Woodcraft Columbus offers two-night white oak bourbon tumbler turning class

Woodcraft Columbus put one of its most distinctive spring classes on the calendar with Turn a White Oak Bourbon Tumbler with Devon Palmer, a two-night build set for April 15 and April 24, 2026. The project had a clear appeal beyond the lathe room: white oak, charred oak and bourbon culture already speak the same language, and the finished tumbler promised a giftable, display-worthy object with a story built into the wood itself.

The class was priced at $150 and capped at six students, a small group that signaled hands-on instruction rather than a floor-demo. On the first night, students used a router table to prepare the white oak pieces and glue them together. On the second night, they turned the form on a lathe, charred or burned the inside, and worked far enough through the process to leave with at least two completed tumblers. Woodcraft’s listing said the session had already been run a couple of times before, a useful sign that the format had enough traction to return.

The after-class touch gave the project some extra personality. The listing nodded to a possible tasting at Stone Bar and Grill, which fit the social, bourbon-friendly tone of the piece. Stone Bar and Kitchen, at 1045 Bethel Rd. in Columbus, describes itself as a restaurant and sports bar, so the class did not just offer a shop lesson, it pointed toward a full evening built around the object students were making.

Palmer has been part of the Columbus woodturning scene for years. A 2018 Columbus Monthly profile said he moved to Columbus from Indiana in 2002 and taught at Woodcraft of Columbus and the local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. A 2009 Columbus Underground and Vimeo feature said he had been crafting bowls, vases and other wood products for seven years at that point, and Palmer’s Etsy bio lists functional salad bowls, platters, pepper mills, Christmas ornaments, goblets and sculptural objects among his work. He also identifies himself as a member of the American Association of Woodturners and Central Ohio Woodturners, and says he works from Junction View Studios in Grandview Heights.

Woodcraft Columbus also listed Make a Medallion Wall Art with Neil Donovan for April 23 at $125, a reminder that the store’s class calendar leans heavily on project-based workshops. With more than 360 chapters worldwide, the American Association of Woodturners has helped normalize that kind of guided, community-centered learning, and Palmer’s bourbon tumbler class fit squarely in that lane: practical, social and polished enough to feel like a finished piece, not just a shop exercise.