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October Demonstrator – Dennis Craughan
Dennis Craughan is truly a creative wonder and meticulous woodturner / craftsman / artist! All of us, as members of South Puget Sound Woodturners, are fortunate Dennis is an active, contributing and valuable member of our chapter. Many of his creations are in a genre all their own. Over the last year or so, I have come to know Dennis as a kind, giving and knowledgeable woodturner. His willingness to share his knowledge and journey is evident by his on-line presence at OPA’s Wood Shop – YouTube as well as in his willingness to take on the SPSW mini-symposium demonstrator role for sharpening. His on-line store is Opa’s woodshop (opaswoodshop.com).
I should also mention Dennis’s work has won awards at both the King County Fair and the Washington State Fair.
In preparation for our September mini-symposium last month, I shared with Dennis that some of our members may benefit from a run-through of setting-up a sharpening station. Without hesitation he agreed to include a step-by-step set-up at his station. He also responded to our call to expand the pool of SPSW member demonstrators. Thus, for our October 15, 2026 demonstration, Dennis will be demonstrating a segmented, threecorner, lidded box.
Ed White
SPSW Program Director
September Meeting – Mini Symposium
SPSW Chapter Stations:
John Howard and team will have the club store open
Devin Garlick and team will be hosting wood sales;
Brandi Lowrance will be signing up new members and answering your membership questions;
Ed White discussing member engagement;
SPSW Member Demonstrations:
Sharpening & Sharpening Station Set-up – Dennis Craughan;
Pen Turning – Gary Amerson;
Christmas Ornaments – Jim Robson;
LOGO engraving with X Tool – Joe Kubistek;
Bowtie or butterfly ~ crack repair – Kent Horton & Brian Finch;
AAW Sign-up information / sign-up drive – Kent Horton doing double duty;
August Membership Meeting
For our August guest demonstrator, we welcome back Silverdale turner, Craig Timmerman. Craig will treat us to a challenging and complex bowl form that takes a winged bowl to an extreme where the wings become arched feet. To add to the complexity, he starts with a rectangular blank; the result is an Arched Bowl. Craig will take us through all the steps from stock selection to removal of the tenon.
In addition to demonstrating and teaching at many AAW chapters, he has demonstrated at AAW Symposiums, numerous SWAT symposiums, the Utah Symposium, the North Dakota Symposium, Oregon Symposium, and the Rocky Mountain Symposium. Craig has started the Armadillo Woodworks YouTube channel and is set up to do remote, interactive demos. He is a member of the Olympic Peninsula Chapter of AAW and prior to that was a member of the Central Texas Woodturners.
Latest Demo Videos
The latest deomnstrations, Kathleen Duncan with Trembleurs and Devin Garlick with Wood Harvest for Interesting Figure, are now up in the members area under Demonstrator Videos.
2026 Fair Demonstrators
Our chapter is once again giving demonstrations at the Washington State Fair. Our coordinator for this year is Ramon Lyn. Volunteers get 2 Fair admissions and free parking. If you would like to join us for demonstrating you can sign up here.
July Membership Meeting – Devin Garlick
Our July demonstrator will be none other than our own Devin Garlick who is currently in his first year leading our chapter’s Wood Rats Team. Devin’s presentation will be Optimal Wood Harvest for Interesting Figure. During Devin’s demonstration he will guide our members using his woodturner’s eye as he presents various tree features that yield desirable and interesting figure. Are you able to see the bowl or vase inside the turning blank or even the freshly cut log? Devin can. He will share his knowledge and experience for seeing the figure inside the tree solely based on what can be observed on the outside of the tree. Knowing the tree species is also useful for predicting the appearance of the grain and other characteristics. And with our annual picnic and wood auctions later this month you won’t want to miss this informative demonstration.
