Interested in Lathe Work? Come to our next meeting

Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, meet on the third Thursday of each month to share everything from techniques and ideas to information about local suppliers and much more. 

Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 18, at 7:00 where we’re thrilled to have Jeff Van Rhyn giving a lathe demo on making wooden flowers.

Jeff has a long resume in woodworking - starting as a wood shop aide in high school.  He’s worked in a cabinet shop, and in casinos here in town. But life in the corporate led him into a casino slot department for the last 45 years. And although he doesn’t do woodworking for a living, he enjoys it as a stress relief and a sense of accomplishment. 

He dabbled in wood turning in the late ‘90s, but felt he didn’t really know what he was doing. Five years ago, he began studying with local expert Christian Brisepierre as a mentor, and later - taking turning classes with master turners, some of who traveled here from France and Israel.  He still meets with Christian for turning classes almost weekly, and has displayed his work at the turning club’s library exhibitions.

Anyone who has used a lathe know that there is so much versatility with lathe work. (There is bowl or spindle turning and multi-access turning just to name a couple.) Jeff will bring a variety of his pieces to show some of the different styles of his work. 

A recent piece he was designing needed some embellishment, and Jeff came across a technique for making wooden flowers. He started working on some twists to it so they wouldn’t all look the same and really liked how they came out. He will demonstrate making some of those flowers, and discuss some different variations to make each one different. These flowers can be used to embellish other types of woodworking, such as decorations on a picture frame, cabinet doors and more. 

This meeting will be held at Woodcraft of Las Vegas at 5220 W. Charleston Blvd. As always, the public is welcome to attend the meeting, so members - please feel free to bring a guest along. If you have questions or need directions, call (702) 672-8981.