South Puget Sound Woodturners https://spswoodturners.org Learning about Turning Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:36:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://spswoodturners.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SPSW_Logo-73x75.jpg South Puget Sound Woodturners https://spswoodturners.org 32 32 October Demonstrator – Dennis Craughan https://spswoodturners.org/october-demonstrator-dennis-craughan Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:31:14 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=20443 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 Wood Shop.

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 https://spswoodturners.org/september-meeting-mini-symposium-3 Wed, 09 Sep 2026 02:44:03 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=19737 SPSW Chapter Stations:

  • John HowardJohn 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 https://spswoodturners.org/august-membership-meeting-4 Tue, 18 Aug 2026 01:31:45 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=19663 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 https://spswoodturners.org/latest-demo-videos Sun, 26 Jul 2026 21:12:12 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=19514 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 https://spswoodturners.org/2026-fair-demonstrators Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:55:35 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=19475 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 https://spswoodturners.org/july-membership-meeting-devin-garlick Wed, 08 Jul 2026 04:31:10 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=19319 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.

    ]]>         June Membership Meeting – Kathleen Duncan https://spswoodturners.org/june-membership-meeting-kathleen-duncan Wed, 17 Jun 2026 19:51:17 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=19143 Kathleen DuncanWe are pleased to welcome Kathleen Duncan back to share her experience, skills and knowledge with us on June 18th. This time she will demonstrate making a Trembleur, also known as a trembler. Many of you might be scratching your head and wondering what on earth is a trembleur. Well, a trembleur is a very long, very thin spindle turning with a series of ornamental elements added in for fun along the length of the piece. In this case very long means 30” or even 42”+ if the lathe is long enough. Thin means 3/16”, 1/8” or even 1/16” in diameter between each of the ornamental elements. These whimsical turnings require focus, a few simple tricks to keep things steady, and a childlike imagination. Trembleurs fall near the difficult end and certainly at the most ridiculous end of ornate spindle turning capping the space that includes Magic Wands and Finials. All these take practice to master but are well within the potential of most turners interested in spindle turning.

    Kathleen will share what she calls “Soft Hands” needed to be successful in this endeavor. She will also discuss and demonstrate the small tools that work well for these spindle projects as well as some simple but essential jigs called “string steadies”.

    ]]>         May 2026 Membership Meeting https://spswoodturners.org/may-2026-membership-meeting Wed, 20 May 2026 20:35:32 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=18783 Ethan Green is a talented woodturner who enjoys ignoring convention when the opportunity arises. His work ranges from simple well-made small bowls to technically challenging thin-walled vessels with nicely positioned wild organic openings and features. He often seeks unique, highly contrasting wood that will highlight and be highlighted by the predetermined form he intends to make. For our May meeting Ethan will demonstrate how to turn a multi-axis lidded box.

    ]]>         A Timeless Gift https://spswoodturners.org/a-timeless-gift Sat, 09 May 2026 03:18:50 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=18598

    ]]>         April membership Meeting https://spswoodturners.org/april-membership-meeting-6 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 03:29:47 +0000 https://spswoodturners.org/?p=18378 With the joy of Spring upon us, we’re excited to once again host Elizabeth Weber as our April 16, 2026 demonstrator for her rendition of Turning and Embellishing Boxes. Returning on the 17th of April she will be teaching Exploring Colors and Textures for nine SPSW members who have signed up for an all-day workshop. Elizabeth first demonstrated for our club in April of 2024. She also visited us in January to catch Rick Rich’s demonstration of a Turmkreisel (aka – Tower Spinner).

    Born and raised in Tennessee, Elizabeth first specialized in engineering, earning an M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. In 2015 she began woodworking with her first creations including several pieces of furniture in the Arts and Crafts style, but she eventually turned to smaller objects and now specializes in bowls, spoons, and boxes. Her skills range from natural finish and simple forms to highly carved and painted forms that emulate natural motifs. She was awarded the American Association of Woodturner’s 2023 Professional Outreach Program’s Artist Showcase and teaches woodturning and carving across the country.

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