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 PM to 9:00 PM in the basement of Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, 2553 S Colorado Blvd, Denver, 80222.

Visitors are welcome to join us at one of our meetings to see what we are all about.

Upcoming Demonstrations

April – Chris Hoehle – The Graceful Ogee – Form and Design on Shallow Bowls

In this demonstration Chris will turn a shallow bowl of kiln dried wood with an elegant ogee profile and a wide rim. The ogee, a term we borrow from architecture, is a graceful S curve, or a seamless transition from a convex surface to a concave one. Chris will cover both the aesthetic considerations of nailing this form (Where does the transition start? Why do so many first attempts at an ogee look dumpy or bottom heavy?) as well as the physical and technical aspects that help him make it happen such as moving from the hips in a coiling / uncoiling fashion not unlike Tai Chi, and “pushing the pull cut”.

Learning this form opens a lot of doors since it allows you to make interesting use of shallow blanks and explore various techniques to embellish the rim. If time allows, he may also be able to briefly cover the use of dyes to embellish the rim.

April – Doug Schneiter – Basket Illusion on a Hollow Form

I enjoy woodturning, and teaching others about woodturning.  I first started turning on a wood lathe around 50 years ago, in a high school wood shop class. I continued pursuing it through high school and college, while earning a degree in Industrial Arts Education, which then led me into my teaching career. After a short hiatus from teaching, I was reintroduced to woodturning in the early 1990’s when the AAW hosted their Symposium in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I was so impressed with the advancements made in turning in the short time I was away from it that I got involved in the formation of our local woodturning club (RMWT), and met some amazing mentors who helped me tremendously.

My last teaching assignment in public education lasted 21 years until I retired in 2014. I now teach woodturning classes at our local Woodcraft store, and travel around the Western U.S. to demo at Symposia and to do hands on workshops with turning clubs. So far I have demonstrated in 8 of the western states, and have been a demonstrator in 4 different symposiums. I have also had photos of my work and a short write up in American Woodturner, and a 6 page article in Woodturning magazine.

Demonstrators scheduled for 2025:

Jun – Emma Cook (“The Tiny Turner”) – Epoxy Burl Pendant
Jul – 
Aug – Kirk DeHeer – Bowl Turning 101
Sep – Raleigh Lockhart – Nested Lidded Box
Oct – Cindy Drozda – Banksia Pod Ornament (IRD)
Nov – Heather Marusiak (AAW’s Professional Outreach Program (POP) 2024 POP Showcase Artist) – Texture and Color
Dec – Holiday Party

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 – Monthly meetings feature 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.
• Brown Bag Demo – Bring your lunch and watch a free in-person mini demo on a variety of topics in a smaller, more relaxed setting.
• Wood Drawing – Members can bring some of their excess (good) wood to a meeting so it can find a new home with a different member.  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.
• Workshop Tours – monthly tour of members workshop. Get ideas and get inspired!