Talking shop with the DuPage Woodworkers Club

Ever since he was four, Keith Rosche of Wheaton has loved the smell of wood.

"I grew up on a farm, so my first birdhouse was a fun thing," he said. "I absolutely fell in love with it."

Now, he serves as program chairman for the DuPage Woodworkers Club, a regional group brought together by a shared love of "talking shop" and working with wood.

The club has more than 175 members, with an average of 75 attending its monthly meetings.

Roche admitted the group is a little homogeneous – most are older men, though there are some exceptions. Their diversity, said member Rich Rossio, comes from their varying experience levels.

"We're really well-rounded from beginner to expert," he said. "We've got a couple members who have been published in 'Fine Woodworking' magazine. We even have somebody who just started, a young fellow who I think is 13 or 14 years old."

Rossio said attracting not only more, but younger or inexperienced members, is an area of focus for the club, and something they have succeeded in during the last several years.

A little over a decade ago, they met in a classroom at the College of DuPage, until they outgrew the space.

Unlike some other woodworking organizations he has encountered, Rossio said, the club takes pride in creating a friendly environment. Those who have been doing it a while – some their whole lives – embrace those trying woodworking for the first time.

"We like to see the new, whether it be a kid or a middle-aged person looking for more info," he said. "We like to share it with them. And I might not have all the information, but when you have 60 people in a room, that answer is there. It's like if you are a golfer or anything else – if you have somebody to show you the right way, it lessens the learning curve."

At each meeting, the club has a "show-and-tell" section where members display what they've been working on for the last month and talk about how they did it.

"I can honestly say I've never gone to a meeting where I haven't come home with an idea of something new to try," Rossio said.

They then usually have a presentation about woodworking, often showcasing a certain style or technique.

The club has featured a wood spoon carver from Milwaukee and a Forest Preserve District of DuPage County representative who talked about the woodworking of original settlers in the 1850s.

At their last meeting June 25, they welcomed Rohan Ward, who spoke about being asked by President Barack Obama to make a table as a gift for French President Francois Hollande.

The club is also active in the community, creating more than 4,000 toys over the last two years to donate to local charities during the holiday season.

"It's a good place for somebody who doesn't do woodworking but wants to learn about doing more repairs around the house," Rossio said. "Over the years, I've seen clubs where they strictly consider themselves experts, but there's nothing I like better than seeing someone and helping them get started and seeing them be better than me after a few years."

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Join the club

Meetings are held 7 to 9 p.m. the fourth Wednesday of every month at St. James Church, 480 S. Park Blvd, Glen Ellyn.

For more information, visit www.dupagewoodworkers.org.