SPLINTERS
Vol. 12/ Issue 5 Tennessee Valley Woodwprkers Editor; Tom Gillard May 1998
***Important Notice***
The next meeting of the Tennessee Valley Woodworkers will be held, May 19th at 7:00pm in the Duck River Electric Building in Dechard, TN. Club member Skip Baker will demonstrate how to Inlay Mother of Pearl.
All interested woodworkers are invited!
May 30,1998
“Back to the Basics”
Spring Seminar
The theme of the Spring Seminar is “Back to the Basics”. This format was decided on in an effort bring to the woodworkers that have not been exposed, some of the fundamental things commonly used in woodworking, or just to renew some old ideas in some “old woodworkers”. Several of our members have agreed to be presenters for the gathering.
The date is to be May 30, with registration from 8:00am until 9:00am. The presentations will be from 9:00 until 4:00. A lunch break will be taken from 12:00 until 1:00 with an eat as you wish at any of the local restaurants. The program location will be in the classroom at the Foothill Craft building in Manchester. There will be presentations on sharpening, carving, steam bending, gluing, and especially for the ladies decorative finishes and basket making. All guys need to know how to finish and baskets need handles so all presentations will be to the entire group. There will be a $5.00 early
registration fee and $6:00 at the door to cover necessary items.
Please register at the May meeting or contact Doyle McConnell, Bob Reese or Jim Roy. Early registration will help very much on planning for the event.
Treasured Ebony
I do believe that woodworkers are inherent scroungers. Old pieces of wood, antique tools, bits of hardware that may still be useful are all attractive booty to the keen eye. So I could not pass by and let a venerable building in my New England hometown fall to the wrecker’s ball without searching for some memorabilia. Flashlight in hand, I clawed my way into the rat-infested building and was soon deep in the cellar poring over heaps of old files, busted furniture and curios galore. On a wooden girder deep in the dust I spotted a veneered box. It contained no gold trinkets, but a treasure nevertheless. The box was filled to the brim with black and white piano keys! The blacks were of the finest ebony and the whites pure ivory. Over the years, I saved this ebony for making small pieces in musical instruments and found it far superior in color and grain to any other ebony I have worked.
Ebony was used sparingly in ancient Egypt, and Chinese pieces of art from the Ming Dynasty were embellished with it. Three centuries ago, ebony’s prevalence in fine marquetry gave the French their work for a master
cabinetmaker-e’be’niste. It continues to this day to be a prince in the kingdom of wood.
Just what is this exotic wood? The first thing one thinks is that it is black, but not all ebony is black. In the plant family Ebenaceae (ebony) resides the genus Diopyros with over 400 species. Only a chosen few produce true black wood. The common persimmon, D. virginiana, for example, shows a trace of black in its heartwood only when it reaches a very old age. I like to think that the piano keys I found were D. ebenwn, the cre’me da La cre’me of all the ebonies. This species is known as Ceylon ebony, and was as extremely scarce 100 years ago as it is today.
In today’s marketplace there are perhaps a half-dozen species of ebony or Macassar ebony (D. celebica), are from the East Indies; others like Gabon ebony (D. dendo) come from Africa. Most are not jet black but range from gray-black to shades of green, often striped with tan, yellow, gold or orange. It is best to consider carefully your supplier’s description of the wood’s color, stripes and other characteristics. Also, be aware that products are available to effectively stain ebony that is not pure black. There is also high variability in the density of various ebonies, with species ranging from 45 to 60 pounds per cubic foot.
Working with ebony is unlike working with more common woods. Small pieces tend to be very brittle, a problem if you are coaxing a narrow strip of banding around a bend. Carvers develop a knack for carefully controlling the pressure of the chisel to avoid splitting the wood. Ebony will glue and hang in tightly if you wipe its edges with a solvent to remove the surface oil. Finishes can be applied with care, but the wood really does not need it. Polishing with 1200 grit sandpaper produces a bright and lustrous shine needing only a coat of wax.
The trees producing black ebony never reach above 50 feet, with trunk diameters of at most one to two feet, so don’t expect to find many large pieces of ebony, except as veneer. Many hardwood suppliers have turning blocks and other small pieces in stock and the prices are what the limited supply dictates. Ebony is best used to highlight some focal point, such as drawer pulls, or to lend contrast to a wood that seems dull by itself, perhaps as banding around table legs. There are all sorts of decorative inlays, marquetly and turnings that use ebony to perfection. It is a real artist’s delight. Work a piece into your next project and join the long line of users who know how enchanting this wood can be.
Home Furniture by James H. Flynn.
We would like to welcome our newest members:
Mike Carroll from Readyville, Mike has the honor of driving the furthest to our meetings!
Dave Cortner from Winchester.
John Mayberry from Manchester.
Gary Lyle from Tullahoma.
Ruth and Maurice Ryan from Winchester, our latest husband and wife team!
We hope your association with the TVW is a long and pleasant one.
April 23, 1998
TENNESSEE VALLEY WOODWORKERS
MEMBERSHIP LIST
ACKERMAN LOYD 662 MAGNOLIA
DRIVE WINCHESTER
37398 967-3678 __
ARNEY
GEORGE 704
LOWRY
MANCHESTER 37355 728-2020
BAKER SKIP & EDNA 408 E. ENGLAND
ST. COWAN
37318 967-2388
BALDWIN TED 111 STONE
BLVD TULLARHOMA
37388 455-8364
BENNET WINFIELD 102 9TH
AVE.
WINCHESTER 37398 967-3185
BISHOP PHIL & SHIRLEY 1656 HOLDER’S COVE
RD. WINCHESTER 37398
967-4626
BROWN MANUEL 910 WESTWOOD
DR. TULLAHOMA
37388 455-5611
CARROLL MIKE 8631 MANUS
RD READYVILLE
37149 890-8702
CARTER HARVY 402 HEIGHTS
AVE. TULLAHOMA
37388 454-1089
CHATTIN MURRELL & GLADYS 111 EASTBROOK
RD. ESTILL SPRINGS 37330
649-5417
CHURCH TOM & SUSAN 723 FARRIS
LANE BELVIDERE
37306 967-4460
CLARK HOUSTON & LILIE 125 ELKINS
ST. ESTILL SPRINGS
37330 649-5398
COLE RAY 1836 WILLIAMS COVE
RD. WINCHESTER 37398
962-1633
COOK JAMES & SHIELA 1905 BELAIRE
DR. TULLAHOMP.
37388 393-4066
CORTNER DAVE P.O. BOX
93
WINCHESTER 37398 962-0054
COULSON HOWARD 204 HINES
ST.
COWAN 37318 967-7365
COWAN TOM 4085 WILLIAMS COVE
RD. WINCHESTER 37398
967-4835
DAVIS HENRY & JUDY 247 DELIGHT
LANE TULLAHOMA
37388 393-3191
ELLIS JOE & PAT 603 FLOWER LANE
DR. ESTILL SPRINGS
37330 649-2689
EUBANKS BOB 905 DAVIS SPRINGS
RD. TULLAHOMA
37388 455-8382
FARMER ROY 131 BEL AIRE
WINCHESTER 37398 967-3703
GIERSBERG COLIN 116 HOLLY
DR. WINCHESTER
37388 967-3660
GILLARD TOM 103 LEMONT
LANE TULLAHOMA
37388 455-6651
GRAHAM STEVE 151 WATERS
EDGE ESTILL SPRINGS
37330 967-3634
GREEN JOHN & LOUISE 760 YOUNG
LANE WINCHESTER
37398 967-0997
GRISARD FRANK 122 HIGHLAND
DR. WINCHESTER
37398 967-9682
GULLEY RICHARD 103 SHELLY
ST. Decherd
.37324 967~5477
HEWGLEY HAROLD P0 BOX
6
WARTRACE 34183 389-9736
JACKSON LEONARD & MARY JO 403 FLOWER
LANE ESTILL SPRINGS
37330 649-5284
KIMBLE KENNETH 104 WHITE OAK
DR. MANCHESTER
37355 728-0837
KNIGHT BILL & EVELYN 185 KNIGHT
LANE WINCHESTER
37398 967-1371
KOLLSTADT BERNIE 308 TARA
BLVD. TULLAHOMA
37388 454-2429
LOVETT JOHN & JANIE 134 FALLS MILL
RD. BELVIDERE
37306 469-0259
LYLE GARY 200 OLD FORD
ST. TULLAHOMA,
37388 455-6692
MAIERBACKER JOSEF MOTLOW COLLEGE
RD. WARTRACE
37183 455-0430
MAY BILL 4203 OWL HOLLOW
RD. BELVIDERE
37306 962-0215
MAYBERRY JOHN 700 RIVERSIDE
DR. MANCHESTER
37355 728-2806
MC CONNELL DOYLE & JUEL 701 LOWRY
ST.
ANCHESTER 37355
728-7315
MC GILL TOM 1131 DRIPPING SPRING
RD. WINCHESTER 37398
967-2811
MILLS WILL P0 BOX
657
SEWANEE 37375 ~98-9591
RAITHEL DAVID 578 GOSHEN
RD. WINCHESTER
37398 967-0917
REESE BOB & RHETA 1977 MC MI1~INVILLE
HWY. MANCHESTER 37355
728-7974
RIDDLE CHARLES 248 LAKE
HILLS TULLAHOMA
37388 454-~374
ROBERSON CROCIA P0 BOX
404
WINCHESTER 37398 967-17~8
ROBINSON ERIC 2978 ROBINSON CREEK
RD. HUNTLAND 37345
469-7940
ROEPKE ROSS 1102
BRAGG
TULLAHOMA 37388 455-8310
ROY JIM & JEANETTE 207 LAKE HILLS
RD. TULLAHOMA
37388 455-2760
RYAN MAURICE & RUTH 1966 MANSFORD
RD. WINCHESTER
37398 962-1555
SARGENT JOHN & AMY
--
~i67O OTTER FALLS RD.
SEWANEE 37375
598-5716
SMITH CARL 561 CARTER FARRIS
LANE WINCHESTER 37398
962-0195
THOMAS DOUG 10815 TULLAHOMA
HWY TULLAHOMA 37388
455-3075
TOWNSEND JACK & DORA 209 SCHWARTZ
ST. ESTILL SPRINGS
37330 649-5165
TROXLER JOHN & IRMA 505 TWELVE OAKS
DR. TULLAHOMA.
37388 455-5559
VAN CLEAVE JAMES & MARIE 109 LAKE HILL
RD. TULLAHOMA
37388
455-8150
WALKER CHARLES P0 BOX 212, WOODBURY HWY.
MANCHESTER 37355 728-2088
WHITE EVERTT & BETTY 315 2nd AVE. SE.
WINCHESTER 37398 967-3219
WHITEAKER BEN 834 MCARTHER ST.
MANCHESTER 37355 728-7398
WILLIS RUSS & MARYDELL 326 SALEM LEXIE RD.
BELVIDERE 37306 469-7021