The Southern Piedmont Woodturners held their September 19 general meeting at the ClearWater Arts Center and Studio, with 27 attendees in person, four guests, and six remote participants. Vice President Ric Erkes opened the meeting and highlighted the upcoming North Carolina Woodturning Symposium, scheduled for November 3–5, 2023, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. He noted the symposium will feature 48 demonstrations across eight rotations, along with a free trade show and exhibit gallery. Because a major football game will take place the same weekend, members were encouraged to book lodging early.
This newsletter also includes updates from a busy month of club activities, including Cabarrus County Fair participation and a pyrography course held September 23–24.
The evening’s demonstration was delivered remotely by Alan Zenreich, founder of the virtual group Lucid Woodturners and a leading advocate for integrating technology into woodturning. Alan provided an overview of using lasers in woodturning, covering how lasers work, types of lasers, essential safety considerations, equipment, software, embellishment techniques, inlays, robotics, and dealing with parallax on curved surfaces. He emphasized scalability, pattern design, and cost considerations. His goal was to introduce the possibilities of laser-assisted woodturning rather than teach full operation. Alan also answered questions and was thanked for his ongoing support of SPW’s remote-access capabilities.
Show and Share participation was lighter than usual due to preparations for the Cabarrus County Fair, but several impressive pieces were displayed. Ric Erkes shared two blue-embellished platters—one tiger maple, one cherry. Bob Moffett presented a lidded box, a unique bowl, and a custom jig he designed to safely hold turnings for angled band-saw cuts. Two beautifully crafted square bowls were also shown by an unidentified turner, notable for their striking grain orientation.
