Membership Director Jarred Hoffpauir reported at the SPSW Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday that membership has now passed the 200 member mark! This is a reflection of the outstanding lineup of quality demonstrators, the willingness of our mentors to share, the opportunity to get hand-on practice with a mentor at the monthly sawdust sessions and the many volunteers that bring it all together.
What’s Happening at Other Chapters
The Inland Northwest Woodturners in Spokane Valley will be having their traditional Holiday Social at their next meeting on December 1st.
The Northwest Woodturners in Tigard, Oregon will not be having a regular membership meeting, but will have a Christmas party on December 3rd at Jerry Keller’s. There will be a catered dinner, spouse’s gift exchange, tool swap and door prizes.
The Seattle Woodturners will be meeting on December 8th for a holiday party. This will also be the last meeting at the current location in Kenmore. Beginning with the January meeting the chapter meetings will be at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building in Redmond. Also, on December 3rd, the chapter will host a tour of three different shops – Jack Wayne, Jim Jaskovsky and Vern Tator.
The Cascade Woodturners in Portland, Oregon, are taking a holiday break and have no meeting scheduled for December.
The Northwest Washington Woodturners in Mount Vernon, WA also are taking a holiday break with no meeting scheduled for December.
The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island will be having their annual social and discussing ornaments at their next meeting on December 17th.
The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild are also taking a break for the holiday. However, I highly recommend that you check out the GVWG November newsletter. They have some great Tech Talk items including restoring a segmented lamp, rules around importing wood, automating your dust collection, when is it firewood and more. There are also other interesting articles and great photos from their instant gallery.
The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners in Bremerton will be holding their annual Christmas Party on December 17th.
Upcoming Woodturning Symposia
Well, it’s that time of the year in the Northwest when the rain continues until next June. So this may be a great excuse to get away to a woodturning symposium. There are a couple coming up in the next few months.
The Tennessee Association of Woodturners is holding their 24th annual symposium January 27th and 28th at the Radisson Hotel at Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee. Demonstrators include Al Stirt, Dale Larson, Jennifer Shirley, Ashlyt Harwood and Mark Gardner. Registration fee for the symposium is $145 and includes the demonstrations, instant gallery, roundtable discussion with the demonstrators and the banquet and auction. More information at http://tnwoodturners.org/symposium/.
The Florida Woodturning Symposium is scheduled for February 3-5, 2012 at the Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center North of Eustis, Florida. This symposium is coordinated by seven AAW chapters. Demonstrators on the schedule include Tim Yoder, host and producer of Woodturning Workshop seen on public television stations, Norm Rose, Donald Derry and Dick Sing. Fee for the symposium is $125 which includes access to the demonstrations, instant gallery and trade show. There are additional hands-on workshops for an additional fee. Hotel and RV sites are available nearby. More information at http://floridawoodturningsymposium.com.
12-6-11 UPDATE:
The Alaska Woodturners Association is holding their 8th annual symposium on January 28th and 29th in Anchorage. Featured demonstrators are Eli Avisera and Jimmy Clewes. They will also have two local woodturning demonstrators. Cost is $100 for both days if paid in advance or $120 if paid at the door. You can get more information at http://www.akwoodturners.org/Symposium.html
What’s New on the SPSW Website
I have added a few new pages to the site.
First, there are photos from the mini-symposium held in October.
Next, the November issue of the Chips and Shavings, our chapter newsletter. If you are a member you should have received this a few days prior to the membership meeting. If you are not a member you can sign up to receive the newsletter by email. Just fill out the form on the right hand side of this page.
Finally, if you were at the November demonstration you saw a well done presentation by John Shrader on inlaying metal into your turned pieces. John handed out a listing of the resources he uses for tools and supplies and I have added a copy in the tutorials section.
AAW Membership Renewal Time
Along with renewing your SPSW membership, it is also time to renew your AAW membership. If you are not currently an AAW member this is a great time for you to join the largest organization in the world that is dedicated to the craft of woodturning. There are many benefits to joining the AAW which you can see on the AAW website.