Minutes for the January 15, 2008 Meeting
Tennessee Valley Woodworkers
The meeting was called to order by president Tom Gillard.
Tonight’s Guests:
Thank you to:
ü Chuck Taylor for doing our newsletter
ü Felix Rees for doing the coffee
ü Loyd and Ladoris Ackerman and Doyle and Juel McConnell for the excellent goodies prepared for the break (Figure out who did the cooking! J)
A Mimosa tree was identified from pictures on the screen. The bark threw some of us off at first, but the flowers and leaves were unmistakable!
Old Business – none
New Business:
Ø Doyle McConnell passed out some surveys designed to help the Manchester Arts Center rebuild from their burnout using community input and desires to help make building decisions.
Ø Ross Roepke distributed copies of articles on wood toxicity and allergies. He asked Richard Gulley to post these on the web page.
Ø Ross Roepke also told us about 2 benefit auctions coming up that he will be making items for. He was hoping other club members would volunteer to make items to be sold. The auctions are:
February 9 – Trinity Care Center (provides adult care for Alzheimer’s patients, etc.)
March 1 – Literacy Council (provides opportunities to get a GED, etc.)
Ø The list for preparing goodies for the meetings was passed around again. More volunteers are needed!
Ø We want to thank Mrs. Lowrance (wife of recently deceased member Bob Lowrance) for sending many magazines from his collections for current members to take and use. She also sent a note about some basswood and other woods for sale. Please check out the web site for more information.
Ø Tom Gillard will be placing an order for great sandpaper and asked if anyone would like to go in on the order. A minimum of $50 per order would be needed.
Ø Anthony Watts announced a workshop on hand cut dovetails at the Woodcraft store in Franklin. The dates are February 21 and 22.
Ø Jim Wright reminded the carvers (and anyone else who is interested) about the workshop he is hosting on carving faces out of Cottonwood bark. He brought 4 examples to inspire and challenge us. They were: 1) a wood spirit, 2) a Viking, 3) an Indian, and 4) a wizard with 2 houses carved out of one piece of Cottonwood bark. The class will be at his shop on Saturday, February 2 from 8am – 12:00
Thanks to Jim Wright and Steve Shores for the wonderful workshop on carving fantasy houses in cottonwood bark which they hosted at Jim’s shop on January 5! They had a huge turn-out, and everyone there enjoyed learning from the masters. What tremendous opportunities this club provides!!
Show and Tell: (Always a favorite highlight of the meeting!)
Ø Jim Van Cleave – Country Baptist Church building carved into Cottonwood bark – a workshop success!
Ø Ross Roepke – 2 crosses made of a combination of light and dark woods. He made them by first making boxes, cutting the boxes in half on the diagonal and then joining the corners to form a cross. These will be put in the auction. He also brought a rolling podium he made for the country club. It was made from one big Walnut log and had 3 shelves behind cabinet doors, and casters to easily maneuver it about.
Ø Felix Rees – turned lamp made from wood salvaged out of the old Church of Christ building in Flat Creek. He also had made a clever carrying case for the 2 big coffee pots brought to the meetings each month, and thanked those who helped him get “elected” to the huge job of fixing coffee each month! J Thank YOU, Felix!
Ø Scott Short – fantasy house carved into Cottonwood bark – another workshop success!
Ø Tom Cowan – Walnut table with elaborate carving. The wood came from the Cardens, and the top was made from one huge piece of curly Walnut. It was inspired by a table made by his ancestor at the turn of the last century. He finished it by oiling, lacquer sanding sealing, lacquering (Here he buffed it with steel wool while the lacquer was still tacky to cut the gloss.), and then applying tree oil.
Ø Ken Gould – another bark workshop success; 2 houses carved into Cottonwood bark finished with Deft spray lacquer. He noted that windows are always a pain, especially when carving them! J
Ø Ken Burgess – Another successful Cottonwood bark carving with a long sweeping staircase and rock carved into the bark.
Ø Dick Wallam – Screech Owl carved from Bass wood with Golden Oak used to stain his back feathers, and a white stain used on his breast feathers.
Ø Johnnie Brown – Segmented vessel he started in the workshop hosted by Loyd Ackerman in November. Although he had some trouble with the accuracy of cutting the angles, the project was a success. He also told us about programs on the web (with free downloads for 30 days) that lead you through the design of segmented vessels. Two of those are: “woodturnerpro” and “3Ddesignpro.”
Ø Jim Wright – 4 Cottonwood bark carvings of a wood spirit, an Indian, a Viking, and a combination of a wizard and fantasy houses in the same bark piece. Be sure to mark the carving workshop on your calendar!
Ø Dave White – Dove tail jig made from, you guessed it, Walnut! He didn’t think this one was accurate enough, so he also made 3 smaller “microjigs” which worked very well. He also brought the beginnings of a band saw box where the wood he chose had a bee cavity in it that showed up as he was cutting the wood. Bees were falling out as he cut the wood, and he had to try to patch the holes.
Ø Loyd Ackerman - Loyd showed us a cheap clamp that was broken, and advised that it is worth it to go ahead and pay the little bit extra to get one that is patented and will last.
Ø Bob Addington – Mission style table made from Cherry. It had 4 coats of Danish oil, and he will Polyurethane it when that cures. He explained how to cut a custom dowel using a 3/8 inch semi-circle router bit in just 2 cuts.
Ø Sharron Wright – Another success story of a Cottonwood bark carving which was begun at Jim’s shop. She said the carving was addicting, and it was hard to get the windows to a point that you could see through them.
Break! Thanks again to Ladoris Ackerman and Juel McConnell for the goodies and Felix Rees for the coffee!
Program:
Matt Brothers introduced our presenters for tonight; Doug Walston, and Ray Hughes.
Doug Walston from Precision Blade andTool in Morrison and his Lenox representative, Ray Hughes, gave a talk on blades for band saws. (Ray expressed his admiration for the many talents and years of experience represented in the room. AMEN!)
Ray discussed blade terminology, explaining how the various sets of the teeth made for different cuts. He recommended the straight tooth have a positive rake rather than a zero rake, and likes the Hook blade, which has an elongated gullet and a positive rake.
He went over the points of the different materials used in making blades. Carbon blades are the cheapest and have heat tempered teeth. They may not be the least expensive in the long run, however. Bi-Metal blades are about 3X the price, but last 10X as long as carbon and cut twice as fast. Carbide blades are about 6X the cost, and are best for larger saws. They provide a cut that eliminates 70% of sanding. The carbide tips are adhered to a blade made of spring steel.
Ray talked about the importance of proper tension, and Doug and Ray offered to come to each member’s shop free of charge to use a tension gauge to set the proper tension on the band saw blade. Also, in setting the guides, track the blade first, and then bring the guides in to the bottom of the gullet.
Another hint: Cycle time wears out the blade faster than anything else. Turn off the saw when you walk away from it. Ray recommended sawing fluid lubricant for the blades. They extend blade life by acting like a coolant for the blade.
Ray then showed us some of the new hand tool and small blade products distributed by Lenox. He really liked the reciprocating saw blade coated with titanium for demolition work. It will even cut through black pipe.
There was a drawing for Lenox hats and footballs, and notepads and pens were given out to each member.….Thanks!
Doyle McConnell highly recommended Doug’s place in Morrison for any blade needs. He says his prices are cheap compared to other companies, and Doug will weld custom length band saw blades. His welding was noted to be especially strong. Make sure you call him for your band saw blade needs!
Another evening of information and
great fellowship was enjoyed by everyone who came!
See you next month on February 18!
Same time, same place!