I joined a club

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Los Angeles, CA
I attended my first local woodturning club meeting last Sunday. This is not the same club that Vaughn goes to but another local chapter of AAW. The club holds the monthly meeting at a local community college which is about 10 miles from my home. Meeting started with new members sign-up and introduction. Then there was a show-n-tell followed by a snack break. Members brought pieces of wood which were put in a raffle. Raffle tickets were $1 each.

We had a celebrity member as well. Celebrity sighting is not un-common if you live in Los Angeles, but it is very rare to see a woodturner celebrity. His name is Chris Ellis. He has appeared in many TV shows and movies. He has a role in the upcoming Batman movie as well. He was asked to speak a few words about his shop-burned down experience. I don't know the specifics but his shop burned down recenthly and he had lost all his tools. Guild members surprised him by presenting him a beautiful set of woodturning tools with custom handles. Handles were engraved with his name and the Guild's logo. He was overwhelmed.

This was followed by a air brushing on turned pieces demo. This was something new to me and I learnt a lot.

Guild has a pretty good collection of books and videos which members can check out.

Next month, Alan Lancer is going to do an all-day woodturning presentation. That should be fun.
 
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Very cool, Mohammad. :thumb: Which club is it? Sounds like a good bunch of guys...typical woodturners. ;)

Five bucks for the raffle? Everything must be more expensive on the Westside. The Glendale Guild raffle tickets are only a dollar. :p Do they also charge dues? Glendale doesn't, but they do put out a bowl for people to drop a dollar or two in as a donation. They make the bulk of their money with their yearly Christmas party auction. They sell unused tools and shop gadgets, as well as donated turned pieces. Some of the pieces sell for several hundred dollars.

BTW, have you got your shop powered up yet?
 
Very cool, Mohammad. :thumb: Which club is it? Sounds like a good bunch of guys...typical woodturners. ;)

Five bucks for the raffle? Everything must be more expensive on the Westside. The Glendale Guild raffle tickets are only a dollar. :p Do they also charge dues? Glendale doesn't, but they do put out a bowl for people to drop a dollar or two in as a donation. They make the bulk of their money with their yearly Christmas party auction. They sell unused tools and shop gadgets, as well as donated turned pieces. Some of the pieces sell for several hundred dollars.

BTW, have you got your shop powered up yet?

Vaughn


Have you told Mohammad about electricity yet? He's hooked up a treadle to the lathe & a stationary bicycle to the table-saw. It's a bit dim in there to with the Coleman lanterns.
 
Thanks for bringing up the raffle price, Vaughn. I made a mistake. It is one dollar and $5 for 6 tickets.

This is the El-Camino Woodturners Guild.

Yes, they charge dues, $35 per year. The year starts in August but I still had to pay full amount and I will have to pay again in August. They don't prorate. I was told that the dues go to El-Camino College though.

Still, no power. Working on it. Hopefully, very soon.
 
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Congrats on the club... wish there was a club near me... closest is down town Knoxville which is about 50 miles away and they meet at night and at my age, I try to avoid as much night driving as possible. .. guess I'll have to start a club in Tellico Plains...

Interesting about your celebrity... I had not heard his name before, and evidently never noticed it in the credits... but I looked him up on Google and his face is familiar.
 
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