SEQUIM - "Every piece of wood has its own character and you have to bring out that character," said Dave Sellman of Sequim, who likes to make useful and decorative items from wood and beautiful wood for his family and to sell. The Shipley Center raises money for charity.
Selman will have a Stite Turners table next to the Wood Turning Club at the upcoming Holiday Bazaar at the Shipley Center.
Today and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Center, 921 E. Club members will sell Christmas ornaments and other wooden items at the event on Hammond St.
Woodworking enthusiasts can enjoy the work of the Straight Turners, Seattle Spun Club and the Port Townsend-based Club Splinter Team at the Port Townsend Woodworkers Show on Saturday and Sunday.
See the band Saturday 11am-8pm and Sunday 11am-3pm at the American Legion Hall, 209 Monroe St., Port Townsend. (see slittergroup.org)
Woodturning is an ancient art dating back at least as far as ancient Egypt. Members of the Live Turners Club say there are many reasons to join the club and get into woodworking:
The partners like to work with inexpensive specialty woods (compared to high tide) or freely harvested forests and bring out the hidden nature of the wood. They often mention how fun it is and how you can start in a day and spend a lifetime learning.
"You can take someone who's never done it before and in a day they can turn a boat," says Matthew Burton, the club's director of membership.
Modern woodworking, as club members have demonstrated, uses electric lasers, minis (for things like pencils), midi or full-size saws, and hand tools to remove and shape wood. Round burn
"You don't need a lot of equipment to get started," Selman said. "All you really need is a belt, a band saw and a tool like a belt sander for sharpening."
Selman said he adjusted the angle and height of the lamp so he could work in a wheelchair.
"We have to be careful not to get fine dust into the lungs when bending," said Valerie Henschel, a member of the association. That means using front protection and exhaust systems, he said.
"When Covid hit, we had masks," Henschel said.
Members share their knowledge at monthly meetings or smaller meetings throughout the month. The club invites marchers to their monthly meeting on the third Saturday at 12:00 in the Gardiner Community Center.
"Some classes are for the novice woodturner and some are for the experienced woodturner," explained club president John Giesbusch.
Although he's dabbled in other woodworking businesses, Barton said he stayed for about a year before retiring to his new hobby.
"I like to learn, I'm always improving a little."
Barton said she agreed to be a membership director because she thought, "If I'm having this much fun, maybe I can help someone else have as much fun."
In a year "It doesn't take much time to learn the basics and there is so much to learn that the sky is the limit", says Henschel, who has been with the group since its creation in 2016.
Henschel said he started touring "when the club started." He has been a photographer for many years and now says that traveling gives him more satisfaction.
"When I cut wood, I'm left with a 3D object," he says. "I don't feel restricted when I bend over."
The Live Turners Club is a branch of the Olympic Peninsula Woodturners. Residents of Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and surrounding areas are tired of driving to evening meetings in the Bremerton area.
Herschel said he was one of the six founders of the club. "It was voted to start a chapter ... there were thirty," he said at an earlier meeting.
They said they had 50 members in six months.
Membership has dropped slightly during the Covid pandemic, members said at meetings held only on a whim. These days, meetings are more focused and face-to-face.
Geisbusch says it has about 55 straight spins in "good condition" and 110 overall.
"I would like to see at most 60 or 65 paying members," he said.
Fees are $30 per year; and applications and more are available at straitturners.org.
Selman, who has been touring for five years, says the Straight Turners' talent is amazing.
"The boys are really talented," he said. "I feel like a new person among them. Some of what they say is amazing."
"They are all very helpful. There are so many aspects to it ... they are always very helpful in sharing that knowledge."
For more information on Straight Turners, call Burton at 360-683-4877.
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Emily Matheson is a reporter for the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which includes Sound Publishing Peninsula Daily News, Sikkim Gazette and Forex Forum. Contact her at emily.mathiessen@sequimgazette.com.
Five-year Live Turner member Dave Selman, of Sequim, works on a tilting lathe so he can turn wood in his wheelchair. He says many people with physical limitations or limited space have easy access to woodworking. Her shop is small, but she has tools to make beautiful things to give to loved ones or sell at Shipley Center events, with all proceeds going to charity, especially VOHCC. She said: "I hope other people in wheelchairs realize that they can be creative and push the limits. (Emily Matheson/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
