Vol.12 / Issue 8                              Tennessee Valley Woodworkers                             Editor, Richard Gulley                                     August 1997

Greetings Woodchuckers! It’s time for another exciting episode of Splinters - the story of a merry band of woodworkers and their never ending search for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. (or a really good deal on a few hundred board feet of seasoned hardwood.)

I really didn’t mean to burden you all (good Southern grammar) with any of my sad stories this month. But then I thought, maybe ya’ll have no sad stories of your own and maybe I should share. You see I have to take calculus this semester and the only time I can work it in my schedule is Tuesday and Thursday evenings. That means I will have to miss our meetings till about mid December.

But if Loyd keeps doing his usual great good job of getting the minutes to me, I will continue to keep you posted on things of which I know nothing. (Sorta sounds like business as usual.) Now let’s get on with Splinters.

July’s program was memorable to me on two accounts. I got to see and hear about the construction of a really beautiful chair (and well made to boot. )

As equally enjoyable was the atmosphere of twilight in the Duck River parking lot. Tom, you might want to think about putting out several wicker tables and serving mint juleps at this month’s meeting. I love being a part of an innovative club like TVWW!

This month’s program was originally meant to be a two act production. However, Jim Van Cleave, near 50% of the program, is in the process of moving. If Jim owe’s you money don’t worry, he’s just moving into town, not out of state. His shop won’t be back together in time for him to prepare his share of the program, so he begs to be excused.

The other player in this show is more than able to rise to the occasion. Bob Reese will be speaking on and demonstrating aniline dyes. Bob’s program’s are always informative and enjoyable. Don’t miss this one!

There’s still a lot of woodworking activity left in this calendar year. Events to look forward to include Artisan of the Month at Fall’s Mill, the annual picnic and auction, a woodturning seminar, and of course the Christmas dinner. But why don’t I just let Doyle tell you all about all there is to know.

The agenda for the fall for the club is full but has some exciting things to look forward to. The Falls Mill outing is on August 30, starting at 9:00 AM. There have been several people committed to being there with their wares for display. There will be tables provided for members who would like to display their workmanship. Sale of items is OK but you are on your own in this area. If you have never participated in this event please come, bring a craft, and or something to demonstrate and have a day of fun, food and friendship. The Lovetts always have a crowd and good food.

The fall picnic is also coming up soon. This will be held at the Duck River picnic area on September 20. The club will supply the barbecue and drinks and other food will be potluck. Richard has committed to the traditional auctioning of items of great demand, don't forget to bring some priceless heirloom, tool that cannot be done without, or items of great demand to be auctioned.

There was a brainstorming session after the meeting last month on the lessons learned at this year's Exhibit. Some of the items discussed were how often we may want to have an exhibit, where to hold it, how many locations, clubs or associations than may be willing to sponsor our event. John Sargent agreed to chair an Exhibit committee to look into these items . Serving on this committee is Loyd Ackerman, Louise Green, Henry Davis, and Tom Cowan. If you have any concerns or input please contact one of these members.

Doyle

(Found this on the net, thought you might like it) >Does anyone ever have a problem motivating themselves to do a project? My wife and I have been renovating a house now for 4 years. Drywall, plastering, plumbing, electrical _ you name it. I am now down to the finish carpentry _ cabinets, etc. I am not a professional, I am a weekend worker. Not to brag, but I have a shop very similar to Norm's on NYW. I should be dying to get in there and work, but I can only think of reason not to. Do any of you professional woodworkers have any suggestions? I know you have to work on some days when you just don't feel like it. Any words of encouragement would help (before my wife kills me in my sleep and uses the money to finish the house!)

Thanks Ya'all Mike.

What works for me is to take a long, close look at projects that I have already done. I look at the dovetails, legs, figure of the wood, finish, etc., and recall the zen_like hours that I spent concentrating on getting it just the way I wanted it. This is usually good for at least several days of motivation.

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Comes & goes. My problem is rarely starting, but finishing. Drywall is a great example. If you go around the room you can usually tell where I started sanding...and where I ended up.

Other times, It's hard to get going.. I push myself to get back in, look around and appreciate how darn lucky I am, start working again and it hit's - the old magic is back and life is good again. All it takes for me.

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I can totally understand where you are coming from. We bought a "fixer_upper" for our first home. Had the skills, needed an excuse to buy the tools! Worked, slept, ate and worked some more, for about 6 month's.

Anyways, I use excuses and relatives as motivators. I tell my wife that I will only do outdoor projects in the summer month's and whatever she wants done on the inside during the fall and winter month's. This gives me some what of a break in the type and length of projects. Additionally, I tell my wife that I will do a project and then I have to do/build something for the shop. So I keep rotating..project, shop, project, shop.... This adds a little variety and at least gives me something to look forward to during those really long projects.

The other motivator I use is friends and relatives. Especially the ones that tell me, "that's too hard to build", or "you can't do that". These are usually the same people that ask you to "build me one" when you've finished.

For shop projects I look through catalogs and find really neat tools or accessories that cost more than what I think they are worth, and build them myself. A good example is the MICRO FENCE Edge Guide System, I couldn't see spending that kind of money for what they had in it for

parts, so I made my own. And I figure if I'm going to build whatever it is, I might as well improve on while I'm at it. Which again is another motivator...

But the bottom line, for me, is a variety of projects and thorough planning and design before hand. Fortunately my primary occupation is during the graveyard shift, and due to low activity, I have about 4 or 5 hours to myself to read or design/draw up my next project. This saves

time for me instead of trying to design and build at the same time.

And lastly, as I'm sure most of us here would agree, a finished quality project, is a great motivator.

(Maybe you would like to share with the rest of the club how you get revved up for a project)

I have learned more about hand tools by surfing the net, than from any one book. Point your browser to http://www.mcs.net/~brendler/oldtools

and follow the plethora of links from there to tell you all about cleaning, tuning and using old tools. Here's what I do, in a nutshell:

Take apart plane. Separate wood parts from metal. Dump metal parts into anice warm bath of soapy water. Use a plastic tub. The missus might not like you putting a rusty tool in her jacuzzi bathtub. Scrub vigorously. Surprisingly, this will remove just about all the surface rust, and expose

any badly pitted areas. Wipe off excess water, then dip each in part in alcohol. Set out to dry. Takes only a few minutes.

Stubborn rust: Use #0000 steel wool and a little elbow grease to remove the really offensive rust. I use Marvel Mystery Oil as a lubricant, or WD40, whichever is handy. Be careful not to rub right through nickel plated areas, as the plating can be thin. Scrape heavy rust off the iron with a razor blade. Green ScotchBrite pads work too, but go easy. The last thing you want is a frosty_looking plane. A little brown here and there is ok.

Wood: I leave the small paint spatters. They're always there. If the finish is crumbling, strip it, and refinish with a little walnut oil and wax. I like the feel of wood on a plane tote, not varnish.

Oil all moving parts and screws. Wax everything else.

O"Deen

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Check out my web site @ http://members.aol.com/Alamaral/WoodShop.html It contains plans for a folding outfeed table, an overarm TS guard, and a shop built DC system using a Toro leaf blower for power.

Al.Amaral@East.Sun.COM

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Rules of thumb for personal bench height.

General work height - belly button

For vice(metal working):Centerline of vice at elbow

For assembly - top no lower than middle distance of thigh bone

For heavy hand planing and wood brace boring - what ever is most comfortable for you.

These are from finished floor which includes duck boards, rubber mats etc..

A stranger in town enters a bar and asks for beer. As he was waiting he noticed a lot of people sitting quietly at the tables in the bar. The bartender brought his beer and said "That will be ten cents please." The fellow couldn't believe it and asked if beer was ten cents what were mixed drinks? The bartender told him twenty cents. The fellow asked how he could possibly make money at those prices? The bartender said that he had a very profitable shoe store in town and was able to retire early, so he needed a change and decided to open a bar and give something back to the people that helped him all those years.

The fellow looked around at all the people at the tables and asked the bartender why none of them were drinking at these unbelievable prices?

The bartender told him that they were all woodworkers waiting for Happy Hour prices to start.

I’ll miss seeing all of you for the next few months but I’ll be back. Here’s a few quotes to tide you over.

- Common Sense is So...Uncommon

- If you're not making any mistakes, you're probably not making anything else, either.

- He would be wood if he could, but he's knot.

Watch out for SPLINTERS!