Woodturners demonstrate their craft

Local woodturners demonstrated their craft Saturday at Kalispell Center Mall, turning wood on lathes set up to show how pieces are made, and displaying their work for passersby to admire.

Glacier Woodturners Association first began as a group of five men in a garage turning wood together, said Dan Olsen, one of the original five members at the event Saturday.

Founded in 1995, the group now has more than 40 members, some of whom travel from as far away as Polson and Libby for meetings, shows and workshops.

The members meet monthly every third Saturday at Hanson Trucking in Columbia Falls. They have their own space in the back, the “club house,” as Jim Bridger calls it.

Each woodturner with the association has a specialty of some kind — one man makes pens another makes decorative bowls.

Bridger, a member for more than 12 years, displayed his wooden snowmen. The wood for the buttons, the nose and the body were all sourced from different locations around the world.

He said the group tries to source their materials from urban forests whenever possible. If a tree in town is dying or needs to be cut down, they use it for their larger pieces. But the more decorative pieces, he says, are brought in from around the world — from coast to coast, and from South America to Africa. Importing wood adds to the range that’s available to work with, but also adds to the cost.

“It’s an expensive, slippery slope,” said Brian Weaver, vice president of the association.

At the mall Saturday, Weaver was demonstrating how to make a whistle — one of his favorite things to make, though he’s lost track of how many he’s produced over the years.

Weaver first started turning wood nearly a decade ago. His father was a woodturner, and when he bought a new lathe, he passed his old one on to his son.

In addition to whistles, Weaver and other members of the group also make spinning tops, which they give away to children.

How fast they can turn a top depends on the woodturner, Weaver explains, adding that he can turn one in five minutes. World-class woodturners though, can turn a top in the time it takes another top to quit spinning, he says.

Bridger added that the association has given away thousands of tops to kids, and that each year at a tractor show in Columbia Falls they make 300 tops to hand out.

The members also donate their time in the hopes of sharing the craft with others. They’ve gone to the local high schools and middle schools to teach students, and they donate their time at shows teaching others how to turn wood.

“It’s a fun hobby to get into,” Bridger said, “but it’s not cheap. We’ll teach you so you don’t waste time and money.”

Bridger said he sometimes gives his creations away, averaging about five pieces that he donates each year, which he says amounts to about $1,000.

One of the great things about wood pieces is that they last forever, Bridger said.

“None of it just happens, it takes talent … it’s always a mystery, and you never know what it’s going to be,” Bridger said.

Reporter Alyssa Gray can be reached at 758-4433 or agray@dailyinterlake.com.