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Southwest Washington Woodturners

SWW is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting the art and craft of woodturning to woodturners in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon. SSW in a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). We meet from 7-9 pm at1600 West 20th St, Vancouver, WA. on the second Thursday of each month, except December.

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Next Meeting

Join us May 14, 2026 for out monthly meeting. Dale Larson from the Cascade Woodturners, will demonstrate “Rough Turning and Drying a Bowl”.

Dale's specialty is turning bowls from local hardwoods like Pacific Madrone and Big Leaf Maple. He has demonstrated bowl turning, oval turning and spheres at five American Association of Woodturners Symposiums, the Ripon Symposium (England), in Israel and the following regional symposiums: Rocky Mountain, Vancouver BC, Utah, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, New York, Oregon and at numerous local chapters. He has taught at the John C Campbell Folk School three times and once at Arrowmont School. For more information and images, click here

There will be a donut social hour beginning at 6 pm. The meeting begins at 7 pm.

Current Newsletter

The current issue of the SWW newsletter is now available. You can read or download the newsletter now.

Local Vendors

See some of the vendors who offer discounts to SWW members

Vendors

Classes

Throughout the year, SWW offers woodturning classes to members. The chapter has 8 midi Jet Lathe and 1 Powermatic. We have all the lathe tools, chucks, and drives necessary to complete the classes. We can accommodate 8 students per class. Depending on the class, non-lathe classes may accomodate more students.

Classes are open to all members of SWW. Space permitting, we open classes to non-member. To see class offerings, click below.

Class Information

Wood Harvest

We live in an area where the wood we use for turning is abundantly available --it literally grows on trees around here! As woodturners, we prefer to reclaim wood by using wood from trees that must be felled due to damage, diseases, or construction. Species woodturners use are the deciduous trees including maple, birch, walnut, holly, locust, and oak. SWW has a small group of members who grab their chainsaws and harvest wood when it becomes available. The best time of year is during the colder months when the sap is dormant. We can only work with wood that is already on the ground

If you live in the Vancouver, WA area and are taking down a deciduous tree, please consider contacting SWW about harvesting your tree. If you are a chapter member and interested in harvesting wood, contact the harvesting lead at the next meeting.

Community Service and Outreach

In 2025, woodturners demonstrated woodturning all 10 days at the Clark County Fair. We turned spin tops for the children who stopped by to watch as we transformed blocks of wood into tops. We had a station set up so that the children could add color to their tops. One of our goals is to educate the public in what we call woodturning. On the second day of the fair, the fair judges stopped by to award the chapter a ribbon for educational excellence. This is an award that is rarely given.

Look for us in August at the fair. We will be located in the "Hobby and Craft" section in the Event Center.

As part of our community outreach, SWW holds a class to make wig stands. The wig stands are donated to cancer patients going through chemotherapy at the Legacy Cancer Institute.

Become a Member of SWW