Zoom Meeting 2/16/21
Meeting called to order by Secretary Jim Jolliffe 6:30 PM.
Jim welcomed all those online to our February Zoom Meeting.
Visiting Guests
Darren Samphier dialed in from Melbourne Australia! He saw our website noting monthly Zoom meetings and emailed us in advance of the meeting for the link. Another benefit of Zoom meeting.
Business
Jim Jolliffe refreshed the members with Tips for Using Zoom slides including the ability for members to enable microphone and video use during the meeting. Users can find their audio and video controls on the lower left corner of their Zoom window.
Officers and Committee Reports: Vice President & Program Chair Gary Runyon noted he had programs scheduled for February and March and requested members email him any program ideas to his home email: [email protected]. We noted that programs don’t necessarily need to be from local folks due to the ability of Zoom to connect us with anyone around the world!
The 2021 Calendar is correct with monthly general meeting dates and first and third Saturday Carving meetings. The special events column included “placeholders” in the months the special events have been held in the past. The special event leads will need to discuss the timing (if at all) of holding special events and update the calendar accordingly.
Once the general meeting announcements concluded we moved to the Program section of the meeting which was the Show & Tell.
Show and Tell
Chuck Taylor showed a Cherry Memory Box from “thinking” to “finished” stage. He discussed the construction including the vanishing joint on the drawer front. He noted the drawer linings were adhesive backed felt. The Memory Box was finished with satin lacquer. He said this was the 12th or 13th memory box he has made in his shop.
Loyd Ackerman showed five projects, four of which were from materials already resident in his shop. The first was one of four Maple Recipe Boxes for his grandchildren to store recipes from their Grandmother. The first recipe box is completed but hasn’t had finish applied yet. Ultimately all will be lacquer. His second project was left over glass candles: two 5” candles and one 3” candle. He got this inspiration from wondering what to do with unused glass candles and scrap wood. He used some un-used segmented rings and a chunk of walnut sapwood. He saves segmented rings that aren’t used in vessels. That’s how he had rings for these projects. They all have a lacquer finish.
His third project was 3 Make-Up Brushes turned and assembled for his granddaughter finished in lacquer. Loyd’s fourth project was Maple Bowl #410 made from Red Maple. The bowl is 5 ½” Diameter x 2” high and finished with lacquer and wax.
Loyd’s fifth project was a Shelf Unit for Cast Iron Cookware. Loyd’s son is a chef who collects cast iron cookware and needed a sturdy storage unit for it. He made the Shelf Unit from three, 2” x 10” x 10’ boards. The shelves were cut and milled to 1 ¼” thickness. The uprights had dado joints cut ¼” deep to hold shelves. He used 2 ½” Screws to hold shelves in and primed the entire unit with Kilz. His lesson learned was that he should have primed the parts before assembly because the painting would have been much easier!
Jim Jolliffe showed a Bench Top dust collector he made for light power carving and woodburning in his shop. He’s always wanted one and rushed to build it in advance of shoulder surgery that would limit his normal carving activities. The dust collector is built around an old, small squirrel cage fan motor that was 12”w x 12”d x 17”h. The enclosure is 22”w x 19”d x 13”h. The width and height accepts a 12” x 20” x 1” air filter. The depth of the enclosure houses both the motor and a short, 6” deep air intake. The base was made from 3/4” plywood and the sides were made from 3/8” plywood. The top has a rectangular opening to accommodate the motor exhaust vent. A 4” circular x 90 degree elbow is connected to the exhaust to vent it toward the rear of the enclosure and also draw ambient air in the direction of the intake Three 12” deep clear Plexiglas walls were cut to fit the top and the sides of the air intake. This allows the work piece to be placed in the enclosure to maximize dust/fumes collection. The Plexiglas walls are affixed to the enclosure by adhesive Velcro strips. This allows them to be stored flat in the intake opening for transport/storage. Additional Velcro strips are placed on the top and sides closest to the user so the top can be adjusted up or down to decrease/increase air intake. Jim wired the motor and an accessory “zip strip” to two switches to control the operation. A lesson learned is that the zip strip already had an on/off switch so an additional switch was unnecessary for it. He had the motor, wire and wood for the project so only had to buy the Plexiglas, Velcro, Air Filter and Zip Strip. No finish was applied at the time of the show and tell as the device was completed the night before surgery.
Program
Gary Runyon provided a program on the operation of and construction of Shooting Boards to improve precision in end grain cuts. Gary noted that shooting boards are extremely effective at squaring up end grain cuts and he uses them often in his shop. Not only are the shooting boards effective if aligned properly, the plane blades must be extremely sharp to plane the end grain. Gary introduced two YouTube Videos from Rob Cosman. The YouTube videos were very informative and Rob showed detailed steps to build and use a shooting board. Part of the video also demonstrated his approach to sharpening plane blades. Gary offered a later program (or shop session) on how to properly sharpen hand plane blades.
After the presentation, it was noted that the video transmission was “pixelated” and the sound was sketchy. After the meeting, email discussion noted that video upload speeds from a home computer may be the culprit. A suggested solution was reached by contacting UTSI to see if 2-3 members could be trained and use the UTSI remote learning technology to broadcast our Monthly Zoom Meetings. UTSI agreed so we are getting familiarization training on March 2nd and plan to broadcast our March 16th Meeting using UTSI’s capabilities. Thanks to UTSI!!
Meeting adjourned. Next meeting is on Tuesday, March 16th with a program by Jack Kincella and Tom Gillard building a cast epoxy poured table.