Southwest Washington Woodturners to host Tom Hasting square plate demo April 9

Southwest Washington Woodturners put one of the more intimidating forms in woodturning front and center when Tom Hasting of the Oregon Coast Woodturners demonstrated how to make a square plate. Hasting, who operates Hasting Coastal Woodworks in South Beach, brought a project that asked members to think beyond the usual round bowl or platter and deal with the extra discipline that comes with corners, layout and tool control.

The meeting ran from 7 to 9 p.m. at Friends of the Carpenter, 1600 W. 20th St., Vancouver, with a donut social hour beginning at 6 p.m. The chapter says it meets on the second Thursday of each month and invites the public to attend. Southwest Washington Woodturners is a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners, and it says its purpose includes monthly demonstrations, a library, mentoring and helping turners gain experience.

Hasting’s own shop and teaching background fit the subject well. He said he is retired but still active at Hasting Coastal Woodworks, where he teaches woodturning classes and runs a gallery of woodturned items. He said he prefers local hardwoods when he can, in part because many of his customers are tourists looking for pieces with a regional identity, though he will use exotic wood now and then. He also said about 70% of the training he does is for people who have never done woodturning before, which helps explain why a square plate demo lands as more than a specialty project. It is a practical lesson in building confidence.

Hasting Coastal Woodworks describes itself as a Newport-area studio and gallery offering classes for every skill level, with work from local and in-house artists alongside turning kits, wood blanks and supplies. That combination of teaching, retail and display gives Hasting the kind of real-world perspective many club demos lack. He is not just showing a form that looks good on the lathe; he is showing how that form fits into a working woodturning practice.

Square plates have a reputation for good reason. The form looks simple until the blank starts spinning, and the invisible corners make it more hazardous than an ordinary round piece. That is exactly why a live demonstration matters. For turners used to round stock, a square plate forces cleaner layout, steadier hands and a better read on grain orientation and transitions. Southwest Washington Woodturners used the evening to do what the club says it is built for: give members a chance to learn, compare notes and leave with a little more confidence the next time a square blank goes on the lathe.