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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.
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