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

Mar – Kalia Kliban –  Milk Paint Porringers

Our demonstrator for March is Kalia Kliban from Sebastopol, CA. Kalia was raised in a house full of creativity and art supplies. In college she decided on a career in graphic design, but after a short and unhappy stint in the advertising industry realized she preferred making actual, physical things. She retrained as a woodworker and has been happily working with wood ever since.

Kalia spent the first part of her woodworking career making furniture and cabinets, with a side trip into guitar repair and making guitar parts. But she loved turning from the first time a friend plonked her down in front of his lathe with a piece of Madrone. Fun fact, she still uses the carving mallet she made that day (her 1st turned object), and has been extending and improving her skills ever since.

Kalia’s woodturning speciality is functional bowls and plates. They feel good, they’re useful, beautiful, and can last a lifetime. A well made bowl can be a wonderful way to honor the tree the wood came from, and a wonderful way to grace a table.

Demo Description:  Porringers: Getting a Grip – Bowls with integral handles.
Kalia will demonstrate the process of transforming a cross-grain turning blank into a bowl with integral handles. She will cover the techniques she uses to safely mount and turn the vessel’s shape, remove the interior material, and then cut/carve the handles. She will highlight different strategies for turning – single axis vs multi-axis.

Kalia is also teaching a class on Wednesday after the meeting, a SignUpGenius link is coming.
https://kaliakliban.com/woodworking/ 

Demonstrators for 2026:
Apr – Pat Carroll (from Ireland)
May – 
Jun – 
Jul – Rick Orr – Goblets
Aug – Michael Anderson – Spin Top on Coin Bearing
Sep – Steve Newberry (RMWT) – One Piece Teapots
Oct – J.Paul Fennel – Piercing
Nov – Patrick Crumpton – Sea Urchin Ornament w/Painted Interior
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!