TENNESSEE VALLEY WOODWORKERS

OCTOBER MEETING  10-19-2004

 The Tennessee Valley Woodworkers monthly meeting was called to order by president Ken Gould on Tuesday October 19, 2004 at 7:00 pm at the Duck River Building, Winchester, TN.

There were 54 people in attendance, including visitors.

 ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Ken announced that there is still a need for someone to sign up for the December meeting refreshments.

A request was made, by the club president, for someone to volunteer to serve as chairperson for the Christmas party on December 10.

Ken also announced that it is time to nominate club officers for the coming year. He requested that names be turned in for announcement at the next meeting.

OLD BUSINESS:

Franklin County Library Request: Tom McGill informed the club that the Library would soon be ready for the bookcases. He will call a meeting of the people who said they would be willing to help with this project. The projected meeting will be sometime in November.

Manchester Art Center Exhibition:  Loyd Ackerman is the club contact for the exhibit to be held during the Pinocchio play. He passed a sign-up sheet around, asking people to identify what they will be bringing to the exhibit. The exhibit will be early December and will last for 6-7 days. Loyd will give specific information concerning times/dates at the next meeting.

 Carving Seminar:  The carving seminar, led by Phil Bishop, will be held at his shop on October 23, starting at 8 AM & lasting until 4 PM. The cost of $5.00 includes lunch.

 Coffee County Fair was a success. Everyone seemed to have a good time. “Russ and the Splinter Pickers” did a good job entertaining the group.

 NEW BUSINESS:

Franklin County Arts Guild will be having an exhibit and sale on November 6 & 7. The exhibit will be at the American Legion Building. The club has agreed to pick up the cost for the club booth for those who would like to be involved in this activity.

 SHOW AND TELL:

Harry May displayed some of his excellent carvings. They included three wood spirits (carved from box elder) and a carving of “Jiminy Cricket” (to be displayed at the Manchester Arts Center exhibit).

Tom McGill brought a cherry table leg that he had made. The leg had a beaded section and Tom did this process on his lathe, utilizing a router and fixture.

Joe Kuhn discussed a “Bead-Lock” system that he had purchased for creating mortise/tendon joints. He explained the system and showed how to create the joints. He also brought a $900 “cleaning supply caddy” made from clear pine and put together with box joints. The reason for the great expense of the small project was that he used the project to justify the purchase of a new band saw.

Bob Leonard displayed a “pig” knife that he had carved, after purchasing the first one. The knife was maple with cherry blades. He also discussed how he made a small piece of molding, utilizing a homemade scraper.

Chuck Taylor brought two small box elder bowls finished with two coats of lacquer. The bowls were “identical” except for the “differences”.

Doyle McConnell brought a red maple vase with a lacquer finish and his latest creation a “Fibonacci” design created from a red maple closed vessel. The creation was displayed on an iron stand made by Ken Gould.

Geoff Roehm discussed a “drop spindle” made from bodark and walnut burl. He used a metal cutting lathe to make the piece.

Tom Gillard showed two sail boats that he had made. The hulls were magnolia and sails were made from maple. Tom also brought sample panels the he was making for a second story railing, required to meet local building codes.

PROGRAM:

The program for this month was “Shop Safety”. And consisted of a panel discussion on various safety issues in shops. The panel moderator was Loyd Ackerman and the panel members included David Sapp (Franklin Woodcraft Store owner), Tom Gillard and Maurice Ryan.

David discussed a lot of general safety rules for your shop and the table saw, in particular. He stated that that the table saw was one of the most dangerous tools in your shop, with 30,000 accidents being reported in the last two years. The major contributor to this number of accidents was the old standby “kick-back”. He discussed some “essential” safety requirements for your shop. They included eye and ear protection, first-aid kit, phone and a “posted” emergency accident plan. He also discussed a series of “do’s and don’ts” for operating the table saw. He mentioned one “never” and that was concerning cutting “free-hand”.

Tom discussed hearing protection and respirator utilization. He showed different examples of ear protectors and discussed their uses and advantages/disadvantages. Tom stated the OSHA noise limit was 85 decibels. Tom also displayed two types of respirators; the dust mask and the carbon filter type. He discussed the proper use of each. He reminded everyone that the carbon filter type should be stored in a sealed container, since it only provides maximum protection for 8-10 hours in the open air due to the carbon filter insert exposure. Tom emphasized the importance of having proper ventilation when using spray equipment.

Maurice discussed the many dangers of chemical/solvent exposure. We are exposed in just about everything we do. The most serious exposure problem is “casual/routine” exposure to the various chemicals and solvents. He stated that the best thing to do was to use “common sense”. He encouraged all to use lots of ventilation, protective clothing and a respirator when involved in the use of the many chemical/solvent we use nearly every day. He led a general discussion concerning chemical/solvent safety issues.

This program was a good reminder for all, that while we have lots of fun in our shops, we must always practice good safety habits.

 Refreshments: Refreshments were provided by Don & Louise Miller & Chuck & Martha Taylor.