michigan woodworker april 2010 michigan woodworker 2010 nl for e-mail.pdfamerican woodworker 2001....

Michigan Woodworker April 2010

Michigan Woodworkers’ Guild (est. 1981) April 2010 Vol. 31 No.4

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MICHIGANWOODWORKER

ROYAL OAK SENIORCENTER

13 Mile

Main

MAP TO ROYAL OAK SENIOR CENTER

3500 MaraisC

rooks

Woodw

ard

APRIL 11,2010

The April Lunch will be at Jimi’s on the 19th at 1:16 pm(See page 4 for map)

At the May 16th meeting, KenWolf will coordinate a programof three mentoringprojects. Presenters andtopics to be announced. Themeeting will be at the LivoniaSenior Center.

John and Ruth Bartz with afew of his projects

The “Show Case of Skills” wasenjoyed by members and guests

The May Luncheon will be atJimi’s on the 27nd at 1:16pm

June 13th field tripplace to be announced

The June Luncheon will be atJimi’s on the 24th at 1:16

There will be no meeting nornewsletter in July. Put theAugust 8th Picnic on yourcalendar now.

No Luncheon is scheduledfor July.

Our annual picnic and swapmeet will be at the Royal OakVFW Park on Sunday,August 8 from noon until.....

No Luncheon is scheduledfor August

www.miwoodguild.webs.com

George Malley with Freud will talk about Freud’snewest blades and how they are made. Also, Freud willhave their product truck for us to go through.Rockler will have Freud blades for sale

At the Royal Oak Senior Center 2 - 4 PM Library and other activities from 1-2 PM


President’sCorner

By Ken Wolf

The last two months have been exceptionallybusy for our guild members and filled withexciting opportunities to inspire us to improveour talents and capabilities. Marc Adamsworkshop on February 13 certainly gave usexposure to a broad spectrum of woodworkingmethods. The Woodworking Shows at Gibraltar(February 26-28) exposed members to an arrayof equipment, techniques and supplies to bogglethe mind. Our Wood 2010 (Showcase of Skills)on March 3 was one of our best ever.The members who volunteered to work our boothat Gibraltar got to meet lots of new woodworkersand tell them about our Guild. Our demos onthe Leigh dovetail jig, vacuum pressing andcanoe building helped draw interest from theattendees. This led to over twenty new membersjoining our guild during the three days of theshow. A special thanks to every member thatmanned a shift at our booth and to Bill Rigstadfor making all the Guild arrangements withWoodworking Shows for Gibraltar, to JohnSanchez for trucking our display to/from theshow and to Bob Mills for “talking canoe” forhours each day. I enjoyed seeing the commercialdemos, new products and especially the superbselection of exotic woods across the aisle fromour booth. I hope that most of you were able toenjoy the show as well.For Wood 2010, our coordinator Ed Stuckeyscheduled near perfect weather and JohnSanchez handled publicity to a wide variety ofmedia and organizations. We had the largestand most diversified array of displays ofwoodworking of any of our shows that I canremember. Thanks to everyone who broughtdisplays and to those who helped with the setupand takedown. The number of attendees (bothmembers and general public) was very high. Bill“Triveteer” Rigstad set a new record for donationsto our silent auction. Thanks to Bill and our

other donors the silent auction brought our toyprogram funding to meet some of our 2010needs. A special thanks to those who donatedto the silent auction. I really enjoyed seeingthe displays and talking woodworking with ourmembers.Members who attended these 3 events and didn’tget their fuse lit to try new projects andtechniques need to dry their fuse and try again.This was perhaps the most inspiring time periodin our Guild’s recent history. As you mastersome new skills/techniques/methods, pleaseconsider sharing them with other members at afuture meeting (including the ones that didn’twork for you) so we can all benefit. Just let anyBoard Member know and we will try toincorporate them at a future meeting ormentoring session.As a result of these events we have over 50 newmembers which brings our current membershipto over 370 members. To our “old” members,please help the new members feel welcome andhelp them understand the benefits ofmembership. A new benefit (from Gibraltar) isa 10% guild member discount on orders fromWoodline. Woodline has been supportive of ourGuild in donating door prizes for our picnic forseveral years as well as Guild discounts at theshows. I will bring some catalogs to our nextmeeting (see me for the special MWG Woodlineorder code to get the discount). Also, when youmake purchases at Rockler of regular priceditems they will give members a 10% discountand be sure to tell them on other sale purchasesas well so they credit it as a Guild memberpurchase which generates gift certificates for ourGuild (which we can use at Guild events asprizes).All members are encouraged to providecomments and suggestions for improvements toa Board Member including suggested topics forfuture meetings (we will be outlining ourprogram agendas for 2011 soon). Together wecan make our Guild even better. I trust you areplanning to attend the April meetingpresentation by Freud and the May meetingpresentation by Guild mentors. I hope to seeyou there.


MEETINGREVIEW

By Gary Assarian

(continued on page 5)

The Michigan Woodworkers’ Guild held their annualdisplay of projects event on Saturday, March 6 at the LivoniaSenior Citizens Center. This year’s event, “Showcase of Skills2010”, featured over 30 craftsmen and artists displaying projectsfrom wooden toys to museum quality pieces of furniture. Theevent was attended by over 120 guests who were treated to afine display of talent by members of the Guild. Board member,Ed Stuckey, who coordinated the event, stood at the end of along day, very happy with the turnout of the participants,members and the public. “The program was great, excellent.There were a large number of members, and even the weatherwas great.” Ed also added that he was happy with Saturday’svenue, which was a change from recent years. The efforts ofthe Guild to increase participation paid off, and there weremany first time participants. Equally gratifying was the numberof new members as participants.

Some of the participants included:Dan Reahard, who is a member of SAPFM (Society of

American Period Furniture Makers) specializing in 18th centuryAmerican furniture. His carved legs and stool were impressive.Ed Stuckey is a member of the prestigious group as well. Danhas been woodworking for over 20 years. He honed his carvingand building skills attending various schools and seminars. Hiseye for detail is no accident as he was a designer at Ford MotorCompany before retiring.

Ann Ivory was a repeat participant displaying her manytalents including glass work, stone work and box making. Sheis unique in that she used to have her woodshop in her familyroom. That would be an interesting discussion in manyhouseholds.

A hope chest for his 16year-old daughter was shared byKeith Whitehouse. The piecefeatured wood cut from hergrandma’s yard which bringsmeaning to the chest. He hasbeen woodworking for 20 yearsand has enjoyed being amember of the Guild for 2 1/2 years.

John Sanchez displayed his artistic woodcarving whichlooked like 3-D paintings. He also provided examples ofmodeling and painting which were all unique.

The table with thelargest curved legs was broughtby new member Roger Reini.His red oak, 4-drawer tablelooked great and was veryappealing to the eye. Heenjoys woodworking becauseit offers an opportunity to“create things”. Soundfamiliar?

The farthest distancetraveled award went to FrankAlcorn who traveled all theway from Ohio. Frank has been a Guild member for about 1year and boasts a 30’ x 70’ loft barn as his wood shop. Thatwould be on any woodworking wish list.

Included in the parade of new member participantswas Jan Benson, who is a recent graduate of the Center forFurniture Craftsmanship in Maine where he recently completeda 12-week intensive course in woodworking. His circular cherrytray table patterned after a Celtic maze, and the faux 50’s radiobox were very appealing. He says that the box goes well in hishome which is decorated with a 50’s flavor.

David Bilson had a whole variety of projects on displayincluding a large coat hanger and storage system. The itemwas based on a design his wife had seen in a magazine, andwell, you know the rest. It was his pleasure.

Many grandchildrenand children shared their toysfor the day which were madeby members, from simple carsto rather extravagant pieces.Neal Hoegemeyer, a 6-yearmember, made a train, aplane, and a beautiful nativityscene. Neal has made severalof the scrolled saw sceneswhich have fetched greatamounts where he hasdonated them for charityauctions. Ken Wolf, the toy


WoodTypes

By Ed Stuckey By Bill Rigstad

FYI

KAURI PINEGrowth: The Maoris from the North Island ofNew Zealand call Kauri Pine Tanemahuta (kingof the forest) because the trees soar up to 150ft(45m) above the forest canopy, with a diameterof 5-1/3ft (1.54m).

Appearance: These valuable straight-grainedtimbers are not true pines (Pinus spp.). Inappearance they resemble the botanically relatedparana pine, Aroucorio ongustifolio, but aredarker in color and coarser in texture. Theheartwood color varies from pale biscuit to pinkor even dark red-brown.

Properties: The weight of New Zealand kauri is36-lb/ft3 (580kg/m3); Queensland kauri islighter at 30-1b/ft3 (480kg/m3) when seasoned.It dries at a moderate rate with a tendency towarp, but is stable in use. The wood has highstiffness, medium bending and crushingstrength and resistance to shock loads, but it isnot suitable for steam bending.

Uses: Top grades of Kauri Pine are used for vats,wooden machinery, and boat building; the lowergrades are utilized for building construction.Queensland and Fijian Kauri are employed forhigh-class joinery and cabinet work, batteryseparators, pattern making, and butter boxesand churns.

Where it grows: The cone-bearing softwoodKauris occur singly or in small grovesintermingled with broad-leaved trees, and aredistributed from Malaysia to Australia, and fromNew Guinea to New Zealand and Fiji.

Clean Bandsaw Tires

Question: My bandsaw tires have a buildup ofpitch and saw-dust that seems to be embeddedright into the rubber. What’s the best way toclean my tires?

Answer: An exces-sive buildup of saw-dust and pitch onyour tires can leadto tracking prob-lems, so it’s a goodidea to clean themperiodically.

Star by unpluggingyour machine.Then remove theblade and tilt the table out of the way. You’llfind the buildup to be much worse on your lowertire where sawdust tends to get trapped underthe blade as it travels around the wheel. Usesome 120-grit sandpaper or synthetic steel wooland a light touch to clean the wheel as you turnit by hand.American Woodworker 2001

Michigan Woodworker April 2010 (continued from page 3)

project coordinator for the Guild, was there displaying toysthat the Guild donates to Children’s Hospital. They are welldone and very much appreciated by the kids. Pat Allen winsthe largest toy with a beautiful train toy box. He built severalwood toys inspired by an article from Wood Magazine recently.They would be welcome in any toy collection.

The spice cabinet award goes to Mike Holden with 6cabinets. All were variations of the same design from AmericanWoodworker magazine. Mike wowed the people showing thetwo hidden drawers in each unit. His project took 1 ½ yearsto complete with each unit having 116 hand-cut dovetails.Now, that will hone anyone’s skill level.

Peter Gayner spends much of his free timewoodworking. He has been at it for over 70 years in hisbasement shop. He started out in the 1930’s with a Companionscroll saw, precursor to Craftsman, which remains functionalin the family to this day. His skills include musical instrumentsand wood turning.

C l a yBolduc broughtalong a variety ofboxes andp r o j e c t s ,including toytrucks. Many ofhis projectsdisplayed histalent using ascroll saw. He isa member of the Motor City Scrollers, and has beenwoodworking for over 20 years. He is also an accomplishedchip carver.

One of the several sofa tables on display belonged toCraig Bennett of Pinckney. He has been a member of theGuild for two years, and brought along his wife for his firstweekend off from work in a long time. His angled wastebasketbrought a lot of attention as well.

This year’s event also included guest woodworkersfrom the Livonia Woodcarvers Club. Their pieces wereawesome. Rick Serylo and Louis Fox were happy to chat aboutthe club and the wonderful examples of their carving skills toall of the passersby. Thanks, Guys!

Many projectswere displayed in the to-be-completed form –works in progress. Inaddition, there was anice display by BobCompton featuringshop aides inspired bySteve Lata.

E v e r y o n eenjoyed the day, and bythe volume ofdiscussions filling theroom, there was a lot ofinformation and ideasbeing exchanged.Thank you to all who participated. The entire event went bysmoothly, which is a tribute to all of the volunteers. I wouldalso like to thank individual woodworkers who donated itemsfor the silent auction, with all proceeds going to the club. Inaddition, we need to thank the ladies who made all the goodiesthat were enjoyed by the attendees. Sometimes we tend toforget the number of people who make events like this possible.You can’t thank them all individually, but they deserve specialmention and their efforts do not go unnoticed.

In summary, we had a wonderful display ofcraftsmanship, art, and talent. Wood 2010 showed only afraction of the talent levels and skills of our membership.Perhaps next year, you will decide to bring a project or two forothers to admire and learn from. There is a vast well ofknowledge in the group, and we invite you to take advantageof the opportunity. Most importantly, you can benefit fromthe exchange of fellowship and interest that all woodworkershave and are so willing to share. Hope to see you next year!


By Will Stanford

ROUGHCUTS

Check’s in the mailI tried but I couldn’t come up with a better title for a short

discussion of galleries, specifically as they pertain to the lowlywoodworker. And, having our pieces displayed in with artwork, somehow validates us as artists, or at least as craftsmen.Plus, you are trying to make a buck.

Consignment is the method most of us mortals willuse to get representation in a gallery. It is not difficult tounderstand why this method is so attractive especially for thegallery owner who only has to display your work. Only afterthe piece is sold does a gallery agree to pay your portion of theproceeds. The usual agreement is a 50-50 split. I have a coupleof issues with this structure. If, for instance, you are makinglarge pieces such as furniture, you have a substantial investmentin wood, metal or glass, as well as hardware, and finishingmaterials. All of which can put a large dent in your 50 percent. Another inherent problem with consignment is that since thegallery doesn’t own the work, they may be less inclined to protector care for it. Again with furniture you may end up with yourpieces being used to display other artists work such as pottery,glass or metal. So, unless you’re comfortable having your workbeing used as a display, you need to specify that your piecesshould not be used to sell other artists work. You also need tobe concerned with any damage. Pieces that are left for anyextended period will most likely have to be refinished unlessyou are using a hard finish. This is just the cost of doing businessand not considered damage. If you have pieces at a local gallery(by local I mean within driving distance) it is advisable to dropin occasionally.

Finally, the biggest negative against consignment is reflectedin the title of this piece –“getting paid”. As I said, you shouldkeep contact with the gallery and hopefully have some idea ofwhat date a piece is sold. But timely payment is a subjectivenotion. I have received some payments within 30 days also 60days as well as 90 days. Also, be aware that you may have to bepersistent to get your money. Realizing you are not the first inline to be paid is just being practical. I’m still waiting to getpaid for some work that sold in December even after a coupleof inquiries and promises.

If you can objectively say you have a good relationshipwith a gallery, by all means maintain that connection. But,also realize that circumstances change, especially in business,and you would be naive in today’s climate to think otherwise. I once sold quite a few craft items at a small shop and I had

what I thought was a good relationship with the owner. Oneday I dropped in and all the displays were gone. Nothing wasin the front of the shop. The owner was in back packing thingsaway. There was merchandise all over the floor. She said thatshe and her husband had separated and she was closing thebusiness. She said I could look around and try to find any ofmy pieces. I found most of my work but I was fortunate thatI had stopped in just on a casual visit. A few days later andeverything would have been kicked to the curb.

MemberNewsBy Bill Gayde

As of March 28, 2010 our membership is 371. We have 35new members. Please welcome:Tom Acton ------------------------------------------------- St. ClairRic Anderegg ------------------------------------------ Sterling Hgts.Joe Bacile ---------------------------------------------------- LivoniaCarl Bardel ---------------------------------------------- OrtonvilleVic Bonora -------------------------------------------- Lincoln ParkCharles Broadbent ------------------------------------ WoodhavenJohn Burleson ------------------------------------------------- SearsJohn Cadwell ----------------------------------------------- AlmontCarmel Catania --------------------------------------------- LivoniaChris Cordina ----------------------------------------------- CantonRobert Cousino ----------------------------------------- NorthvilleNorm Crain ------------------------------------------------- HowellDale Fay ------------------------------------------------- Grass LakePatrick Ferguson --------------------------------------------- TaylorPatrick Fougerousse ------------------------------------ WyandotteGary Garner --------------------------------------------- NorthvilleJeff Groth --------------------------------------------------- LivoniaJohn Hayward ---------------------------------------- West BranchKen Kapelanski --------------------------------------- Garden CityKevin Knowles ---------------------------------------------- DetroitRay Knudsen ------------------------------------ Bloomfield HillsJoseph Kubinski ----------------------------------------- DearbornJohn Mears ------------------------------------------ Grosse PointeKevin Miller ----------------------------------------------- YpsilantiBob Neely ------------------------------------------------- YpsilantiDavid Nordstrom --------------------------- Huntington WoodsAl Reich ------------------------------------------------------ OxfordDavid Reidling --------------------------------------------- RedfordJohn Seeley ------------------------------------------------ PinckneyLarry Sills --------------------------------------------- Swartz CreekDoug Sordyl ------------------------------------------- White LakeSteve Stram ------------------------------------------------- TrentonWilliam Sturley Jr. ----------------------------------------- FranklinKenneth Wallace -------------------------------- Bloomfield HillsDaniel Willoughby ----------------------------------- New Boston


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Michigan Woodworkers’ Guild25575 York RoadRoyal Oak, Michigan 48067

The Picture Gallery

New member Frank Alcorn John Fitzpatrick with his work in progress

michigan woodworker april 2010 michigan woodworker 2010 nl for e-mail.pdfamerican woodworker 2001....

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