THROUGH clouds of sawdust and woodshavings, the whine of power tools and the delicious smell of camphor laurel, woodworker Larry Makin has been helping the Chinchilla Men's Shed to learn a few tricks.

The Sunshine Coast woodworker is an expert in the usage of a special kind of power tool bench, acquired by the Roma Men's Shed earlier this year.

"It's good for organisations like the Men's Shed," he said.

"In places where you have a lot of people using the machine, the tools and the settings can be changed very easily, which makes it good for people of different skill levels, even beginners.

"If you have older or disabled persons who want to do some woodwork, the fact that they're not holding the power tools means they can adjust everything easily.

"I've even had a five-year-old girl at a wood show in Adelaide, using a surfacing cutter on the bench, and she was able to move the machine back and forth and plane down a slab of timber."

The tool bench, which is available to members of the community at the Roma Men's Shed, allows the woodworker to use a power tool without holding it by hand, but by attaching the tool to a fully adjustable, sliding mechanical arm.

Men's Shed treasurer Michael Redden said he's a big fan of the bench.

"From an occupational health and safety point of view it's fantastic, your hands aren't anywhere near the moving parts of the power tool," he said.

"It's a great help for disabled woodworkers, or for gentleman who may have reduced motor skills through arthritis or Parkinson's, or even people who have never done any woodworking before."

Anyone wishing to try their hand at the woodworking craft, whether with power tools or woodturning lathe, can go to the Roma Men's Shed from 9am-3pm Mondays and Thursdays, or Tuesdays from 3-7.30pm.