President
David has been woodturning since 2009. His favorite technique is segmented woodturning. He enjoys turning ribbon sculptures, platters, pens, and experimenting with unique embellishment techniques.
David is a charter member of the Flint Hills Woodturners club, currently serving as President. Previously he has served as Program Director and Secretary.
He has been a key demonstrator for FHW. Some of the the topics he has demonstrated about are: Turning the Small Stuff, Introduction to Segmented Woodturning, Eccentric Turned Christmas Ornaments, Finishing Techniques, Woodturning Design, Pendants, and Chuck it All!
David is a member of the American Association of Woodturners and the AAW Segmented Woodturners Chapter.
Other Information:
David retired after 35 years as a Kansas State University Professor on the Manhattan and Salina campuses. His last position was the Associate Dean of Academics for the Salina campus.
He is also active in local and state 4-H leadership roles, including judging demonstrations and public speaking. Also judging electronics, photography, woodworking, robotics, computer, and rocketry projects at several county fairs and the Kansas State Fair.
Vice President
Joe grew up in Salina Kansas where he developed an interest in woodworking from his father who was a carpenter. After a tour in the Navy, he moved to Manhattan where he worked for KSU as an electronic technician for 35 years. He was a member of KQWA for a number of years before he joined the Flint Hills Woodturners at their first meeting. He uses an old delta lathe that he converted to variable speed using a DC motor. He does mainly faceplate turning but plans to do more spindle turning after receiving a new skew tool from Santa. He is a member of AAW. Joe also serves as the club librarian.
Secretary
Barbara Drolet turned her first piece in an adult education class in 2004 and was immediately smitten with the lathe. She found the transformational process of log to bowl absolutely fascinating and extremely gratifying. Unfortunately, her next opportunity to turn would not come until much later, in December of 2016, when she was given a lathe. In May of 2017 she became a member of the Flint Hills Woodturners Club and became its secretary in December of 2019. She is also the WIT (Women in Turning) representative for the club with the AAW. She is still discovering what all she can create with the lathe and doesn’t get as much time on it as she’d like, but the shop is definitely her happy place.
Treasurer
Ross has been working with wood all his life. He started playing around with tools in his grandpa’s small workshop as a kid. The source of a lot of the wood he used was cigar boxes from his grandpa’s grocery store. He took woodshop in the 7th grade and had his first experience with woodturning. He did mostly flat work until he got his first lathe in the early 90s. His first lathe was a converted pipe makers lathe that needed new bearings, which he didn’t realize at the time. He started turning pens and stuck with them for several years until he sold the old lathe and got a new Jet lathe which for him was like moving from a Model T to a Cadi.
He now has 4 lathes but primarily uses only 2. One of his lathes is an Oliver that was manufactured in 1930.
He still does some pens but also does bowls and spindle work. He is a member of AAW, Kansas Area Woodturners and FHWT.
Program Director
Vacant at this time
Operations Director
Tom, now 71, bought his first lathe at age 50. He has been turning since 2000, more so since he retired six years ago. Tom is largely self taught (and books aren’t nearly as good as You Tube) with the exception of a week at craft supply in 2007, three days with Jimmy Clews in 2018, and what he has learned from other Flint hills woodturners. He has also attended several symposia, including one AAW, a couple at SWAT, and a couple with Rocky Mountain Wood Turners. His first lathe was a Nova, which he had for 14 years. It started with pulleys and was upgraded to a direct drive unit along the way. Seven years ago he decided he was in this for the long term, and needed some low speed torque, so splurged on a Robust American Beauty. An indulgence for sure. But he loves it. He now turns about three days a week, somewhat more in the winter, less when the weather is warm.
Member at Large
Heather is a new convert to woodturning after receiving a Delta midi lathe as an anniversary present from her husband in 2020. Although she is new to the craft, Heather has developed a sense for craftsmanship in wood as the daughter of a cabinetmaker, and an eye for form cultivated by her background in fine art. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in art education and enjoys the never-ending challenge of learning new material techniques. In 2020 and 2021, Heather participated in two AAW WIT (Women in Turning) Exchanges, and the experiences helped her to see the artistic potential of the lathe. She is a member of the AAW and serves as the club’s WIT representative.