Paul League, November 24, 2018
December 1, 2018 Year End Meeting
PALMETTO WOODTURNERS (PWT),will meet Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 9:00 AM. The meeting will be at Mann Tool, 802 Chris Drive, West Columbia, SC. We will have a brief session for club business and announcements, followed by our annual Christmas gift exchange.
GOOD NEWS: Highway access to Chris Drive and Mann Tool has been restored. Chris Drive is now open from both US Highway #1 (Augusta Road), and Leaphart Road.
DECEMBER PROGRAM: Annual Christmas Social and Gift Exchange
This meeting will be a very informal affair. Wives, husbands, children, and friends are welcome. Please bring a snack or beverage to share. The Club will provide coffee, plates, and cups.
We will have a gift exchange among the membership. If you wish to participate, please bring one of your turned pieces, an extra tool, or a nice piece of turning stock. Susan Schultz will lead the exchange. She has promised to come up with an interesting way to carry it out.
Year End Raffles
Yes sir! It's December, so PWT is giving back in the form of eight scholarships to be awarded to lucky members by way of raffle. The first raffle will be for a $600 scholarship. Each PWT member attending the December meeting will receive one ticket for this raffle. The second drawing also is for a $600 scholarship; however, this raffle is limited to those members who participated in the President's Challenge during 2018. These two scholarships are intended to help the lucky winners defray expenses to attend a woodturning program such as those offered at Arrowmont and John C. Campbell. Finally, six drawings will be conducted for scholarships in the amount of $100 each. These $100 scholarships are for use to attend one of PWT's Hands-On classes during 2019. You must be present at the December meeting to be eligible for all drawings except for the President's Challenge raffle. PWT's current guidelines for the raffle drawings are posted on the PWT website under the menu heading "Membership." Select "Membership Benefits" in the drop down menu.
Learn to Turn a Christmas Ornament Event – December 8, 2018
PWT’s annual Learn To Turn a Christmas Ornament event is just around the corner. Once again, PWT will partner with Mann Tool, inviting the public to turn a Christmas ornament with the assistance and guidance of PWT. Public participants will be charged the nominal fee of $5.00, and all proceeds will be donated to support Epworth Children's Home. The event is Scheduled for Saturday, December 8, 2018, and will be conducted as usual at Mann Tool. The event will run from 9:00 am to noon. David Fellows will take the lead for PWT this year. Volunteers are needed to assist at the event. We will need people to greet and sign in participants, to assist the participants in turning simple Christmas ornaments, and to assist in the decorating of the turned items. Please contact David to let him know if you will volunteer your assistance at this event. David can be contacted at (803) 920-5248 and via email at
American Association of Woodturners
Palmeto Woodturners is an affiliate member of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). Just under a third of our membership are also members of the AAW. I strongly encourage those of you who have not joined AAW to give it a close look. The AAW website offers a wealth of information on every aspect of the craft; however, much of that wealth is limited to AAW members. Please visit the AAW website and take a look. Recent materials provided by AAW will be available at the November PWT meeting, outlining the benefits of AAW membership. Guest memberships limited to sixty days are available at no charge to individuals who have never joined AAW.
Learn to Turn a Christmas Ornament Event – December 8, 2018
PWT’s annual Learn To Turn a Christmas Ornament event is just around the corner. Once again, PWT will partner with Mann Tool, inviting the public to turn a Christmas ornament with the assistance and guidance of PWT. Public participants will be charged the nominal fee of $5.00, and all proceeds will be donated to support Epworth Children's Home.
The event is Scheduled for Saturday, December 8, 2018, and will be conducted as usual at Mann Tool. The event will run from 9:00 am to noon. David Fellows will take the lead for PWT this year. Volunteers are needed to assist at the event. We will need people to greet and sign in participants, to assist the participants in turning simple Christmas ornaments, and to assist in the decorating of the turned items. Please contact David to let him know if you will volunteer your assistance at this event. David can be contacted at (803) 290-5248 and via email at
State Fair Update Addendum
A brief report was given at the November meeting on the demonstrations conducted on the opening day of the fair by members of Palmetto Woodturners. Also mentioned were several PWT members who entered pieces in the craft and fine arts competitions of the fair. Randy Grant, Jim Nelson, and Cameron Porter entered several fine works. Additionally, PWT members David Fellows and Jim Waterbury mentored several budding artists and woodworkers at DOJ, and several of these pieces were on display at the fair as well. PWT wants to recognize these outstanding efforts by publishing photographs of some of the pieces on the PWT website. Hopefully, the photographs will be up on the site within the next couple of weeks. If any other PWT members entered pieces in the fair competition, please let me know. We want to recognize all who participated.
American Association of Woodturners
I want to make one last mention of the PWT's affiliation with the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). Just under a third of our membership are also members of the AAW. The AAW website offers a wealth of information on every aspect of the craft; however, much of that wealth is limited to AAW members. Recent materials provided by AAW will be available at the December PWT meeting, outlining the benefits of AAW membership. Guest memberships limited to sixty days are available at no charge to individuals who have never joined AAW. This would be a great time to join the AAW, because the largest woodturning event in the world will be sponsored by the AAW in Raleigh, North Carolina next summer. The AAW's International Symposium will be held July 11-14, 2019. This may be the best opportunity for many in our area to attend an event of this scope and caliber. Please visit the AAW website for details.
No December Displays
There will not be a display of work or a challenge this month. Put that effort into a nice gift for the exchange, and then take the gift you receive and let that inspire you to bring a nice display piece in January.