Carolina Mountain Woodturners open shop session adds embellishing tools
Members got three hours of open shop time in Arden, with lathes, sharpening gear and embellishing tools for projects that needed one more push.
Carolina Mountain Woodturners used its Thursday Open Turning session to offer something many turners value more than a polished demo: three uninterrupted hours at the lathe, with room to finish an old project, start a new one and work through the part that has been stalling at home.
The session ran Thursday, May 21, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the club’s Turning Learning Center, 739 Glenn Bridge Road in Arden, North Carolina, on the grounds of Solfarm Solar Company. Attendance was limited to active CMW members, and the club required closed-toed shoes and face masks.
The appeal was practical. CMW said the open turning format gave members a place to work on existing or new projects, and the club also opened up its embellishing equipment for anyone ready to go beyond basic spindle or bowl work. The list included pyrography, power carving, chatter work and air brushing, a combination that makes the session especially useful for turners who have a piece roughed out but still need help with surface treatment, decoration or a final presentation step.
The TLC itself is set up for that kind of work. CMW says the center offers open turning days and classes, with lathes, sharpening equipment and safety shields available on site. That makes the Arden shop more than a social stop; it is a working space where a turner can get shop access, peer troubleshooting and a chance to test techniques without having to assemble every tool at home.
The open session also sat inside a packed May calendar for the club, which included Arrowmont retreat weekends, a Wounded Warrior Project Turning Day, a meeting and demonstration with Cliff Guard, and a separate four-day Tucker Garrison sphere class. That mix shows how CMW layers its programming, with social turning, formal instruction and demonstrations all feeding the same learning pipeline.
Carolina Mountain Woodturners describes itself as a not-for-profit club devoted to increasing interest in woodturning as a craft and art form. It holds monthly live demonstrations at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, and its education program has grown around the Turning Learning Center since it moved into the shop at 739 Glenn Bridge Road. In a 2023 profile, club president Anne Ogg said, “Woodturning has a rich history in the US, and this area has attracted craftspeople for over a century,” a line that fits the club’s approach: keep the tradition alive by giving members a place to work, learn and push a piece one step farther.
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