Eugene trained as a Woodwork teacher in England in the early 70’s and worked in inner-city Salford and later in Bishop’s Stortford, Herts before moving back to Northern Ireland to teach Technology and Design. His interests at this time remained in woodworking, especially wooden toys for his two sons, and it was a chance encounter in 2000 at a Sorby demo day at the Wood Shed in Templepatrick that led to him joining the Ulster Chapter of the Irish Woodturners’ Guild (IWG). From 2005 to 2016 he served on the National Executive Committee of the IWG as Secretary and Vice-Chair.
His first demonstrations were for the Ulster Chapter and the Wood Shed in 2006. He has completed over 80 demos at this venue and, to date, has never repeated any demo. He has also demonstrated at the IWG National Seminar, some local Seminars and in many of the Chapters in Ireland as well as a number of Clubs in the North of England and Scotland.
Eugene likes to use his demonstrations to teach and inspire the audience to try something that little bit different in their woodturning journey. Since his retirement in 2005 he has taught in Senior Citizens Clubs, Youth Clubs, Men’s Shed and art venues. Since 2011 he has been the Woodturning tutor for Beginner’s and Improver’s Courses at the Wood Shed and has taught all ages and abilities including many disabled men and women.
Presentations
1 Oil lamp – tri-corner turning from a cube
2 Easy hollow forms – a potpourri bowl
3 Multi-axis turning – bowl with handles
Masterclass – tri-corner turning
Different ways to set up on the lathe
How to create different shapes from the cube