TENNESSEE VALLEY
WOODWORKERS AUGUST 1989
The
Ides of August are upon us. With our recent “cool weather” one might think we
were experiencing the Ides of March. Doesn’t it just make you want to get out
there and start raking leaves? I’ve had several uncontrollable urges to start
up the chain saw and start cutting fire wood. Just you wait the true “DOG DAYS”
of August will soon be with us. Now for the educational message. Sitting hare
with this “fancy” word processor, I’ve just asked it for some synonyms for the
word “August”. In a matter of seconds we have our lesson for August. I’m sure
this will come as no news to most of our wordie woodworkers———august synonyms
are:
dignified,
illustrious, lofty, majestic, or regal. Don’t say I never told you.
THIRD
TUESDAY THIRD TUESDAY THIRD TUESDAY THIRD TUESDAY
AUGUST 15
AUGUST 15 AUGUST 15 AUGUST 15
Don’t
let the third Tuesday slip up on you like we did. It can’t come any sooner-
then the 15th and that’s when it is so don’t forget to be at the Duck River
Building at 7:00 PM for our August meeting. All of you folks who have been on
vacation and busy with the kids all summer, come back and join us this Tuesday.
PICNIC
IN A CAPSULE
We
had a big crowd at our annual picnic, close to 60 folks, and plenty of chicken
and vegetables, chicken and salad, chicken and bread, and chicken and desserts.
Did you get a good look at that dessert table ? It closely resembled the one at
the Opryland Hotel at Sunday Brunch. Our thanks to Judy Davis and Jack~
Townsend for making sure there was plenty of food for everyone. Richard Gulley
made sure there was plenty to drink. And Richard, Tom Baskin and Tom Gillard
ran the contest and judging with their usual smoothness.
Special
thanks must go to Janey and John Lovett for their help in setting up the picnic
and picking such a beautiful setting for us. The sound and sight of the
waterfall down the creek was beautiful and everyone there particularly enjoyed
the tour of the mill and the restored log cabin. For those of you who are not aware
of it, there is a restored log cabin that is available for rent. It sleeps four
and has a continental breakfast included.
There is also a fireplace and furnishing and finishing work by a famous
local craftsman. Tom Cowan.
CONTEST
IN A CAPSULE
If
I make any mistakes here just hollar out at Tuesday night. It was getting dark,
late, and I eaten too much when the result were announced.
BEST
OF SHOW Bill Moye won this with
his carved and woodburned pelican
FURNITURE
.
1st
Jim Van Cleeve, a grand chest
2nd
Tom Cowan
3rd Henry Davis
TURNING
1st Tom Cowan, beautiful walnut cup
2nd Bill Chew
3rd Bill Knight
CARVING
1st
Bob Reese intricate Last Supper
2nd Winfield Bennet
I
think he won third, too, more later
CRAFT
1st Henry Davis, loved that rocking horse
2nd Jack Townsend
3rd Bill Knight
JIGS Bob Reese and his bodacious bow saw.
NON
WOOD
Betty
Jane Davenport, Chuck Williams daughter, won for her quilt. The stitching
was
perfect, this was her first one.
There
is still the little matter of Winfield’s pig and it’s tail to be resolved. We
will have to surround him at the next meeting, but Winfield, if you think we’re
going to fall for the fly story, well —~~
one of us is crazy.
RECENT
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Back
in June. there was an article in the Tennessean that really fascinated me. It
was about Alf Sharp of Woodbury, Tennessee. Out of the five Supreme Court
justices’ chairs at the Tennessee State Capitol, four of them were made in the
19th century. The fifth one was made in 1988 to match the originals. On a
recent visit there, momentarily even Alf had trouble spotting the one he made.
He says he not only build them to look old, but he finished them to look old,
too.
He
graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in English and French and then went on
to Law School. Soon after this, he decided he wasn’t cut out for the nine to
five, gray flannel suit life and opened a production shop to make money. But
with 25 people working for him, he found that he spent most of his time behind
a desk and never touched a piece of wood. He eventually sold this business and
settled into a shop at his home on Doolittle Road. He survives on commissions and has two helpers now.
In
addition to the Supreme Court chairs. other work includes a set of 25 chairs
for the State Library, a set of small Windsor chairs that were patterned after
the single existing one that is one of the earliest pieces of furniture in
Tennessee. He has also built two mantle pieces for the Hermitage, and other
pieces for individuals, including breakfronts up to 16 by 10 feet.
Even
though Sharp’s pieces range from $450 tp $20,000. he manages to stay busy. Alf
Sharp says that he’s really not self taught. He has picked the brains of dozens
of people and hung around a lot of shops. And he says he listens to historians
and decoraters, too. That they know what is good and bad from different eras.
Sounds like things are pretty busy out on Doolittle Road.
LONG
LOST FRIENDS
Thought
you all would like to know that Gina and Ricky Bishop are still alive and well
and still building their house. Things are going along well and as soon as they
are finished, they promise to come back and join us at the Woodworking Club.
VISITORS
Jack
has been busy with his recruiting for the Fall semester and has issued special
invitations to the following newcomers this week——Jerold Miller, James Jackson,
and Carol Comptom. Let’s hope to come and join us and let’s he sure to seek
them out and introduce ourselves.