Stateline Woodturners
March 14, 2026 Club Meeting
Visitors: Tom Anderson introduced John Wayne Smith, an experienced woodturner that moved to the area from Hot Springs Village a few years ago but only recently found out about our club from Timberwolf Woodcrafter’s Supply. Carl Hoffman introduced his grandson Noah who was accompanying him. John Adams introduced Michael who works for the VA and will be bussing VA residents up to our club house for turning experiences. John also mentioned that a pen lathe had been donated to the club which will be used with this new outreach.
Show-N-Tell, Novice: Entrants were:
· Larry Smith with a spalted oak bowl which was finished with a UV cured epoxy. He also invited anyone to his truck after the meeting where he had turning blanks he was giving away.
· Nathan Bradford with an egg made from laminated walnut, purple heart, and cherry turned with a skew (a new tool for him).
· Ken Larkin with an acorn shaped box with lid made of walnut.
· Mike Elkins with an Easter basket made from segmented staves filled with eggs which were hollowed and could be opened like the plastic ones commonly sold.
· Jim Higuera with a walnut bowl finished with shellac and Yorkshire grit.
Mike won best in this category. Since this was his third win as a novice, he will now compete in the advanced category.
Show-N-Tell, Advanced: Entrants were:
· Thurman Hatch with a basket illusion egg with 58 segments in a circle set in a ring holder for a stand.
· Larry Copas with a streptohedron (a type of polyhedron formed by taking a polygonal shape, splitting it along an axis, rotating one half by a specific angle, and rejoining the pieces) in walnut.
· Frank Emeterio with a Viking bowl from spalted kiln dried sycamore and a large bowl made from a pine log turned green from end grain which was translucent with a reddish splotch finished with Waterlux and Mahoney’s Oil.
· Tom Anderson with a maple egg and stand finished with lacquer.
· Verlie Coss with a large deep lipped spalted maple bowl with a turquois band inlaid with epoxy on the rim.
Frank won in the advanced category for his end grain turned pine bowl.
Ron East Tool Sale: Ron is moving to Iowa to be close to family and is having to close his shop. A table was setup with tools he still needs to sell. Paul Moore acknowledged Ron’s club participation since 2002 which has included his service as board member, President, Vice President and Treasurer. Paul gave a quick run down of large tools he still needs to sell which could not be transported to the club house.
ESSA Hands On: This annual event at Eureka Springs School of the Arts will be April 4th. Any member wanting to help introduce attendees to woodturning are welcome, and can see Ben Johnson or Paul Moore for more information.
President’s Challenge: Ben reminded everyone that the challenge for April is to go out on a limb – turn something from a green limb and let it warp as it dries.
Rogers Historical Museum: Debe Krogman reminded everyone that she always needs items to display at the museum for each quarter of the year, and now has a signup sheet posted where members can volunteer an item which will be returned after the quarter. She also emphasize that nothing has ever been damaged or lost.
Safety Tips: Ben asked for personal experiences related to safety when turning. Ken Larkin mentioned a nick he got from a band saw, and reminded everyone to keep your fingers away from a moving blade.
Walnut and Cherry on Facebook Marketplace: Mike Elkins has been in conversation with the seller of 500 to 600 board feet of 8/4 walnut and cherry air dried for 20 years. The seller is asking $1,200. But Mike said he is pricing it by the surface area, so it is actually twice that many board feet. It’s too much for himself, so wants to find other members to go in with him to buy it. Contact Mike if you are interested.
Bring Back Raffle: A piece by Thurman Hatch was picked first, so Thurman will get a free raffle ticket at the next meeting. There were 5 winners.
Fourth Saturday: March 28th will be bowl turning at the Northwest Arkansas Community College Integrated Design Lab, 9-12. Bowl blanks will be provided. For more information, see the home page of our website under, Upcoming Events.
Gary Olerud Memorial Top Spinning Contest
This annual event, held in memory of past member Gary Olerud, was held in leu of a demonstration. There are two categories which members can compete, a hand spin and a pull string. The rules are online and vary for each category. Bill Clift served as the judge and there were two timers whose times were entered and then averaged. Two spins were allowed for each contestant with the longest spin time counting. There were fewer contestants than usual, but everyone enjoyed watching, waiting, and bantering conversation during the competition. There were 5 in the hand spin category where Thurman Hatch won with a time of 2:08. There were 4 string pull contestants where Randy Wright won with a time of 2:28.
Attendance: Approximately 35.
Please send omissions and corrections to David Wimberly (wdw@uark.edu) so that this record can be updated on the website.