwork, and there was a forge shop.Some of the more privileged kids went on an interstate trip in their final year. My parents didn’t have that sort of disposable income, however they did allow me the privilege of buying the materials to make a wood lathe as my Year 10 metalwork project.
This lathe has been a constant in my life and I’ve used it for over 40 years. When I discovered chairmaking it seemed such a natural fit for me. I loved woodturning, particularly between centres, and living in regional Tasmania I had good access to fresh blackwood logs. These lend themselves well to turning chair parts and also to steambending.
Who was George Peddle?
When I first read Denis Lake’s book, it struck a
