Meeting October 21st, 2025
Meeting called to order by president Jim Joliffe at 6:30 pm
Visiting Guests: None
New Business:
The TVW Annual Tool and Craft Sale will be October 25th. The location has changed to the Decherd Nazarene Church at 501 Cumberland St. Decherd, TN. Set-up will be Thursday from 2-6, Friday from 4-6 and Saturday from 7-8 AM. The sale will be held from 8 AM to 2 PM.
Additional 40th anniversary shirts are available for purchase. They are $25 each, and sizes M, L, XL, and XXL are available.
A lot has happened this past month. The 40th anniversary banquet, Heritage Days, the Rich Weatherbee Carving Seminar, and the TVW Club Picnic were all big successes.
Other Announcements: None
Show and Tell:
Karen Browning showed some fractal wood burning that she did using a fractal carving machine and wood burner that Vince Zaccardi loaned her. The fractal burner uses a cathode and anode with an electrolyte solution to burn fractal-like patterns into the wood. Karen said that the burner performs differently on different kinds of woods. It was also mentioned that it is important to use a certified machine like Vince’s because homemade versions of the fractal burning machine can be extremely dangerous.
Teri Smith showed her first walnut pen that Bruce Currie helped her with and a top that she turned while supporting the TVW at the Coffee County Fair.
Gary Runyon showed a cherry box with finger joints that he made. The box was finished with Minwax Antique oil, but Gary said they have now discontinued making this oil.
Karen Browning also showed a bowl with a square bottom and a round top that she made with Doyle McConnell in 2002. She started with a square piece of wood but it was several years ago so she does not remember exactly how they did it. The bowl is made of mulberry and finished with oil.
She also showed a vase that she turned out of maple and finished with oil.
Chuck Taylor showed a puzzle box that he made as a Christmas gifts for 7th graders. He made the box out of maple and finished it with Tried and True. He made 16 of the boxes as gifts. Chuck cut everything but 1 joint on the table saw. He also showeda tic-tac-toe game that he made for 1st graders. He made 20 of the tic-tac-toe games and finished them with cherry finish and satin lacquer.
Jesse Luke Potter showed a white maple slim-line pen he turned. He used 68 finish on the pen.
Michael Zuccaro showed a ukulele that he made with Brenda Zuccaro. The ukulele was made out of walnut and finished with French polish.
Program: Workbenches – Gary Runyon, Richard Gulley and Darren Earle
Gary started working on his first workbench in about 1978; he took a class on architectural woodworking in his last year of grad school.
Gary listed several books on workbenches. He highly recommends “Anarchist’s Workbench”.
Next Gary discussed the Black and Decker Workmate a bit. It is a simple and portable option that is great for demos with mini-lathes.
He then showed pictures of a European style workbench. This was his first project in woodworking. The bench is predominantly beech with a little oak on the bottom. The top is 20” wide by 60” long. There is a a shoulder vise and an end vise on the workbench. The shoulder vise is great for dovetailing. The bench also has double row dog holes.
Gary adapted this bench from a Fred Klausz article and it cost around $120 in 1978 to make.
Next Gary showed another workbench he made: a Roubou split-top designed by Benchcraft. The top of this bench is made of 5” thick ash and is made of 2 halves with holes in various places around it for hold fasts. There is a removable tool holder in the middle. The tool holder can be used as a plane stop if desired and is also good for holding a light on the workbench.
The workbench has a carriage at the base to hold items and a wagon vise that will open to around 14 inches.
This workbench cost around $1,600 to build.
Gary then discussed some other ideas for workbenches. He showed a bench made from Mechanic cabinets. He use a plywood top on it to make everything level, and it cost him about $450 to build. He showed a knee space workbench that had lots of storage and good lighting. It has a slot in the front for a vise.
He also showed an accessory workbench made from three 42” wide mechanic tool cabinets that cost approximately $1,450 to make.
Richard Gulley showed a torsion box style work table/bench that he built. The top is 4x8x1-1/2” oak plywood. It has a divider that goes down the center and cavities underneath that are good for storing stuff. One side of the workbench has 3/4” holes on a 6 inch pattern, and the other side has 3/4” holes on a 12 inch pattern. The bottom of the bench is made from 2 sheets of 3/4” plywood. Richard showed various clamps and holdfasts that can be used in the dog holes with the workbench. He showed a versa vise and also a moxon vise made out of oak with wooden screws.
Darren Earle showed a workbench that he built for use with power tools. He made the bench the same width as his table saw. Darren built the bench out of walnut and white oak. It is double-sided with drawers running all the way through the bench. There are 40 drawer faces with knobs. Tom Cowan showed Darren how to turn the knobs. Tom McGill also gave advice to help build the bench.
The dimensions of the bench are 34.5” high x 79.5” long x 32.5” wide. The interior is made entirely of poplar.
The workbench has laminate on top made of AdvanTech that looks like white oak. One advantage of using AdvanTech is that it is very flat and climate control is not a concern. Darren put a paper towel holder on the end of the bench. The top has large overhangs so items can be easily clamped to it like dovetail jigs and clamping systems.
Meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM.
The next meeting is scheduled for November 18th at 6:30 PM.