Brief History
In the mid 1980's Paxton's Woodcrafters store had a woodworking association which met on a monthly basis for their hobby patrons. While attending these meeting and visiting with other members it became apparent that a small number of people were interested in turning and desired advice as well as hands on instructions. Additional discussions and investigation pointed to Alan Lacer as one of the more knowledgeable turners in the area who was conducting a basis turning class at the Moore-Norman Vocational-Technology school.

At the time Alan's class had eight students, six from the Okla. City/Norman area, one from Beaver, OK and one from Kansas. With guidance from the recently formed American Association of Woodturners (AAW) and Alan the small group started meeting at various member's shop on a regular basis. Their activities not only included turning but they started working to establish a turning club. They begin by electing the following officers; Alan Lacer - Pres., Bill Hull - Vice Pres., Robert Knox - Treasurer, Bill Porterfield - Secretary, and Bob Jarrett - Editor. Officers were to serve a term of three (3) years, commencing July 1, 1987. The new club drafted and adopted Bylaws in hopes of becoming a local chapter of the (AAW) which happened in June 1988. In 1989 the club applied for and became a Not-for-Profit Corporation within the State of Oklahoma.

Membership
Membership in the COWA is open to anyone with an interest in turning wood as an art, craft, collector, or hobby. Individual / family dues are $30.00 per year. Membership is around 100 with about 60 members attending each meeting. Charter members who continue to be active are Bob Jarrett, Bill Porterfield and Larry Slief.

COWA members are encouraged but not required to become a member of the AAW. Members are requested to send their AAW dues directly to the AAW: membership applications will be made available. Membership in COWA runs from January 1 of any given year through December 31 of that same year: in AAW it runs from the month your join for a one-year period. If you need additional information check with one of the officers listed below.

Meeting Times and Location
COWA meetings start at 6:30 P.M. on the second Tuesday of each month at the Metro Technology Center, 4901 South Bryant Avenue, Oklahoma City. Meetings are dedicated to woodturning demonstrations and member's "Show & Tell." In addition to demonstrations at regular meetings COWA sponsors workshops conducted by International, National, and Regional “master turners” to introduce new ideas and techniques. Each year COWA demonstrates woodturning at schools, town/city festivals, and fairs. Another benefit to members is the club sanctioned wood turning classes at a nominal fee.

Links to Club Documents
Bylaws
AAW Chapter
Articles of Incorporation
Certificate of Incorporation

Education and Community Outreach

From the beginning as a club the Central Oklahoma Woodturners Association (COWA) took advantage of opportunities to do demonstrations at various events in the Oklahoma City area. To assist new members COWA started a program to teach basic woodturning. These classes were and still are very popular with our members filling all six of COWA’s Jet 12-24 variable speed lathes. The problem quickly became where to hold the classes.

COWA expanded their education and outreach by partnering with the Moore-Norman Technology Center offering classes to the public as well as club members. COWA partnered with the Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City as a location to hold club meetings. In return COWA would teach basic woodturning to their woodworking students.

A series of adult classes was scheduled every other Saturday at the Moore-Norman Technology Center. Classes progress from basic tool handling / spindle turning, bowls, lidded boxes, to hollow forms. We have had the maximum of ten students in most classes with many students repeating participation in the entire series.

COWA provides their six lathes plus the Center has four, turning tools, wood, instructor, and enough club volunteer helpers making it almost one on one help for each student. At the end of each class students complete an evaluation form about their experience. To date COWA has received one of the highest evaluations in the Moore-Norman program. There is a modest fee of $49.00 for each adult woodturning class unless there are additional materials required: lunch is also provided.

From the very beginning of our turning classes there were discussions on how to get youth involved in woodturning. This problem was solved when we partnered with Moore-Norman. We now teach woodturning to their high school students in the woodworking program at no cost to the student. Our first class was in pen turning. The class started with a general description of facility rules, layout, and safety procedures. Each student is given instructions for the slim-line pen and organized the steps for making the pens. Following the instructors demonstration of procedures the students then perform all the steps in preparing the blank and turning the pen. All students completed the pens in the allotted time of their half-day class periods. Many students requested a bowl turning class. The education committee designed classes in bowl turning for the high school students. Since the high school students are only there for half-day sessions the class takes two sessions to complete. The students are highly motivated and excited about future planned classes.

A schedule of classes can be found on the Calendar of Events page.

In 2004 the Central Oklahoma Woodturners Association became one of the supporting clubs of the SouthWest Association of Woodturners.