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

November – Bear Limvere – Quaiche Bowl (shallow two-handled drinking bowl)

Bear has been working with wood for as long as he can remember, and turning since 1996. When he and Alisa were moving into their new house he found an odd-looking piece of equipment in Alisa’s shop tools. It was an OLD Craftsman lathe and some badly abused (not by Alisa) spindle gouges. With some clean up, reading, and advice from Pete Holtus, Bear was hooked on turning.

Bear soon outgrew the old Craftsman and Alisa gave him a Grizzly lathe for his birthday. The following Winter Solstice brought a Kelton Eccentric Chuck that was a touch too big for the Grizzly so a new bigger lathe came home. And so on; you know how that goes. Their shop is at 6 regular lathes, one ornamental lathe, one jewelers lathe, and counting.

 By accident he and Alisa fell into turning miniatures and it has become a large portion of their business. Involvement with the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and other medieval reenactors led to turning treenware and carving spoons in addition to turning non-functional artworks. Jewelry is the next direction he is adding to the list.

Quaiche or Handled Drinking Bowl

The demo is a two-handled drinking bowl. The Scottish version of this bowl is called a “quaiche”, but the form is quite common throughout medieval Europe. It also makes a great baby-bowl. Among the topics I cover is turning with finesse, but not timidity. I also try to give a historical perspective of where this bowl might have been made and how, who would be its owner, and how it would be used.

I cover initial mounting and outside turning, reversing and calculating where the inside begins, turning the inside, cutting the handles, and the carving involved in finishing the piece. I will show different methods of holding the piece for cutting and carving.

December – Holiday Party!

Demonstrators scheduled for 2025:

Jan – Stuart Batty – Volcano Bowl
Feb – Roberto Ferrer – Fluted Bowl, Antiquity (also teaching two classes: Fluted Bowl-Antiquity and Shavings and Milk Paint
Mar – Kevin Jesequel (AAW’s Professional Outreach Program (POP) 2024 POP Showcase Artist) Hollow Form with a Finger Tip Opening. Kevin is also teaching a class the next day.
Apr – 
May – 
Jun – 
Jul – 
Aug – Kirk DeHeer
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)
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 – 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.