After seeing pens in a woodworking store in Port Townsend I said to my wife “I could make that!” Years later I wandered into a store and discovered pen kits and asked how to make them. The owner gave me a three minute lesson and after purchasing the needed extras for the lathe I began my current wood turning adventures.

The real turning point was Eric giving me a rough turned Madrone burl bowl. That was so exciting to turn. Dave Schweitzer noticed my excitement and asked me to come and see him. He had no idea what he was in for. After a long day at Dave’s he finally got rid of me after six in the evening. This began a marathon of turning wet wood and learning and practicing the techniques that had been shown. Two hundred rough turned bowls later there were signs of hope in my finished bowls.

Back to Dave’s and now hollow forms started popping up at home. A day with Roy Lane helped that experience as well. So much to learn and so little time, with lots of practice happiness ensued. Urns, baby rattles and vases appeared, some with dyed and some natural finishes.

The many demonstrators at our club and others continued to teach techniques that were new to me. With practice these new methods became easier to use and enabled me to produce better results.

Dale has taught woodturning classes at John C. Campbell Folk School and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. He has been a demonstrator at five AAW Symposiums, eight regional symposia, and numerous local chapters, as well as international events in England and Israel. He has written articles about wood and woodturning in American Woodturner, World of Wood, Woodworker West, Woodturning Design, and L’echo des Copeaux (AFTAB France).

He currently serves on the board of the Larch Mountain Country Artisans and the Board of Advisors of the AAW. In 2019, Dale was named an AAW Honorary Lifetime Member. He served on the Board of Directors of the AAW from 2009 through 2014 as Symposium chair and three years as President. He is a past president of the Northwest Chapter of the International Wood Collectors Society and a founding member and twice past president of the Cascade Woodturners in Portland, Oregon.

The Inland Northwest Woodturners are meeting October 6th at Ferris High School. Eric Lofstrom will present “Fitted Lid Boxes”.

The Northwest Woodturners in Beaverton, Oregon will be meeting on October 6th. Jason Goodrich will demonstrate Sea Urchins.

The Seattle Woodturners are meeting in person on October 13th. This meeting will feature a mini-symposium.

The Willamette Valley Woodturners in Salem, Oregon will be meeting at the Salem Center 50+ on October 13th. Tom Willing will demonstrate turning spheres.

The Oregon Coast Woodturners are meeting on October 15th in Newport. Kirk DeHeer will discuss demystifying cuts and catches. This is a comprehensive discussion of spindle turning tools and their catches.

The Northwest Washington Woodturners will be meeting on October 20th. Jay Shepard will be demonstrating finishes and coloring wood.

The Strait Turners in Sequim will meet on October 15th at the Gardiner Community Center and on Zoom. Brad Stave, President of the Olympic Peninsula chapter will be the demonstrator .

The Cascade Woodturners in Portland, OR are meeting at the Wild Apricot Center on October 20th. Darcy Tataryn will be the demonstrator.

The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island is meeting in person and remotely on October 22nd. The program for the evening has not yet been announced.

The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners will be meeting virtually and in person on October 26th. Roberto Ferrer will demonstrate using had tools for embellishment.

The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild in Vancouver, B.C. are meeting at Sapperton Hall on October 27th. Cathy Friesen will demonstrate Cremation Urns.

• Jeff Marshall on Beginning Turning;

   

   

   

   

• Dan Stromstad on boiling wood to reduce cracking;

   

   

   

• John Howard selling at the club store;

   

   

   

   

• Pat McCart showing sharpening;

   

   

   

   

• Mike Poirier showing how to mount a bowl blank to a faceplate and chuck;

   

   

   

• Doug Reynolds showing wrapping a tool handle with hockey tape (bring a tool or handle);

   

   

   

• Dave Best showing texturing and carving;

   

   

   

   

• Jimmie Allen selling his D-Way and BoxMaster tools (he’ll have blems available for cash or check);

   

   

   

• and Members with good used tools.

An exciting time for all. Stay healthy, stay safe and happy turning.

You can see all the displays, chat with friends, talk and ask questions, buy cool stuff, win the raffle….everything that’s social and fun, and no demos.

Only $25 registration fee for five or more hours of Zoom programming. Visit MAWTS.com and sign up today.

The Inland Northwest Woodturners are meeting September 1st at Ferris High School. Ron LaRue will be demonstrating Christmas Ornaments.

The Northwest Woodturners in Beaverton, Oregon are holding their next meeting virtually on September 1st. John Beechwood will be demonstrating Yarn Bowls. He will share his techniques and design options. Yarn bowls are small and easily done on any size lathe. A variety of design options that make them easier or harder to make. Pick a design for your skill level.

The Seattle Woodturners are meeting virtually and in person on September 8th. Eric Lofstrom will demonstrate surface treatments.

The Willamette Valley Woodturners in Salem, Oregon will be meeting virtually on September 8th. Kathleen Duncan will demonstrate Thin, Pierced Turnings.

The Northwest Washington Woodturners will be meeting on September 15th. John Beaver will be demonstrating his wave bowl.

The Cascade Woodturners in Portland, OR are meeting virtually on September 15th. They will be holding their annual auction live at the Wild Lilac Center.

The Strait Turners in Sequim will meet virtually on September 17th. Jim Leary will be demonstrating how to turn Christmas Ornaments.

The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild in Vancouver, B.C. are meeting virtually on September 22th. Scott Morgon demonstrates a shafted Crush Grind pepper mill.

The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island is meeting remotely on September 24th. Craig Timmerman will offer a remote demonstration on turning a Torus Vase.

The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners will be meeting virtually and in person on September 24th. Dale Larson will demonstrate from Tree to Bowl

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In the winter of my eighth grade I made a 7 ft hydroplane that used a 10 hp motor. Our winters in Minnesota could start in October and end in March or April so it gave me projects to do. The next winter I built a 12 ft sailboat from 1 page plan out of Boys Life magazine. These projects taught me how to work with bending wood and fiberglassing among many other new skills I was exposed to.

When I got married I suggested to my wife that we could spend the wedding gift money on power tools and I could make things for the house. She said OK!!! The first thing I made was a drop leaf end table. We still have it in our living room. When I finished it I could count 11 or more mistakes. No one ever noticed any of them. I think it taught me not to be too hard on myself.

I became interested in woodturning in the late 1980’s when we gave my wife’s stepdad Dale Nish’s book Creative Woodturning. It was a little used when he opened the gift on Christmas Day. My mind was opened up to the possibilities a lathe had. I’ve never looked back. After a while I became interested in doing changes to the surface of the turned object. Some of these changes are quick and some take lots of extra hours. This will be a pursuit the rest of my life. I have only scratched the surface with the things I have tried. I’m sure I will die with ideas still bouncing around in my head I never got to. You are only limited by your imagination.

Fred began woodturning over 20 years ago by learning pen turning at the Puyallup Fair during a demo there, attended many pen turning demos at Rockler by David Morrison, bought my first lathe and the rest is history. I became addicted to the craft as so many of us do. Fred is now a proud owner of 5 lathes in 3 locations.

Fred has been a member of South Puget Sound Woodturners for at least 15 years, served as the board Secretary for 5 years and now as the club President. He will be demonstrating pen turning from start to finish at the July meeting. He will also attempt to demonstrate laser engraving using a small desktop laser engraver. He will be happy to entertain questions and offer solutions for those of you who are struggling with the fine art of turning writing pens using the wood lathe.