Note – The following was taken from a recent AAW newsletter, but I thought it was important enough to repost it here.
“I know of a young man who uses a wheelchair who wants to learn woodturning. Can you help?”
It was a heartbreaking phone call. My lathe and shop are not wheelchair accessible, and there are no schools or instructors nearby who offer that service. This young man is not the only person whose interest in woodturning is not yet fulfilled because of lack of access to handicapped-accessible woodturning machines. Many veterans return home from Iraq and Afghanistan with disabilities. Surely many of them would love to take advantage of an opportunity to pursue woodturning.