Our Club

Founded in 1980, Western Pennsylvania Woodworkers is a non-profit organization dedicated to the purpose of education, safety, and techniques in all areas of woodworking. Our membership includes about 100 amateurs and professionals with interests in all areas of the woodworking crafts. Our mission is to educate, inform, and share woodworking skills, experiences, and ideas in an enjoyable environment.

Western Pennsylvania Woodworkers currently has about 100 members who enjoy woodworking and the products of woodworking. Some are professionals who exhibit in national shows, some simply enjoy the occasional building of a piece in their home workshop, and in either case, the result of your labor – an item of pride to be cherished, given as a gift or sold for a profit.

Monthly meetings are held generally on the second Saturday of each month where in addition to the main program, we exchange woodworking information, techniques, tips, designs, and ideas. The main program is a formal demonstration or presentation, usually by a member of the group. We suspend regular meetings for the summer months but sometimes hold a special meeting or field trip over the summer.


Become a Member

If you are thinking about becoming a member of Western Pennsylvania Woodworkers, we would love to have you join us. Memberships are based on our program year, September to July. Our annual dues are a very reasonable $25/year. 

Your annual dues give you access to regular meetings including presentations by nationally-known professionals. Our presentations range from nuts and bolts demonstrations to hands-on workshops to discussions about design and history of the craft. Our annual Show-and-Tell meeting gives members the opportunity to show off their work. 

Paid members have access to our extensive physical library of woodworking books and DVDs as well as our archive of past newsletters and videos of past meetings. Members also gain access to a range of discounts from area vendors and members-only classifieds.


Attend A Meeting

If you’re thinking about joining us, we encourage you to attend our next meeting. New and prospective members and visitors are always welcome at our meetings. Meetings are usually held on the second Saturday of each month from September to May. Arrive early and introduce yourself to other members to learn even more about the club.

Information Regarding Covid Protocols For Physical Meetings

While most Covid-related restrictions for physical meetings have been eliminated, the WPW will always try to be a responsible meeting host.  As such, we have some simple guidelines that we ask all meeting participants to please follow.  If you feel unsafe attending in person, or are unable to comply with our COVID-19 Guidelines, we also provide simultaneous virtual meetings via Web Ex. Guests should email webmaster@wpwoodworkers.org for details regarding attending a virtual WebEx Meeting.


Join Us For Our Next Meeting When We Present:

Detail Carving Tools Show & Tell and Dowel and Wooden Screw Making

Saturday, April 13, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (doors open 45 minutes before start time for refreshments and social time)
Back Channel School of Woodworking
831 Broadway Avenue
McKees Rocks, PA 15136
Virtual Meeting Available
You must be logged in to view the Webex meeting information.

The April meeting will be a Show & Tell of the completed (handle attached and sharpened) detail carving tools that we started in the March meeting. See the March meeting writeup for details on the video links associated with the program. Show us your finished tool, with a handle, and explain how you made the handle or anything interesting you did to make it. Also, since we are all learning, would there be anything you would do differently the next time?

Following this, time permitting, Elmer Nahum will showcase various tools and techniques for making wooden dowels, both straight and tapered varieties, along with their use in fashioning wooden screws. In addition to joinery, dowels can be used for shop-made jigs with handles and, when made into a screw, a vise or clamp can be fashioned. These methods can also be used make chisel and gouge handles,

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If you’re ready to join us a we learn about woodworking, improve our skills, share knowledge and passion for woodworking with others, there is no time like today to join Western Pennsylvania Woodworkers.