SPLINTERS
Tennessee Valley Woodworkers
     Vol. 18/ Issue 12         December 2003        Editor: Tom Gillard Jr. 

Meeting Notice:
The next meeting of the TN Valley Woodworkers
Will be held, December, 16th, at 7:00 p.m. in the
 Duck River Electric Building, Decherd, TN
All interested woodworkers are invited!

The following people have agreed to serve as contacts for their particular skills.  If you have questions, suggestions for activities, or other comments relating to these skills, please call these folks.  Their interest is to help the club better serve their area of expertise.  Your participation with them will help them achieve that goal.

          Design: Alice Berry                       454-3815                 Finishing:    Phil Bishop           967-4626
          Turning: Tom Church                    967-4460                 Carving:      Harry May           962-0215
          Sharpening: Bob Reese                 728-7974                 Joinery:       Ross Roepke       455-9140
          Health and Safety: Maurice Ryan   962-1555

Did you know our first "Super Show and Tell" was on January 21, 1986? This kicked off our long-standing tradition of having a super show and tell at least once during the year. We can thank Phil Bishop our first Program Chairman for his suggestion that we bring things to share and talk about; in fact his suggestion may have been what triggered this very important and enjoyable "Show and Tell" segment of every meeting. To quote from the January 1986 newsletter – " Bring along a friend and an example of your handywork. Phil says if it’s too big to fit through the door we’ll come out to your truck to see it. "

" Bring along a friend and an example of your handywork", and I’m sure Ken would agree that if it’s too big to get through the door we will go out and look at it.

Loyd Ackerman showed a 2-part vessel that he made utilizing the technique that he showed at the seminar.  He donated it to the Oldham auction.  He also showed a footstool that his wife had purchased about 5 years ago.  It had fallen apart when he had tried to use it.  Do not glue cross grain since it will not hold and this stool was a good example of what not to do.

Tom Gillard  had some pictures of a table to be made out of Cherry that the customer supplied.  She wanted it stained Walnut and wanted a cock beading on it.  Tom had Jim Van Cleave show him his technique for doing it.  Tom brought in a board that he did the cock beading on and stained the color the customer wanted. There was also a box made with the remaining lumber.

Henry Davis brought in pictures from the training seminar and the great outdoors event.

Ken Gould built 3 toolboxes and showed them.  He sold all of the first 3 that he made and so made these and they also are sold.  They have handles he made with his black smithing skill and the boxes utilize Sassafras liftouts and oaks sides.  He also brought in a couple of pieces of wood that he challenged Billy May to make a carving from them.

Ross Roepke said that he had been given a lot of cherry molding which had some flaws.  He made boxes to use for serving food.  He made 8 for Christmas presents.  He also made a pig shaped breadboard.

Marvin Moore had to make his grand baby a cradle and the baby came early and he had to rush to get it done.  He brought in pictures of it and it is made to swing.

Bob Petry showed a piece of Intarsia carving he made.  He had taken a class in it and this is the first piece he has made.  It was made out of Western Cedar and Popular.  The pattern told how the grain was to run and how to sand it. He used gel stain on it.

Ruth Ryan while visiting East Texas attended a wood carvers show in Taylor.  She saw a lot of bird carvings.  She brought back and showed us animal turnover.  It will turn over and come back on it’s feet.

Jim Van Cleave brought in a work in progress to the August club meeting and he brought it in again tonight finished.  It was a table, which had a lot of carving on the edges and the feet.  He has about 160 hours in it and had to make 5 different jigs.  He was pleased with it and said he thought he could do another one in about half the time. He enjoyed making it and also made a serving try to match.  He finished it with varnish.

Dave Whyte made two large vises which he stained Walnut.  They can be used in any position on a table or bench and locks down with a peg.

Bob Beswetherick built a guitar.  It was made of Western Red Cedar and Popular.  He talked to Jeff Roehm before he made it about making the top book matched.  It has 6 pieces in both the top and bottom that are matched.  He put a lot of pressure on the top to see if it would split and it did not.  He demonstrated the sound by playing a tune.  It sounded good.

Bob Leonard bought a Winchester Knife at Walmart and he decided to make a wooden one like it.  He brought it in and it has 9 different species of wood in it.  He also brought in a box for the knife that he made.  He plans on making one out of smoke wood.  The face of the blade is made out of lacewood.

Don Powers talked last month about Chattam and he brought in a piece that he is trying to make a bird out of.  He also brought in a piece of Chattam with a spalted Persimmon base that he made a work of art out of.

Billy May showed a Santa that he carved out of basswood.  He also brought in a carving of the face of Kennedy, which he is making for a customer.  He put linseed oil on it and it turned out darker than he wanted it to be.

Phil Bishop brought in a brochure of the antique dinning room suite he had worked on.  It sold at auction for $101,750.00.  There are also other pieces in the brochure that he had worked on.

Crocia Roberson returned from Iowa where she had went to an Amish community and visited J & K Creative Woodwork and Gifts.  She said they had many beautiful things and she purchased a Kaleidoscope, which she brought to show us.

Doyle had to make 2 bed rails for and antique bed and the customer brought him the wood to make it out of.  To be able to turn it he had to extend his lathe.  After he turned it he had to plane it to be able to match the rest of the bed.  He brought one in to show us.

In early geologic time there were many species in the Osage orange family. Today, however, it stands alone as the only tree in the world that is the sole species in a genus.

Fossils indicate that Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) once grew naturally well outside its native range of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, and Arkansas. Then it retreated, perhaps ahead of advancing glaciers. Thousands of years later, because it was cultivated and planted by settlers as inexpensive fencing, it once again spread. Now, you may even find Osage orange growing in the eastern states and well into the Great Plains.

Wherever Osage orange grew, it had many a use. At one time, a Plains Indian brave would gladly trade a horse and blanket for a bow made of the wood. The reputation of such bows spread widely from the land of their makers—the Osage Indians of Arkansas and Missouri. Bows of this hard, strong wood even were found by explorers in use as far north as Montana. That’s why in many parts of the nation the wood carries the name bois d’arc, French for wood of the bow. Americanized, the term becomes bowdark.

Harder and stronger than even white oak, Osage orange was once cut for railroad ties. While other woods for ties lasted but a few years, Osage orange served for 20! And many a Midwestern farm still has fence posts of the wood in place after a century.

Because of Osage orange’s hardness and durability, it often was used for wagon wheels. Highly decay-resistant, it was even laid as paving blocks. In today’s world, however, the wood is scarce as lumber. Yet sanded smooth and oiled, Osage orange beats all others for cutting boards that will stand up to a blade.
 

'WOOD' On-line
 

I have a set of 5 Crown HSS small scale turning tools. 3/8" skew, scraper, gouge, and parting tool and a 1/8" gouge. These are meant for very small turnings such as pens, letter openers, etc. They're used but not much. Look at page 11 of the Craft Supplies Woodturners 2003/2004 Catalog under Bonnie Kline's photo. $40 for the set.

Contact Loyd Ackerman or at 728-9952

Another GREAT year for the TN Valley Woodworkers comes to a close.  Everyone have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.