Our excellent video demo on Segmented Woodturning is now available on our YouTube Channel.  Jim Whattam – who is now part of our Leadership Team – just happens to be an accomplished segmented turner.  So our resident videography expert Scott Wishart recently took a trip down to his workshop in Lewes, Delaware and they put together an amazing video demo packed with information! The Segmented Woodturning Demo includes: Review of the various forms of segmented woodturning Discussion of why you might want to try segmented woodturning What equipment do you need? How to try segmenting usi ..read more

First State Woodturners members collaborated with faculty and staff at Mt. Pleasant High School, Wilmington, Delaware to teach woodturning to students over a three week period in April. Nine of our members volunteered their time, tools, wood, and lathes to teach six classes of students how to turn a bowl from start to finish. The classes proved so popular with students that many of them went on to turn a second bowl, box, or goblet while we were there. Some students even made their way back to the shop during free time, study halls, and lunch breaks to work on their projects. In all, over 80 ..read more

This is the Delaware State Fair’s Centennial (100 year) celebration! Schedule for the 2019 Delaware State Fair Display & Judging Entries The Fair will be held July 19th through 27th, 2019 January to June 20th:  open time to make entry(s) Saturday, May 25th:  last day to let Eric Krum know your entry for a category in the WOODWORK, NO KITS list below.  Call 443.207.5537 and leave a message or send an email to eric@firststatewoodturners.org. Limit is one entry per category. Bring entry(s) in a labeled box to the June or July Chapter meetings Bring items in a labeled ..read more

For our February meeting, we had the pleasure of hosting the very talented Mike Sorge.  Mike is a sculptural woodturner from Middlebrook, Virginia.  He is the Vice President and Program Director for Central Virginia Woodturners.  Mike’s work encompasses a variety of forms, from utilitarian bowls, boxes, and platters to natural-edge bowls to sculptural cairn boxes, Spirit Birds, and other geometric forms. Mike presented his “Big Air Turning” demonstration for us.  This type of turning involves large “winged” shapes, such as diamonds, triangles, and squares.  Mike starte ..read more

Saturday, October 13th was the Grand Opening of the Franklin Institute’s new “Vikings:  Beyond the Legend” special exhibit in Philadelphia.  First State Woodturners was among the invited organizations to demonstrate craftsmanship and technology that the Vikings would have used.  In addition to us woodturners, there were weavers, blacksmiths, archers, boat builders, musicians, and bladesmiths demonstrating their crafts on Opening Day.  The craftspeople and musicians were set up in the atrium and hallways opposite the main Viking exhibit. The exhibition – running th ..read more

Eric L. Krum has been asked by members numerous times to describe the custom finish that he applies to his turned wood items. This slideshow describes the wax and polyurethane finish he uses:  KrumE Custom Finish Eric applying wax to a wine stopper ..read more

Eric L. Krum gave a presentation on the steps to glue up and turn a Ripple Clock at the October meeting. Curly Cherry & Ribbon Iroko Ripple Clock Curly Cherry & Wych Elm Ripple Clock Walnut & Sycamore Ripple Clock A PDF copy of the Turning a Ripple Clock slide show by Eric L. Krum is available for download here Ripple Clock_v2 ..read more

A new art tradition begins in Lewes, Delaware on August 25-26, 2018 with the premiere of the Lewes Summer Fine Art Festival. Held outdoors on the grounds of the Lewes – Cape May Ferry terminal, the event showcases original, handmade works by artisans from throughout the Atlantic Seaboard and across America. These artisans and their extraordinary works transform the Lewes-Cape May Ferry Terminal grounds into an outdoor gallery of art. Explore works created in a variety of styles using a diversity of materials and techniques. See sculpture, jewelry, painting, photography, mixed-media, glass, cer ..read more

The AAW Grant Committee approved the grant request for 3 Jet lathes submitted by member Heather Handler with the help of Tom Sloan and Eric Krum. The 3 lathes come with a set of turning tools and accessories. The tools will arrive in June 2020 and be installed at the Mount Pleasant Technical High School. This will give the students 6 lathes to turn on. This is the second grant the AAW has approved for the First State Woodturners chapter. The first grant was for a single Jet lathe ..read more

by Eric L. Krum First State Woodturners in coordination with the Fairs Arts & Crafts area lead put together a display of work from Chapter members that also included information about the Chapter and how to become a member. Chapter members had the option of submitting items for Judging and hopefully the awarding of ribbons for the winning entries. In conjunction with the ribbons winners receive a cash prize. Figure 1 – FSW Display at the 2019 Delaware State FairThe Figure 1 illustration shows the FSW display during the displays setup on July 13, several days before the Fa ..read more