TENNESSEE VALLEY WOODWORKERS
MAY MEETING 5/18/04
The Tennessee Valley Woodworkers monthly meeting was called to order by president, Ken Gould on Tuesday May 18, 2004 at 7:00 pm at the Duck River Building, Winchester, TN.
There were 64 in attendance, including visitors.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The annual club picnic will be on Saturday May 22 at Falls Mill. Soft drinks, chicken and paper products will be furnished by the club. Everyone bring a covered dish, chairs and item for the auction.
Bob Leonard announced the time and place for the Tree Identification workshop. It will be June 12 from 8:00 until 12:00 at Camp Arrowhead. The cost is $5 and bring your lunch.
OLD BUSINESS:
Spring Finishing Seminar: The seminar was a success and Ken complimented Loyd for the excellent job in chairing this event. All the committee members worked hard to make the program a success. They include Henry Davis, Larry Bowers, Doyle McConnell, Tom Cowan, Phil & Barbara Keene and Maurice & Ruth Ryan. A small box, made by Henry, was presented to Ruth in appreciation for her coordination of the lunch and refreshments during the day.
Sharpening Workshop: This workshop, led by Bob Reese, will be held on July 24. Bob suggested that members identify their sharpening interests prior to the workshop, so that he can cover all the items during the session.
NEW BUSINESS:
The decision was made to cancel the fall exhibit at the Tullahoma Art Center. The club will review rescheduling the exhibit at a later date.
Jim Van Cleave displayed a detailed relief carving of dogwood leaves and branches.
Doyle McConnell showed a black locust bowl. He used red-colored drywall putty to accent the bowl. This is the technique presented by Jerry TerHart in the recent Finishing Seminar. He also brought a “hollow vase” artwork (sliced up bowl) that was based on the “golden ratio”, explaining the pattern and method used to create the artwork.
Tom Gillard displayed two handcrafted signs, made for the yacht club. They were a sailboat design. Tom also demonstrated the technique of starting a “fire with a bow.
Ken Gould showed a use for broken baseball bats. He turned them into tool handles. He also brought two blacksmith boxes. Some of the wood came from cherry beams salvaged from a Winchester blacksmith shop. The boxes had handles of forged metal.
Bob Leonard discussed the safety issue of “kick-back” on a table saw. He encouraged everyone to use the maximum safety precautions on all shop equipment and particularly the table saw.
Crocia Roberson told about a visit to the Arrowmont craft shop in Gatlinburg. She was impressed with the Indian hats, turned from wood and the other wooden action toys.
PROGRAM:
The program for this month was presented by Buz Ackerman. His topic was the art of making wooden bows, using only hand tools. Hickory and bodark are the primary woods he uses in crafting the “old time” bows.
He gave a detailed explanation describing the different bow designs he made and how the design directly affected the bow performance. He showed how the “tension” and “compression” of the wood was considered in the bow design. Buz showed how he “fine tuned” the bend of the bow by continuing to work on flat spots to get the desired constant curvature of the bow, necessary for maximum strength and consistent “pull”.
Buz also makes his arrows utilizing high quality special dowels to obtain the correct stiffness needed for accuracy.
Refreshments:
Refreshments for the meeting were furnished by Phil & Shirley Bishop and Richard Gulley.
Minutes by Chuck Taylor, Secretary