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President's Challenge for 2026

The President's Challenge is a club-wide monthly turning challenge. Each month will have a specific theme. To quality, you must bring the item to that month's show-n-tell. These do not have to be your best work, or even particularly good. The goal is to get you out in your shop and turn something, as well as to try things you might not normally turn. This year we are bringing back the “Iron Man” challenge. At the annual Christmas party in December all those who participate in the President's Challenge will be eligible for a prize in a random drawing. Those with the highest level of participation will be given special recognition and a special prize.

January 10, 2026 - “Leave the Sand at the Beach” - Make an item and present it having not sanded it. Smooth it with a sharp tool. Show off those smoothing final cuts

February 14, 2026 - “A Place to Keep My Heart” - make a lidded box to hold the treasures of someone special. Any shape, threaded or not, and size doesn't matter.

March 14, 2026 - “'Eggs'citing Eggs – Hey, it's Easter. “Lathe” an egg or two.

April 11, 2026 - “Going Out on a Limb” - yep, turn something from a limb and not the trunk. Wood movement? Deal with it. The greener the better, let's see what happens.

May 9, 2026 - “Be Captivating” - turn something with a captive ring. Come on, you know you've been wanting to try this.

June 13, 2026 - “How Thin Can You Spin?” = Take your cutting skills to the limit and turn it extra thin, whether it's a bowl, hollow form, platter, finial or what-have-you.

July 11, 2026 - “Platters Matter” - turn a plate, platter, saucer, plaque, etc. Flat and round is what counts.

August 8, 2026 - Have an “Off” Day – do some offset turning and show it off.

September 12, 2026 - “Membership Required” - Turn something based on an article in AAW's monthly magazine.

October 10, 2026 - “Cornucopia” - Thanksgiving is coming. Make some fruit to fill the horn of plenty.

November 14, 2026 - “Toys for Tots” - Get creative and make something for the children in your world, even if that child is you! Tops, kaleidoscopes, yo-yos, kendamas, or something with turned components. As long as we can play with it, it counts.

December 12, 2026 - Club Christmas Brunch and Gift Exchange

Member Spotlight

Buzz Peine

Buz Peine is a long time member of SLWT and a small sample of his work is seen here. Through the years he has created segmented pieces and was given the privilege to honor another through his work.

How did you get started and wood turning? I got into woodturning thanks to my brother. He was a lawyer with a big yacht, but he wanted something he could do in short bursts—an hour here and there. Someone gave him an old, beat-up lathe, and he took to it immediately. Before long, he upgraded to a One Way 24/36. When i visited him in Houston, we’d spend time in the shop together, and that’s what pulled me in. Eventually, he helped me build my own shop and set me up with a One Way lathe and a full set of quality tools.

These days, I spend a lot of time in that shop—sometimes working, sometimes just thinking about how I really ought to clean it! I do a mix of turning and some flat woodworking. I wouldn’t say I create masterpieces, but I’ve made a few segmented pieces I’m proud of. Last year, I made an urn from a piece of catalpa that I inherited Dr. Ost years ago. It turned out passable, and it meant something.

What is a project or piece that you are most proud of? What matters most to me are the people I’ve met along the way. My brother once hosted David Ellsworth for a week, and I got to be his shop assistant for a few days. He slept in my usual room while I camped out in a sleeping bag on the pool table—and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. I still have one of his demo pieces. Things like that are priceless. I’ve given away a lot of what I’ve made over the years. For me, the joy is in the process and in sharing.

If you had to pick one tool in your shop that everyone should buy, what would it be? If there’s one tool I consider indispensable, it’s a good lathe. My One Way handles large work with ease but is just as satisfying for smaller projects. Last week alone I turned pen blanks to take to ESSA where I taught six people who had never touched a lathe how to make a pen.

Besides woodworking and wood turning, what are your other hobbies? Outside the shop, I keep things simple. We have hens for eggs, and we raise rabbits as well. Life has its challenges, though. My sweet bride has Alzheimer’s, and that shapes much of my day now.

What did you do for a career? I grew up in Houston and graduated from the University of Houston in business administration. It didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t cut out for office life or politics. I started doing small maintenance jobs instead. In 1977, I took a trip to Eureka Springs and ended up staying three months. I bought eight acres of land, went back to Houston to wrap things up, and that’s where I met Sara. She was a programmer at NASA working on the space shuttle. She liked my story and wanted to see Eureka and the land. We ended up living in a teepee while building a workshop, then a small cabin, and eventually a proper house—complete with a flush toilet and a thermostat. We’ve been happy ever since!

What are your plans in retirement? We always lived below our means and saved, just like our parents did. When they passed, we inherited some as well. These days, Sara can’t travel, but we’re comfortable. We have help during the week so I can spend time in the shop. I am fortunate and I am grateful that I can share some of what we have with others, including Stateline and the national organization.

I couldn’t be happier… even if I don’t always have the good sense to realize it!

A PSA for classes at the Fayetteville Public Library. All kinds of interesting and free classes coming up at the library in October. Ones that I thought might interest folks in our group. Lasers, CNC milling, and 3D printing. All of these are short introductory courses but you must take the training before the library will allow you to use the machines in the Center For Innovation. I have taken the Laser training and will be taking the Adobe Illustrator Basic course to learn how to prepare a print for the machines. My goal is to embellish wood turnings with the laser.

Another thought, if you don’t like your mug shot on the Stateline Woodturners website, you can get a professional head shot at the library photo lab for free and it only takes a few minutes.

This is a link to the classes. Lots more classes than I described so be prepared to spend a few minutes reading. https://www.faylib.org/10978 Click on CFI Events to get to the course page. The courses I described are all in October so you will have to put in a date range. I subscribe to their newsletter and get all the courses in a neatly laid out email.

The Center for Innovation provides not only opportunities for the pursuit of artistic endeavors but also allows for technical and job skill-building. This space takes the library’s mission – empowering citizens through free and public access to knowledge – to the next level by connecting the community to technology and educational resources that may otherwise be out of reach for many. The space is open to all ages however, those under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.

Fayetteville Public Library

If you would like to volunteer to be a mentor, please fill out the form with your name, phone number, email address and list the kind of turning you can help with

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If you would like to have a mentor, please fill out the form here.

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