About Front Range Woodturners

We are the Denver area chapter of the AAW (American Association of Woodturners) serving woodturners throughout Colorado’s Front Range.

Our Meetings

We meet on the first Tuesday of every month from 6:15 to 9:00 PM in the basement of Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. Visitors are welcome to join us at one of our meetings to see what we are all about.

Upcoming Demonstrations

April – Stuart Batty

         
Stuart Batty is a third-generation apprenticed woodturner, who started turning at the age of 10 and became a full-time professional production turner and teacher in his father Allan’s studio at age 16. During the past 38 years, Stuart has taught more than 5,000 amateur and professional woodturners in twelve countries and all 50 states in the USA. He has also taught and demonstrated around the world and at more than 200 AAW chapters throughout North America. Stuart’s style of work is greatly influenced by his background as a spindle turner with precise cuts and sharp detail. He uses very simple tools and tool shapes to create his pieces. Stuart’s artwork is pure lathe cut work, with no carving or surface texturing. An excellent instructor, Stuart believes we have only skimmed the surface of the potential of the wood lathe. With production woodturning as his background, his foundation in woodturning helped him perfect the “Push Cut” style and other useful techniques, such as negative rake scraping.  Stuart also creates a limited number of art pieces, one of which is in the White House.

“The Only 4 Ways Wood can be Shaped on a Lathe: Peel, Slice, Scrape, Abrasion”
Stuart will demonstrate and explain the four methods used to shape and finish wood on a lathe, showing when and where each of these techniques should be used in both spindle and bowl turning.

May – Raleigh Lockhart
TBD

Demonstrators scheduled for this year:

May – Raleigh Lockhart
June – Pat Carroll (from Ireland)
July – Carl Jacobson
Aug – Dan Swaim
Sept – Tom Wirsing
Oct – Vinnie Luciano
Nov – Rebecca DeGroot
Dec – Holiday Party

April 2024 – Keith Gotschall

Member Benefits

• Library – The Front Range Woodturners has an extensive collection of books, magazines, and videos available for members to check out at no cost.
• Demonstrations – Each monthly meeting features an exciting demo given by one of our club members or a professional turner. When available we also offer a full day hands-on class with these renowned turners at a nominal cost.
• Wood Raffle – Members can bring some of their excess wood to a meeting to be raffled off.  You can never have too much wood!
• Group Buy – Do you want to save money?  We have vendor discounts with Internet suppliers, local suppliers, tool and steel suppliers and wood suppliers. Through our deals with these vendors our members can easily earn back the cost of membership!
• Ladies of the Lathe – All female members of the FRW, aged 18 or older, are invited to join the Ladies of the Lathe. LOTL is intended to provide a comfortable, easy-paced, and non-threatening environment for women to learn and advance their skills in turning.
• Mentoring – Members have access to several programs to help increase their woodturning skills. Group sessions are held monthly and one-on-one mentoring on various topics can be arranged with experienced FRW volunteers.
• PHEOG – The Pete Holtus Educational Opportunity Grant program provides grant money to members through an application process. Applicants may request money for woodturning related classes, workshops, or symposium fees.