TVWW MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES

for

December 21, 2010

 

Tom Cowan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

                                                                                                                                         

Guests & Visitors: 

The club recognized and welcomed the following individuals as guests:

·       Steven Zuccaro

·       Zack Zuccaro

·       Jim Pierre

New Members: 

·       John Hartin

·       Greg Sterling

 

 

Old Business:

Tom thanked everyone for making the annual Christmas Dinner a success.  It was a great event and allowed members the opportunity to have good fellowship and a wonderful meal.  Thanks especially to Martha and Chuck Taylor. 

 

Tom expressed appreciation to everyone for their support throughout the year and emphasized the hard work that had made all the club activities a success.  Tom mentioned the workshops, picnics, tours, three festivals (which the carvers participated in), the seminar, the 25th Anniversary Dinner, the membership photo project, and the newly updated web site. 

 

Loyd Ackerman expressed to Tom appreciation from the membership for his commitment to the TVWW club for the last twenty five years and particularly for his dedication and hard work during 2010 as the President.  Tom received a standing ovation.  

 

Tom announced that he and Geoff Roehm had opened a store front in Cowan Tennessee to sell items.  They have enough room to have workshops or courses during the year if anyone is interested.  Tom announced that plans have been made  to have a gilding class.  He also passed around a signup sheet for members to list other workshops they might be interested in in 2011.  Tom emphasized the cost would be minimum and the facilities would be provided at no cost.

 

Carvers Corner: 

The carvers meeting is held every 1st Saturday of the month at Phil Bishop’s Shop at 8:30 a.m.

Phil Bishop was not at the meeting because he was out of town. 

 

Bob Lenard read part of an article dealing with Walnut 1,000 Canker Disease that is carried by a beetle.  The disease which kills Walnut trees  has been identified in East Tennessee where a quarantine has been put in effect for Anderson, Blount and Union Counties.  For more information look on the internet.

 

 Show and Tell, the December Program was an extended Show and Tell.

Tom Cowan brought pictures of his work.  Tom built 4 tables or desks for his granddaughters.  The design for the tables came from a picture in a book of Thomas Jefferson’s furniture.  The top has a unique design that slides over which doubles the size of the desk top.  On one of the tables Tom made a butterfly inlay from Box Elder, since that granddaughter is fascinated by butterflies.   

 

Additionally Tom showed pictures of an Arts and Crafts style door that he built for a customer in Sewanee.  The metal work in the door depicted sunflowers and dogwood blossoms.  The metal  was created by a craftsman in Grundy County.  The door also featured side glasses in panels. 

 

Tom also brought in a picture of an Arts and Crafts style coffee table he built on which he installed a 1 ½ inch granite top.

 

Paul Fulks brought in a garden bench he made for his wife.  He found the design in a book and the made extensive changes as he built it.  It started out as a simple outdoor bench but evolved into a more refined bench that he stained with Red Chestnut and Mahogany  Minwax stain.  It was finished with Spar Varnish.  A number of members provide support and guidance so that the final product had two brushed coats of Spar Varnish and then 5 coats of sprayed coats of Spar Varnish.  He thinned the Varnish with 10% Naphtha. 

 

Ken Gould brought in a Nut Cracker hat was approximately 4 feet tall.   It was an amazing piece of work with the center being made of Basswood.  The middle section and hat were made from Maple.  The lower legs were turned from walnut.  There were three turned sections above the belt.   Ken placed a pin through both arms and the body which serve as a hinge for the nut cracking mechanism.  Ken discovered this operation would have been much easier if the boring had been completed prior to the sections being turned.  The legs were made of Cherry and dowelled together. 

 

Bob Leonard brought in 8 knives and 2 sheaths that he carved out of wood.  Three of the knives were a pocket knife style.  He made one knife in the Tennessee Toothpick style.  Bob carved this knife from Red Oak, Osage Orange, and eight other species of wood. He carved a Tennessee Skinner which sported a Maple blade.  Other parts were made from Black Walnut and the pins were carved from Osage Orange.   Bob carved a Tennessee drop corner knife  that he patterned after a knife he saw at Walmart in Winchester.

 

Vince Zaccardi brought in a magazine rack he built.  The top was constructed form soft Maple that grew in his backyard.  Vince finished the piece using Minwax Colonial Maple Stain.

 

Loyd Ackerman completed jewelry chests for all his granddaughters for Christmas.  Loyd brought in the prototype he built from Walnut and from Tulip Poplar.  The Poplar was stained to match the walnut.  He finished the piece with two coats of oil followed by two coats of Satin Lacquer. Loyd applied all the flocking for the jewelry box before assembling the jewelry box. 

 

Doyle McConnell brought in four turned pieces.  One was a natural edge bowl turned out of red bud.  One of the bowls he turned in 1993.  Doyle turned a hollow vase out of Rubber Tree wood.  Doyle also displayed a vessel he completed this summer.

 

Henry Davis turned a bowl from Paulownia (Empress Tree or Tree of China).  Tom Cowan helped him complete the bowl in November of 1997.  Henry mentioned that Tom had helped him very much over the years.   Tom has had a wonderful influence on every wood turner in the club.   

 

Scott Short displayed a John Deere tractor rocking tractor he made for his one year old grandson.  The plans came from Cherry Tree Toys but required a lot of modifications.  The wheels were constructed from three pieces of plywood that were glued together.  The finished job was outstanding with the extremely fine detail displayed in the tractor.  The paint job of authentic yellow, green and black topped off the project. 

 

Jim Everett brought in six pieces of intarsia.  They consisted of a pen with the Constitution, a boy in a tub, a guitar, a deer, a banjo and an Indian.   As usual the combination of woods was superb as well as the overall finish. 

 

Ron Reimers displayed and played three Native American Flutes.  One was made from Ambrosia Maple and two were made from Cedar.  One of the cedar flutes was significantly longer than the rest, twenty eight inches.  Ron displayed the flutes on a piece of drift wood that he collected on Lake Hurion.  One of flutes had four rings of ¼ inch.  The rings were made from Walnut, Yellow heart, Padue, and Maple.  The flutes were finished with mineral oil inside and out.  The final finish was spray laquer.  Each flute is sanded eight times starting with 80 grit and finishing with 800 grit.  The barrel sizes on the three flutes varied from 7/8 to 1 inch.  He has engraved some of the flutes.  Symbols of earth, fire, water and wind represent honor, humility, respect, and wisdom.  As usual Ron gave an outstanding demonstration of flute music on all three pieces.  The twenty eight inch long cedar flute gave a very low mellow tone. 

 

Josef Maierbacker constructed a scale from wood which he uses to determine the specific weight of rock samples.  One of Josef’s hobbies is the identification of rock samples.  He uses the scale to identify the samples. He also built three drawers into the base of the unit where he stores other rock identification tools such as scratching tools for hardness determinations.  In this project Josef combined both his love of woodworking and mineral collection and identification.

 

Bob Reese brought two violins.  One he constructed and one he bought at a yard sale.  Bob has made thirty two violins in the last twenty years. Bob inlaid a fan in the back of his latest violin.  The inlay is extremely thin, about the thickness of a business card.  The fan has 28 blades.  The inlay is only about 10 thousands deep and is curved in both directions on the back of the violin. 

 

Bob has concluded that the violin he bought at a yard sale for $30 was made was made at least  417 years ago by Antonius Amitria who taught Stradivarius  Rheta played both violins demonstrating her ability with the violins and Bob’s expertise with violin construction. 

 

Jim Van Cleave built his wife a set of Walnut steps to assist her in getting into their antique high bed.  The high bed was used in earlier times in order to stay warmer in the winter.  The high bed is 36 inches off the floor.   

 

Michael Zuccaro brought in a natural bench.  The main Walnut board used in the bench is mother nature’s handy work.  Michael put together the legs and produced a unique and interesting bench.  He also brought in a backgammon board that was made using a multitude of wood species to achieve the range of colors and the design. 

 

Felix Reese displayed a tape dispenser that he constructed from cedar.  The cutter was made from an old hacksaw blade and set into the end to serve as a tape cutter.

 

Brenda Zuccaro brought in a motar and pedestal she turned from Mahogany.  It was finished with Danish Oil.

 

Steven Zuccaro brought in a vase he carved out of mahogany using a pocket knife and other various and assorted tools.

 

Tony Harrison brought in a Lazy Suzan that he constructed for his mother in law.  He used six different species of wood for the top.  The bottom was made of pine. 

 

Ross Roepke brought in a cutting board his made from a piece of curly Cherry.  The grain pattern was particularly pleasing. 

 

John Hartin brought in two bowls that he turned from a small tree.  One was turned from a piece of maple and the other from a piece of scrap.  

 

Matt Brothers brought in pictures of a blanket chest he made from cedar.  He also constructed a toy chest from walnut and butternut.  This chest was 36” by 20” by 20” and hardware for it was hand-made.  Matt also brought pictures of a chest of drawers that he constructed out of Cherry and finished in Danish Oil before being coated with lacquer.    

 

Tom Cowan officially handed over the gavel to Vince Zaccardi to the new club President for 2011.  Vince wished everyone a happy holiday season and officially adjourned the meeting.