Tallgrass Woodturners

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

Here are some of the creations made by our members that were shared at our monthly meeting in May.

06/09/2026

Hey all you wood turners! Tallgrass Woodturners will be having our monthly meeting this coming Saturday from 9-~11. All are welcome to come and enjoy the camaraderie, share a piece you have made and get inspired by others during show and tell, and watch a great demo by one of our members who will turn a Heart Bowl. If you are interested, please leave a comment and we will get you directions to the meeting. Happy Turning!

06/05/2026

Club members Aj Schmutzler, Vaughn, and Daniel Dubois are live turning at Matryoshka Tattoo tonight for First Friday!!! Come say hello!

05/28/2026

Live wood turning! We will be demonstrating wood turning in NOTO in front of Matryoshka Tattoo shop on the first Friday of every month this summer! Come by and learn about wood turning, watch the mesmerizing process, ask questions, and get to know fellow wood turners. Join us the evening of June 5th! Come by and say Hello!!!!

05/01/2026

We are out in NOTO Matryoshka Tattoo this evening doing some live turning!!!! Come by and say Hello!!!!

04/12/2026

Greetings, all you amazing people out there! Just a quick update....

We have decided to change the name of our local club in order to be more succinct and avoid any confusion with other clubs in Kansas.

The club members voted, and effective immediately, we will now be "Tallgrass Woodturners" to reflect the region of the state we live in, a part of our state heritage, and the nature of the outdoors from where we get our inspiration.

We appreciate your continued support, and will have a new logo forthcoming as well!

Current leadership:
Club President - Ross Hirst
Club Vice President - Mark Reinert
Treasurer - Vaughn Graber
Club Secretary - John Wall

Send a message to learn more

03/14/2026

The March meeting of the Kansas Association of Woodworkers (new name coming soon!) was held at Darrell Kellerman’s awesome shop in Topeka with around a dozen enthusiastic attendees this morning. After some impressive show and tell, Darrell demonstrated his skills at hollowing a small vase, using traditional turning tools and calipers to establish thickness. He also showed an alternative captured setup using a camera. Very well done and many of his tips and techniques were discussed throughout. As a bonus, he shared some finishing techniques using a rub on poly. Special thanks to Mary Anna for delicious brownies!
PS: New members welcome and zero experience required!
PPS: Tune in next month for an equally amazing demonstration!

02/15/2026

Had an awesome demonstration today from Daniel Dubois on offset pen turning. Using wood from the replaced floor from KU’s Allen Fieldhouse, he turned a beautiful pen leaving the original exposed floor as a minor flat surface of the barrel. An unexpected bolt hole provided a perfect opportunity to fill in with a KU blue mica and CA glue for an extra bit of nostalgia. Despite some good natured chiding from a few members of the KSU persuasion, another successful demo is now in the books. 24 members were present which is the largest turnout in many years! Special thanks to Ross Hirst for hosting (again) at his new shop, which is taking shape nicely.

01/12/2026

The Topeka club saw a wonderful demo from member Tom Boley on “The Octopod” on Saturday morning. This 8-cornered bowl is very unique and he uses mainly a bowl gouge for the entire piece. A healthy dose of safety reminders were sprinkled throughout the presentation. 17 members were present for another excellent demo which was followed by much discussion.