Beyond Tools to host free woodturning demo and educator open morning

When a turner wants to know whether a deep-hollowing rig will earn its keep, the best answer is still to watch it run, ask the demonstrator and compare the setup against your own shop. That was the draw at Beyond Tools’ free woodturning demo and educator open morning at 23 Exhibition Drive in Malaga, Western Australia, where Kevin Luff spent Saturday morning, May 30, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm doing live demonstrations and taking questions.

Beyond Tools framed the morning as a practical stop for educators, woodworking enthusiasts, makers, tradespeople, school workshop coordinators and DIY users, and the shop leaned hard into the hands-on value. Luff was set to cover safe woodturning techniques, woodturning chisels and tool selection, lathe setup, practical tips, beginner and intermediate turning advice and project guidance, with recommendations aimed at schools, workshops and hobbyists. For anyone sorting out a first classroom lathe, replacing a worn gouge or deciding which chisel profile actually suits a project, that kind of in-person advice was the whole point.

The event also doubled as a launch showcase for the new SENIX power tool and outdoor equipment range. Beyond Tools said the morning gave visitors a chance to talk through the turning side of the shop while also seeing the broader SENIX lineup, which includes cordless and gas-powered tools. The store said it stocks SENIX for local pickup in Malaga and Australia-wide delivery, and the timing gave attendees a direct look at how a showroom can link specialist craft advice with a wider workshop-tool range.

The setting mattered as much as the program. Beyond Tools said it has been independently owned and operated since 1986 and is based in Malaga, about 10 minutes north of Perth. That makes the showroom a convenient in-person stop for Western Australian turners who want more than a catalog description before they buy. The day also included a complimentary sausage sizzle and the start of June EOFY sale pricing, adding a retail edge to the education-first format.

Luff was a fitting demonstrator for that mix of practical shop talk and technique. He appears in Woodturners Association of Western Australia profile listings and Collaboration WA materials, and an Old Masters profile described him as a 73-year-old master woodworker and turner working from a workshop near Fremantle. In a 2016 Woodturners Association note about one of his demonstrations, Luff compared different deep-hollowing tools, laid out the pros and cons and stressed that effective use of some carbide-based tools takes practice. For turners walking into Malaga looking for answers they could use at the lathe the same afternoon, that was the real value of the morning.