Woodturners of St. Louis plans mentoring, swap-and-sell, live demo

At 8300 Valcour Avenue in Affton, Woodturners of St. Louis has been stacking the month with three things turners actually use: mentoring, a place to trade for tools and blanks, and a live demo from one of the club’s own. The May 12 mentoring session ran from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and focused on plate and bowl turning, with materials provided on site. Members were told to bring spindle or bowl gouges and face masks, a small but useful reminder that this was not a lecture room exercise but a hands-on night at the lathe.

That kind of access is built into the club’s setup. Woodturners of St. Louis says visitors are always welcome, and it streams meetings on Zoom for anyone who cannot make it to Affton. The chapter meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month, with a 5 p.m. premeeting and a main meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Membership dues run on the calendar year and come in individual and family plans. The club also says mentoring is reserved for paid members because of insurance restrictions, and sessions can be arranged either at a member’s residence or with a mentor. Students bring their own tools and supplies and wear full face shields and other protective equipment.

The club’s May 26 calendar item will push that practical mix even further. A swap-and-sell is set for the parking lot, with members able to set up tables or sell from the backs of their vehicles, and a small sales commission will go to the club. After that, the main meeting will feature Moe Milstead turning a nested clock, giving the room a live look at a finished project from a familiar club name. For turners looking to refresh a setup, find a used chuck or blank, or see how a project comes together from rough stock to final shape, that single evening will pack a lot into one stop.

Woodturners of St. Louis traces its local home back to June 2015, when the chapter moved to the St. Louis Carpenters Apprenticeship Program building as membership grew. The club says the American Association of Woodturners was created in 1986, and its own programming still follows the same useful formula: a place to practice, a place to learn, and a place to see what other hands can do at the lathe.