Matt Brothers brought a beautiful walnut baby cradle mounted in a glider assembly. The glider assembly is a knockdown design. The finish was Danish oil and Lacquer.

Jim Van Cleave displayed a detailed relief carving of dogwood leaves and branches.

Doyle McConnell showed a black locust bowl. He used red-colored drywall putty to accent the bowl. This is the technique presented by Jerry TerHart in the recent Finishing Seminar. He also brought a “hollow vase” artwork (sliced up bowl) that was based on the “golden ratio”, explaining the pattern and method used to create the artwork.

Tom Gillard displayed a handcrafted signs, made for the yacht club. There were two other wall hanging sailboat design. Tom also demonstrated the technique of starting a “fire with a bow.

Ken Gould showed a use for broken baseball bats. He turned them into tool handles. He also brought two blacksmith boxes. Some of the wood came from cherry beams salvaged from a Winchester blacksmith shop. The boxes had handles of forged metal.

Bob Leonard discussed the safety issue of “kick-back” on a table saw. He encouraged everyone to use the maximum safety precautions on all shop equipment and particularly the table saw.

Crocia Roberson told about a visit to the Arrowmont craft shop in Gatlinburg. She was impressed with the Indian hats, turned from wood and the other wooden action toys.
 
 

Bob Leonard and the Tullahoma Forester, Nicloe Nunley, are planning to spend a few hours walking around the woods helping us tell one tree from another.  Everyone is welcome.  Please let Bob know that you are coming if your name wasn't on the list made at the club meeting.

DIRECTIONS:
From Hwy 127, turn onto the road across from the VFW on the Morris ferry side of the lake, Hwy 279.  Go to the first road on the right and turn in.  This is the Franklin Co. Rec. Rd.  Go straight in and through the fence.  There is a BSA Camp Arrowhead sign at the gate.  Continue down the road until you reach the field and the shelter.  There is plenty of parking available on the edge of the field.

From Tullahoma, go out the OLD Estill Spg. Rd.  There at the Pontiac dealership.  Go through the four-way stop continuing to the junction of the Hwy. 279.  Turn left.  Go out this road till you see the 4 mile marker.  You have ½ mile to go.  You will enter a sharp right hand turn.  Just as you exit the turn there is a driveway on your left, the Franklin Co. Rec. Rd is just after this on the left.  Once on this road follow the instructions above.   If you pass it you will end up at the VFW.   If you do this turn around and just follow the previous directions.

Bristlecone
 

The annual growth rings of bristlecone pine provide a fascinating, 9,000-year record of the environment.
Very little vegetation thrives at elevations above 8,000 feet. But the bristlecone pine, Pinus aristata, lives thousands of years in the mountains of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Among these oldest of the world's living trees is a California specimen that actually is named "Methuselah," for the biblical patriarch said to have lived 969 years. This tree has lived more than 4,500 years, and still grows!

What secret does the bristlecone pine possess that enables it to thrive on the mountainous habitat it calls home? Gnarled by winds and stunted by the arid ground, these pines manage to survive by, of all things, learning to die slowly.

As bristlecones become old, they concentrate their vigor on a few branches, and thus prolong life. Even when completely dead, they resist decay and stand thousands of years more.

The wood of bristlecone pine yields firewood, fence posts, and mine shaft timbers for local use only. To archaeologists, though, its wood has provided a landmark revelation. By correlating the annual growth rings on both live and dead wood, scientists have been able to trace back weather patterns, volcanic reactions, fires, and other natural occurrences for 9,000 years.

Most importantly, traces of the radioactive isotope, Carbon I4, found in the dead wood of bristlecone pine at one location, exactly matched the carbon content of an ancient beam in the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. This discovery allowed archaeologists to correctly date this civilization, and spawned a new research technique.

While the biblical Methuselah contributed only to legend, the bristlecone pine provides mankind with accurate records of the conditions in which it grows...then and now.
WOOD On-line

Many thanks go out to members of our club that take on “special” projects.  Our members go to other clubs, such as the Tullahoma Woman’s club, the TN Association of Wood Turners, the Stones River Wood Club and others.  Our members have been asked to be the program for these clubs.  These “extra curricular “ meetings are good for the club as they help in community service and WE are recognized as a club that will help others.  The members that seem to be called on most are Doyle McConnell and Loyd Ackerman.  Others that have helped are Henry Davis, Tom Cowan and Ken Gould.
 

Many thanks and good work!