No September Meeting

 No September meeting!

We'll be meeting next month for our annual Tool Swap Meet. Tentative date is Sunday, October 18.

This early announcement will give you time to grab all the extra tools and gear that you'd like to sell or trade. Start your pile!

We’ll get started at 10:00 AM and stay until the last deal is done!

This will be your chance to buy - sell - or - barter tools with like-minded woodworkers, so clean out your woodshop and join us!

Everyone is welcome to bring a table or cart to our next meeting and set up a booth in our parking lot. The parking lot is mostly empty on Sunday mornings, so everyone will have a chance to spread out and sell their wares.

Some of the goodies up for grabs include many hand tools, small power tools like routers, drills, drivers, nail guns, books, and MUCH more. We are also trying to get some wood sellers to attend - hopefully there will be some wood for sale, like live edge slabs, exotics, dimensional lumber, and more.

This swap meet will be held at 2267 West Gowan in North Las Vegas. The swap meet open to the public, so please feel free to bring a guest along. If you have questions or need directions, call 702-672-8981 for more info.

See you next month!

Our August meeting will be a field trip!

 

Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions. We usually meet on the third Thursday of each month to share everything from techniques and ideas, demos and information about local suppliers and much, much more. But… we’re switching things up this month.

Two words… FIELD TRIP!

We’re not going to meet on our regularly scheduled night, and we’re not meeting at the Woodcraft store. 

Instead, our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 6th from 6-9 PM, and we’re heading out to Tony Immordino’s knife making studio to see a presentation by David McDonald, an expert artisan and online resource provider in the Japanese sword community.  

David publishes instructional guides on Tsukamaki (the traditional art of wrapping Japanese sword handles/hilts. He's well known in the knifemaking community, and he’ll offer a viewing and discussion of Japanese swords, fittings, hibachis, and handles.  

If you attended the March 2025 meeting at Tony’s knifemaking studio/forge, you might remember what a special setting this is, and what an outstanding community of knifemakers are here in Las Vegas. 

Seriously, these guys make some of the coolest knives and swords that you’ll see!

If you are interested in attending,  please RSVP via text to 702-332-9161 to let Tony know so he can provide enough seating for all of the attendees.  

The meeting will be at 4265 W. Torino Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89139

You won’t want to miss this one!

Join us for a discussion on building a Sam Maloof Rocking Chair

 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, July 16, at 7:00 where we’re thrilled to welcome Dennis Patchett discussing the Sam Maloof rocking chair that he recently built. 

It's been said that building a Maloof rocker marks the pinnacle of a woodworkers journey. It represents an advanced mastery of skills that challenge every aspect of furniture making – complex compound angles, sculpted seat carving, organic shaping with rasps, grinders and scrapers, strong and elegant joinery, as well as extensive hand sanding and finishing. Building one of these chairs demonstrates proficiency across a wide range of techniques, and as usual - Dennis knocks it out of the park.

Dennis built this chair in walnut, using Scott Morrison’s rocker plan. He’ll be bringing the plan and templates that he used to make the various components, as well as the router bits required for the complex joinery.

If you've never seen one of these chairs up close, here's your chance to marvel at the organic flowing curves in this chair. This project requires many advanced skills, yet teaches patience and precision - all while shaping the wood into something that feels almost alive.

As usual, 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.

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.

 

Have you wondered how to get your work into a gallery? THIS is the meeting for you!

 Sin City Woodworkers is a Las Vegas Valley social and networking group dedicated to serious — and not-so-serious! — woodworking discussions. We meet on the third Thursday of each month to share techniques, project ideas, information about local suppliers, and much  more.

One of the topics our members ask about most often is gallery representation:

Where can I sell my work? How do I get my work into a gallery?

Well… you asked for it — so here goes!

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM and will feature fellow artist and Vice President of City of the World Art Gallery in Las Vegas, Maria Todd.

Maria is a lifelong artist whose creative journey began in childhood, using art, poetry, and handmade crafts to express herself and connect with others. Known for her signature blue hair and vibrant mixed-media style, she creates inspiring works that encourage peace, joy, and emotional connection through art.

Her artwork has been featured in exhibitions and galleries across the United States, earning numerous awards and recognition along the way.

In addition to serving as Vice President of City of the World Art Gallery, Maria leads community outreach programs, teaches art workshops, and developed an art therapy program for individuals living with dementia.

Most importantly, she is also an Air Force veteran, cancer survivor, grandmother of 13, and active community leader who continues to inspire others through both her artwork and her mission, InspireMeArts.

Maria will discuss the gallery’s mission, opportunities available through City of the World Art Gallery, and what galleries look for when considering new artists. She’ll also answer your burning questions — including how to approach a gallery and present your work professionally.

We’ll also have a quick Show & Tell session, so if you’ve built something you’d like to share with the group, feel free to bring it along.

This is also the last month we’ll be collecting SCWW dues. As always, dues are completely voluntary, but they help offset the costs of running the group — including our annual Meetup fees, which are now nearly $400 per year.

The meeting will be held at Woodcraft of Las Vegas 5220 W. Charleston Blvd.

As always, the public is welcome, so members are encouraged to bring a guest. If you have questions or need directions, please call (702) 672-8981.

Field Trip! Join us for a fascinating glimpse into a master woodturner's world!

Two words - FIELD TRIP!!

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

We have something special planned this month. 

Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 16 at 7:00 and we’re thrilled to be heading to master wood turner Bryan Thompson’s shop, where he’ll give us a glimpse into his life of turning wood. 

Bryan has been doing woodworking for over 50 years, and yes, as he says - he is very old.  He was fortunate enough to have a school shop teacher as a mentor who encouraged him along his woodworking journey.  He has become pretty good at turning wood, specializing in segmented work.  

He has invited us out to his woodworking shop to show us his process for creating segmented bowls.  He’ll give us an overview of his workshop and then explain how he creates his segmented bowls with upwards of 3000 to 4000 individual pieces of wood.

His address is: 5980 Kevin Way, Las Vegas, NV 89149. Google Maps will lead you there! 

We won't have a Show-and-Tell at this meeting, but we will still be collecting SCWW dues.  Remember - paying dues are always voluntary, but help us with the costs associated with running our group. Just our Meetup costs alone are nearly $400 a year, so your dues go a long way in helping us keep this group active. Dues are $20 for a year, and to be honest - we only collect them when our balance gets low! 

Finally - as always - the public is welcome to attend the meeting, And this will be a special one that you won’t want to miss.  Please feel free to bring a guest along, but be respectful of Bryan’s neighbors. His home is on a cul-de-sac, so as long as you don’t block any of his neighbors’ driveways, you can park in anywhere near there. 

If you have questions, call (702) 672-8981.

 

Vendor's Day the our local Woodcraft store - April 11!

Wanted to let all of the Sin City woodworkers know that there is a Vendors Day tomorrow at the Woodcraft store on Charleston. The hours are 9 AM - 4 PM.

Woodcraft of Las Vegas will be hosting their favorite brands for a one day only vendor demo day! Specials, sales, and demos from your favorite vendors including SawStop, Rubio Monocoat, Jet, Powermatic, Festool, and more!

Both the Las Vegas Carving group and the Las Vegas Woodturning group will be giving demonstrations, and you can speak to members and ask details about joining their groups.

Questions?

This is a great opportunity to have your questions answered by representatives from all of the major tool companies, and some finishing companies as well.

Hope you can join us at the Woodcraft store!