Our clubhouse is located at the Essex County Environmental Center in Roseland, NJ, It offers a comfortable space for our members. We hold 12 meetings a year on the 4th Monday night of each month. Ten of these are regular demonstrations, one is a summer picnic, and one is our holiday party in December. During the 10 non-party meetings, we feature member demonstrations showcasing a variety of projects and techniques. We also host 2 to 4 professional woodturners from across the U.S., and occasionally, international woodturners, all via Zoom.
Our club is fortunate to have Alan Zenreich, one of the leading audiovisual educators in the country. His wife Lauren, helps facilitate top-notch interactive Zoom demonstrations, making it easy for remote participation and learning. Our meetings are recorded for later viewing.
It’s truly a pleasure to spend time with enthusiastic and friendly woodturners who share a passion for the craft. With approximately 100 members within an hour’s radius of our clubhouse, there’s likely someone nearby you can connect with. You can check the map on our website to see if there’s a member in your area. Many members carpool to meetings.
The camaraderie among our members is outstanding. We welcome turners of all skill levels—new members join us regularly (about one per month), and we have a dedicated group of around 30 members who have been part of the club for over 20 years.
Our club offers a variety of activities and opportunities that foster a strong sense of community while supporting both personal growth and charitable efforts. Here’s a look at some of the key programs and events we offer:
Charitable and Educational Mission: We have a strong sense of community focused on giving back and learning. Each year, we raise around $5,000 for the Children’s Specialized Hospital of New Jersey. We raise money by making children spinning tops. We ask for donations from the attendees of various demonstrations throughout the year. The main two events are the Earth Day Celebration and The Fall Festival at the Environmental Center.
Top Turning Events: We host several top turning events, usually a week two prior to our public demonstrations. We have 4 satellite locations where ~10 members get together for an afternoon to turn tops for inventory.
Community Outreach: We also create and donate wig stands for cancer patients and Beads of Courage boxes for children with terminal illnesses.
Monthly Show & Tell: Members can showcase their most recent projects and share their accomplishments.
Club Challenges: Occasionally, we hold a Club Challenge where members are challenged with creating a specific project. Members then vote on the favorite creations of the evening.
Weekend Workshops: From May through August, we offer members the chance to visit experienced turners’ shops for up to 4 hours of hands-on learning. These workshops cater to both beginners and more experienced woodturners looking to explore new techniques or projects.
Women in Turning (WIT): We have a subset of 10 women turners in the club who help getting new members on board
Personal Lessons/Instructions: We have several members who provide individualized instructions for turners wanting to jumpstart their woodturning adventure.
Monthly Raffle: Each month, we host a raffle where members can purchase chances to win bowl turning blanks or turning squares—great prizes for woodturners.
Annual Silent Auction: Once a year, we hold a Silent Auction where members can sell unused tools, providing an opportunity to both offload old equipment and acquire new tools for their collection.
Tool and Shop Liquidations: Members can dispose of their excess equipment when upgrading their equipment. We can also liquidate total shops when members pass away, become ill or move.
Free Wood: Members also benefit from occasional “Free Wood” brought in by members who are thinning out their personal inventories.
Whether you’re looking to improve your skills, connects with others woodturners, give back to the community, our club offers a wide variety of activities and opportunities to enrich your experience. We welcome all to share our love for woodturning and look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.
You can sign up on our Front Page by hitting the New Members button.