Woodworkers’ Club Offers Good Model
How does a person get started with easy woodworking? Often times, it is alone. But it does not have to be that way. A woodworkers’ club at a retirement community in Florida offers a great group environment to novice and experienced woodworkers.
The Villages, an upscale retirement community in Central Florida, offers a woodworking club and workshop on its grounds to residents. It has attracted about seven hundred fifty members. The reasons for that include the variety of activities offered, group interaction, and access to equipment. Some of the activities include charity projects, different types of woodworking classes, wood turning groups, and wood carving groups. Members can also benefit from the experience of all the other members in getting their projects done. They also have access to all of the club’s woodworking equipment that they do not have to buy for themselves.
One member who personally benefited from the woodworkers’ club is Jack Tagye. He had no woodworking experience when he first joined four years ago. He first had to get certified by taking safety and equipment classes. Then, his first project was an armoire for his daughter. It was an ambitious project for a beginner, but he had the benefit of help from all the other members. With their help, he finished it in about three months. He credits the club for the success of the project and values the camaraderie of the group.
Another member who found a love of woodworking through the club is Joan Nichols. She initially got involved to help make wooden toys for children as one of the club’s special charity projects. But that activity led her to take classes in chip carving and intarsia. Now she is at the workshop three times a week. She credits the variety of things to learn for her interest.
The Villages’ woodworkers’ club in Florida is a group that gives a community experience of woodworking. Perhaps others can take the model of this retirement community and create their own woodworking clubs in different places.
