Wood Turners Gold Coast approves new gear for Mudgeeraba Show entries

Gold Coast woodturners have approved a fresh batch of gear with one clear target in mind: getting more finished pieces onto the tables for the Mudgeeraba Show. The newest club spending is aimed at practical shop use first, with a Longworth-style chuck, a new wood lathe drive center crown multi-tooth tool for small spindle work, fresh Forstner bits and an extension bar all set to support the run-up to the June competition.

The Longworth-style chuck has been assigned a permanent home near lathe #1, along with a full instruction sheet. The club’s own notes make the safety margins plain: do not exceed 600 rpm and keep the tailstock engaged for as long as possible while using it. The multi-tooth drive center brings its own handling rules, with the reminder that more teeth mean better grip and that it should not be hammered into the workpiece. The Forstner bits and extension bar come with the same shop-floor logic, keep the speed down and clear swarf regularly so heat does not ruin the tool or the job.

That kind of gear list matters because the Mudgeeraba Show entries are not a side project for the club. Wood Turners Gold Coast has put the competition schedule on the calendar for Thursday, June 25, 2026 and Friday, June 26, 2026, just ahead of the Mudgeeraba Agricultural Show on June 27 and 28. The show is being promoted as the 96th Mudgeeraba Show, and the society says the event has been running since 1928. Woodturners are part of the community exhibitor mix alongside woodchop, pavilion arts and crafts, poultry and livestock judging.

Gold Coast Woodturners Inc. says it is one of the oldest and largest specialist woodturning clubs in Australia, and its public work has long stretched beyond the clubroom. Demonstrations at Gold Coast Council celebrations, local government events, aged-care facilities and the Mudgeeraba and Gold Coast Shows have become part of its identity. That makes the approved equipment less like housekeeping and more like infrastructure for the club’s public face.

The 2026 show rules also bring minor changes in Categories 16, 17 and 22, covering Enhanced, Hollow form and Art, which gives members another reason to sort their entries early. The club’s entry-preparation process calls for an entry form and a clear choice of class, Beginner, Novice, Open or Art. With the judging window opening on June 25, the new gear is arriving exactly when the bench needs it most, turning fundraising, safety and competition prep into the same job.