May 2013 Meeting Newsletter

NEXT MEETINGS

June 12, 2013 MEETING, PHEC MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM, 7-9 PM. Heather Trosdahl, Interior and Scenic Design.

Heather Trosdahl went to College of the Redwoods with fifteen years interior and scenic design experience. She interested in contrasting materials, clean lines, and traditional joinery in a way that achieves an aesthetic balance between contemporary design and traditional craft. Heather believes that gorgeous handmade design should be within the reach of the urban apartment dweller and is interested in making objects that are functional, practical, and sculptural.

Currently, Heather is building custom pieces and creating a small line of production furniture for Studio Proxima.

JULY 10 2013 MEETING, PHEC MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM , 7-9 PM. GRIFFE GRIFFITHS, Decorative Metal Work.

Griffe Griffiths will be our July, 10th speaker on decorative metal work. In addition to creating beautiful metal shapes of natural objects such as fish swimming or flowers blooming Griffe makes enhancements for wooden projects like hinges, door pulls and other embellishments.

He was born and raised in the UK at a school emphasizing arts and crafts where he developed a life long passion for nature's designs. He uses these designs to create functional art in many forms. You can view Griffe's work at http://griffemetal.com

NEXT SHOP TOURS/SAWDUST SESSIONS

Two months ago we had a great presentation from the owner of Schoenstein and Company Pipe Organs, Jack Bethards.

On the 18th of May we are going to visit the facility in Benecia. It was a cabinet making facility before Jack acquired it for the organ pipes. He has amassed a large number of very interesting wood working machines and arranged them with employee and production efficiencies in mind.

Jack will show us the facility and discuss his pipe organ process

Cookies and coffee will be served. Jack will start the tour after you have grabbed a coffee, at 10:30AM

Directions:

• Take 680 north and cross the Benecia Bridge
• Follow 680 north , ( not 780 north), and exit at Bayshore
• Go left onto Bayshore
• Take the 1st right onto Park Road
• Go right onto Industrial Way
• 4001 Industrial Way is on the left

Today we tour Bill’s basement woodworking shop. Bill is currently downsizing his shop and would like to find good homes for some of his power & hand tools. Refreshments: Cookies and coffee will be served.

• Take Highway-24 to Pleasant Hill
• Exit onto Pleasant Hill Road North
• After a couple of traffic lights turn left onto Springhill Road (Springhill Elementary is on the corner).
• Follow Springhill for 0.9 miles and turn right onto Prado Way.
• Continue to 36 Prado Way
• Bill's house is on the right
• There is plenty of driveway and street parking.

Today we tour Dan's work shop. Dan's shop is located in a co-op building where he rents space. Dan is one of our younger members and has interest in both woodworking and woodturning and is an active participant in Show & Tell. So come see how the younger generation gets started in woodworking.

Refreshments: Cookies and coffee will be served.

• Take Highway-4 to Martinez
• Take the Pine Street Exit. Turn right onto Pine Street
• Go one block on Pine Street and turn right onto Howe Road
• Go one block on Howe Road and turn right onto Arnold Drive
• 835 Arnold Drive is on your left.
• See you at Building #3

NEXT SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS SPEAKERS

Bob Nolan’s presentation tonight is ‘Basket Illusions’.  These are turned hollow forms decorated in the style of Southwest Indian baskets.  Bob will explain and demonstrate the detailed process used to create these objects of art.  Bob was inspired by a piece on display at the Smithsonian Institution and has spent the last several years developing his skills in this art form.  The process starts with a detailed design on graph paper before applying the design to a light colored wood. 

Examples of Bob’s work are on display at Gallery M in Half Moon Bay and Bay Valley Art Gallery in Walnut Creek. Also see his website: http://www.bobswoodturning.com/

SPRING SEMESTER HAND TOOL SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP MEETINGS

APRIL 29th, & JUNE 24th - MEETINGS RM-208 9:00AM – NOON.
Dan DeGennaro

In our next few hand tool gatherings we’ll focus on using the tools we’ve learned about, and sharpened.  (If you haven’t yet sharpened your saws, chisels, or hand planes, now’s a good time).

I’m planning to show and demonstrate three different shooting boards that will allow us to true-up accurate 90° and 45° cuts with a hand plane. I’ll have plans available, but you’ll have to download your own copies; according to copyright laws.

We’ll then begin watching Ron Herman’s The Joinery Challenge, and then apply the techniques he suggests every hand tool user should master. I recommend you go online and purchase Ron’s video to have at home, just in case you forget what we did in class. I can tell you from personal experience; once mastered, the techniques require constant practice. Plan on practicing on some really cool projects in the future.

In order to best experience the practices sessions, I suggest you bring your own tools. Be sure to label them. I use a vibrating etching tool and put my driver’s license number and my last name on each tool. When on job sites, I will bring soft tool bags. For our SIG, I’ll bring my newly completed Grandpa’s Tool Box (See the WoodSmith Shop website for plans) to share with you. It was a fun build with lots of opportunities to use hand tools. You’ll see.

You’ll also need to bring enough wood to complete your project. For the complete project, you’ll need 6 pieces of good, clear poplar: ¾” thick, 1½” wide, and 16” long. I would suggest bringing 10-12 pieces just in case you need them.

Here’s a list of tools to bring:

1. Several good, sharp yellow wooden 2HB pencils, or a mechanical pencil
2. divider or pencil compass
3. marking knife
4. marking gauge, and if you have one a mortising gauge
5. square: a 6 or 12 inch square, or a double square
6. folding cabinet rule or an 18 inch ruler
7. set of beveled chisels
8. crosscut panel saw, or a back saw, or the saw of your choice: 10 -12 points is best

If you don’t have a particular tool, get a used one and restore it. We’ll share our knowledge about the best small tools when you get here. There are many variations of these marking and measuring tools available, but I’m certain our experienced members can make some excellent recommendations to save you time and money.

Dan DeGennero