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:        Tom Cowan    967-4835                            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

                                                                                      President:           Tom Gillard, Jr.
                                                                                      V. President:          Matt Brothers
                                                                                      Secretary:             Bob Lowrance
                                                                                      Treasurer:              Jim Steadman
                                                                                      Publicity:                Larry Bowers
                                                                                      Newsletter Editor:     Chuck Taylor
                                                                                      Web-Master:          Richard Gulley
 
 

The September Program will be "Small Woodturnings" presented by Doyle McConnell and Chuck Taylor.  This program is being presented in September so that you will have plenty of “turning time” for your Christmas presents this year.
 
 

Thanks to Wayne Sutter of Woodline USA for his presentation at the August meeting on "Half Blind Dovetail Jigs". Wayne also presented the club with a copy of all the Woodline videos for our new library.

The Tennessee Valley Woodworker's Web Site is constantly being updated with the latest club news and happenings. If you want to know the latest club news, be sure to take a look and check it out!!!!!!!
 
 

Remember the club now has a “Library”. Please take advantage of the vast amount of information in the library (DVD & VCR tapes). Henry Davis, “Librarian”, will answer any questions you may have concerning the “check out” procedure. There will be an up-to-date listing of the library items available at our next meeting or you mayclick here to see the listing of library items currently available.

To check out a program , please see Henry Davis, the club librarian, at the next club meeting.

The Coffee County Fair dates are September 17 -- 22. There will be carving, turning, scroll saw work, Violin making, and fun.  Bring your works to display at the Club's venue.  It's OK to sell them if you wish. The club demonstrations will be as shown below:

Come and be a part of the club demonstrations this year. Everyone always has a good time. The Chairperson for this event is Doyle McConnell.
 
 

Our Fall Seminar, “Decorative Woodworking” is scheduled for Saturday October 20 (8 AM - 3 PM) and will feature local TVW club presenters. Dan Maher is the chairman of the event.

The seminar will be held at the shop of Collins Roan, located in the Hillsboro area (see web for map and directions). The Seminar cost is only $5 each, including lunch.
Mark your calendar for this date and "come and learn" from our local experts.

Our last “Shop Tour” on August 25th was a rousing success. About 25 people took part in the tour of three member’s shops. A special thanks to Bob Addington, Jim Wright and Kevin Deuermeyer for opening up their shops for the great tour.
If you would like to host a “Shop Tour”, please contact Doyle McConnell.
 
 

The splinter carver’s last meeting was on September 1st at Jim Wright’s shop. Twelve carvers were in attendance. Plans were made for carver activities at the 25th Annual Polly Crockett Festival on September 15th & 16th, which will be held at the Cowan Railroad Park.

The next meeting of the carvers will be October 6th at Phil Bishop's shop. Additional information will be available as the future meetings approach.

The carvers also plan to participate in the Webb School Arts and Crafts Festival held on October 20 and 21 in Bell Buckle.

Remember the carver's meeting date has changed. They now meet on the first Saturday of each month.

A 4 hour workshop on segmented vessels is scheduled for November 17th at UTSI room H111.   If you are interested in the workshop, but didn't get a chance to sign up, contact Loyd Ackerman.  You will leave the program ready to go home and make a segmented vessel of your own.

Our August Program presenter, Wayne Sutter of Woodline USA made an outstanding offer to our library. Wayne is in the process of donating copies of all Woodline’s instructional DVDs to our club library. Thanks Wayne.

To check out a program , please see Henry Davis, the club librarian, at the next club meeting. For a listing of the library items currently available, please click here.

It’s hard to believe that we have been meeting at UTSI for a whole year. Our September meeting will mark the first anniversary of the club’s move to UTSI.

I feel the move has been good for the Club. I have heard only positive comments. In the past year, we have had record breaking attendance at our meetings and we continue to grow. Our membership has increased by seven bringing our membership to 160.

I must admit there were some of us that had reservations about changing our meeting place. The Community Room at Duck River had been our home for more that twenty years and it was hard to leave a place where we felt so welcome. For a couple of years it had been evident we had outgrown the Duck River facility. The Executive Committee had debated the need to find another meeting place, but there were a lot of pros and cons concerning moving. The need for a different meeting place became more evident when our membership survey indicated that the crowded meeting place and limited parking were the two top items of things members felt needed improvement. The Committee felt it important that we not only find a larger meeting room but the facility meet certain other requirements. We needed ample parking, a comfortable environment, a place located near the geographic center of our membership, and a place where conflicts with meeting time and dates were not likely.  A large order indeed!

Thanks go to Richard Gully for suggesting UTSI as a possible meeting place. The Executive Committee paid a couple of visits to UTSI and agreed the facility met all our requirements. Once we had UTSI’s management ok --- as they say, the rest is history.

Submitted by Henry Davis, Unofficial “Club Historian”.
 
 

Tom Church showed and discussed photos of table 1, table 2, and a table, with detailed inserts, another table and a cabinet he has placed in a gallery in Chattanooga.

Bob Lowrance displayed detailed carvings of Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Bob Leonard showed decorative carved name tags.

Loyd Ackerman displayed a “cube in a cube” carving, a turned cherry bowl and a Shaker pine table with cock bead around the drawer.

Ross Roepke discussed a walking cane with a snake carving, a modern table with a walnut top and two small boxes. One of the boxes was oak with a walnut top. The other was cedar with a mahogany top.

Anthony Watts brought a drawer with hand-cut dovetails.

Dean Lutes discussed a pipe stem for a “peace pipe” and a walnut bedside table.

Jim Wright showed cotton wood carvings of "whimsical houses" and an Indian head.

Doyle McConnell brought and discussed a scraper he made to duplicate trim molding on antique furniture.

Tom Cowan brought a southern 2-drawer cherry table and discussed some of the detailed work. The design was a result of a “furniture study” trip and a piece from Jim Carden’s collection.

Walter Clement displayed some trim he was making for a house restoration in Rugby.
 
 

 

WOODWORKER'S TIP

"Drill Press Inserts"

As any drill press user knows, trying to clamp a workpiece directly to the cast iron table can be trying. The reinforcing ribs on the underside of the table can sometimes make positioning and tightening a clamp nearly impossible. If you have struggled with this problem for a long time, here is a solution.
As you can see in the drawing, simply cut plywood inserts to fill the spaces between the ribs and provide a flat, solid clamping surface on the underside of the table. Then cut slots in the the inserts to match the slots in the table so you can still make use of this option. Then the inserts are just stuck in place with silicone adhesive.
Now clamping a workpiece to the table is quick and effortless. You may be saying, "Why did I not think of that sooner?"

We strive to always keep the club membership roster listing up-to-date. If you have address, email or phone number changes, please contact Chuck Taylor (931-728-7086) or Jim Steadman (931-962-2940) so that your information can be updated in our membership listings. We are making a concentrated effort to keep our membership information current.