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:          Anthony Watts
                                                                                      Secretary:              Karen Kerce Browning
                                                                                      Treasurer:              Jim Steadman
                                                                                      Publicity:               Louis Bryant
                                                                                      Newsletter Editor:     Chuck Taylor

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!!!!!!!
 

Click "here" to view all the latest information concerning "TVW Upcoming Events" or "here" to view upcoming programs on our Web Site.

The election of officers for next year will be held at our November meeting. The nominating committee, composed of Tom Cowan and Henry Davis, presented the following slate of officers to the membership at the October meeting.

The club completed a successful Mini-Exhibition at the Foothills Crafts Fair at the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center on November 7 and 8. The Exhibition was well attended and drew a lot of people through to admire the beautiful work of our club members.

Thanks to Doyle for being the “site coordinator” and to all who helped as "monitors" and helped with the “setup and teardown” of the display area.

If you would like to view all the Exhibition pictures, please click here and then open the folder "2008 Exhibit at Foothills Show".

The purpose of this event was to promote the Club's 2009 Exhibition.

The 2009 Exhibition, "In the Spirit of Fine Woodworking", is scheduled for May 3 – 10 at the Tullahoma Fine Arts Center. we will need additional items for the larger area at the Fine Arts Center. Information concerning the Exhibition, including entry forms, is posted on the web site. Click here to go the the Exhibition information page. There will be additional information regarding the exhibition furnished, as the date draws closer.

Remember, the Exhibition is for everyone who would like to display their work. If you would like to help with the exhibit and have not yet volunteered, call Loyd (931-728-9952) or email him at [email protected].
 
 

The carvers participated in the  Webb School Art and Craft Festival on October 18 & 19. They all had a good time working on the new "project" and displaying their creations.

Some of the carvers also participated in the Annual Mid-South Woodcarving Show Competition and Sale in Huntsville, AL on November 8 & 9.

The carvers met at Phil Bishop’s shop on November 1st and worked on canes as well as some other personal items. Billy May demonstrated forming a nose. Kelton Garner will discuss Intarsia at the December Meeting. The January meeting will be a shallow relief carving class, lead by Phil Bishop.

The next carver’s meeting location will be announced at our November meeting.
 
 

We had another great shop tour last month. Thanks to Milner and Jim Carden for their hospitality and allowing us to visit with them. They explained their “Lessons Learned” in years of cutting and drying lumber.

Also, thanks to Doyle McConnell for arranging the tour.

If you are interested in seeing all the October Shop Tour photos, click here and the open the folder "2008 OCT 25 SHOP TOUR.

If you are interested in being a “host” on the Shop Tour schedule, please contact Doyle. Or, if you do not watch it, Doyle will be contacting you.

A good excuse to clean the shop!!!!!!

SHARPENING ANYONE??

Bob Reese is still running his "special" training class.

If you are interested in knowing more about sharpening techniques, especially turning gouges, this is one of your great opportunities. Bob Reese will give you one-on-one training. All you have to do is contact Bob and set up a time for your training. You can contact Bob by phone (931-728-7974) or by email ([email protected]).

John Jordan, our October program presenter, donated his latest DVD to the club library.  This is a two DVD set titled, “The Aesthetics and Properties of Wood". If you would like to reserve this DVD or any selection in the library, contact Henry at [email protected] or call him at 393-3191 and leave a message.

There are nearly 40 different selections available in the club library that can be checked out. For a complete list of all items in the Digital Library, see Henry Davis at the next club meeting.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the vast amount of learning material in our club library. There are 35 different selections available in the club library that can be checked out.

To view the complete list of all items in the Digital Library, please click here or see Henry Davis at the next club meeting.

Doyle McConnell displayed his first copy of a John Jordan original, made in 1992.  He also showed a “tie-dyed” vessel with a lacquer finish.

Bob Leonard brought a bowl made of butternut which he finished at the fair.

Maurice Ryan showed an oak knife storage box that he had made.  Also, he brought a gift he had received which was a unique bowl, made of curly maple.

Ross Roepke displayed a spoon rack, a veneer book-matched table top with a walnut surround.  Also, a table made of mahogany, cherry, and maple was an original creation. The legs had been a gift and he had assembled the table with screws.   Walnut bow-tie pulls were used as an accent on the drawers.

Anthony Watts brought a curly cherry bedside table that he had made as a gift for his wife.  The finish was Danish oil and wax.

Sharron Wright told the club about her “love affair” with her carved Indian.  This piece is one that has taken intense labor, as each item from head-dress feathers to cigars, had received the utmost attention.  Portions of the carving had been hand painted for emphasis.  She was also wearing dogwood blossoms which she had carved from mahogany.

Felix Rees brought a lamp which he had made from walnut flooring.  The boards had been stacked and glued and then turned.  The finish was polyurethane.

Harry May brought a “wood spirit” that he had finished and a wonderful camel that he had been working on for some time.

Dick Wollam showed his carving of a “Pegasus”, done in pine and finished with spray lacquer.

Will Gaetjens explained an unusual measuring stick that he had made for use in determining the size of various woods.

Geoff Roehm showed a picture of a 1926 Chevrolet which had been in storage.  The beautiful wood work was admired as well as the curved glass in the windows.  He also showed “saw horses” that he had constructed to be used in building a 20 x 24 addition
to an existing building.

Everyone loves FREE woodworking plans. And to give woodworkers more of exactly what they are looking for, WOOD magazine has created a free downloadable plans section within the WOOD Store with nine detailed plans. Current offerings include plans for a tambour bookcase, three lumber storage projects, planter, swinging dragon toy, salt and pepper shakers, turned floral display, and scroll saw and intarsia projects. To download these free plans simply click on the following link.

Also, check out the Wood magazine free video section on various woodworking techniques. You can access the videos by clicking here. Try them out. They change each month.

Do the moving parts of your most important shop tool offer peak performance with every push of the "on" button? If not, perhaps a little TLC is in order.

If your tablesaw creaks and groans when you crank the elevation and blade-tilt wheels, it's long overdue for an inspection and tune-up. Outlined here is the procedure that will get your saw moving smoothly again, along with some important safety issues.

First, clean your machine: Begin by unplugging the saw. Remove the throat plate, blade guard, and the blade. Inspect the blade for resin buildup, and clean it if necessary. Make sure that the washer and blade stabilizer (if used) are clean, smooth, and flat.

Removing the drive belt and motor from the back of the saw is a fast and easy step on contractor-style models, and it dramatically improves access to the saw's interior for cleaning and lubrication. A shop vacuum with a crevice attachment will remove most of the chips, and an old paintbrush will help loosen stubborn pockets of dust. Tilt the arbor assembly to dump more dust, and use a couple of blasts of compressed air to complete the job. Make especially certain that you've removed all dust near the stops that limit the tilt control so you'll get full travel.

If the worm gears or the rows of teeth have any residue, scrub them with a brass brush. For really tough build-up, you may have to dip the brush in paint thinner. Keep the solvent away from the arbor bearings, which are usually sealed and need no lubrication. Afterward, wipe any remaining residue from the worm gears in preparation for the next step.

Time for a lube job: After all of the gearing is clean, lubricate it with a non-silicone automotive paste wax applied with a toothbrush. Also wax the curved slots in the front and rear trunnions. Run the tilt and elevation controls through several full ranges of motion, and remove all the wax, leaving only a thin film.

Push a plastic straw tip onto a spray can of white lithium grease, and lubricate the pivots of the arbor assembly (where it swings upward) and the shafts behind the worm gears. This aerosol, available at auto-parts stores, sprays and penetrates like a liquid and congeals into grease. Again, wipe off all the lubricant you can with a rag.

Inspect the arbor flange, making certain that it's clean and smooth. Turn the arbor by hand, and try to wiggle it. Any noise or sideways play indicates a problem with the bearings that requires immediate attention.

Blow dust out of the fence-locking mechanism. Give the fence and the entire surface of the table and extension wings a coat of non-silicone paste wax.
 
 

We are trying to start a new service for club members. Your VP, Anthony Watts, has requested that we add some key local suppliers to the website to help members find items needed in the shop; for example: belts and pulleys.

To accomplish this, we've changed the table of contents at the left and top of the home page from LINKS to LINKS AND CONTACTS.  We will, from time to time, add information on the Links and Contacts page based on members inputs.  If you find a place to purchase something pertaining to woodworking and would like to share that information with others, send an email to Loyd Ackerman with the details for inclusion.  We're not trying to replace the Yellow Pages; this is just for those special items and special contacts.
Information needed is:  Name, address, phone #, and website (if they have one) of the business and what you found them.

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.