SPLINTERS

Tennessee Valley Woodworkers

Vol. 18/ Issue 6                      June  2003                            Editor: Tom Gillard Jr. 


Meeting Notice:
The next meeting of the TN Valley Woodworkers
Will be held, June 17th at 7:00 p.m. in the
Duck River Electric Building, Decherd, TN
All interested woodworkers are invited!


The following people have agreed to serve as contacts for their particular skills. If you have questions, suggestions for activities, or other comments relating to these skills, please call these folks. Their interest is to help the club better serve their area of expertise. Your participation with them will help them achieve that goal.

                Design: Alice Berry 454-3815                                Finishing: Phil Bishop 967-4626
                Turning: Tom Church 967-4460                             Carving: Harry May 962-0215
                Sharpening: Bob Reese 728-7974                          Joinery: Ross Roepke 455-9140
Health and Safety: Maurice Ryan 962-1555
 

List of Club Officers

                                                      President:          Doyle McConnell
                                                     V. President:         Ken Gould
                                                     Secretary:          Barbara Keen
                                                     Treasurer:          Henry Davis
                                                     Publicity:          Loyd Ackerman
                                                     Newsletter Editor  Tom Gillard Jr.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!


Please remember, in your thoughts and prayers, all our Troops in the  Middle East and those on the way home.


FOR MEMBERS ONLY
Don't forget about the club give-away this year.
We have a Tormek sharpening machine for some lucky winner at the Christmas party.


***  Meeting this Month  ***

H.B. Rust of North Side Clocks in Manchester.


CLUB PICNIC
That was some Picnic.  Go to the web page "GALLERY"  to view the pictures.  This "woodchuck'n" club sure does have some good times...
 

SHOW AND TELL:

Geoff Roehm brought in 2 Ukuleles one was curly Mango, Brazilian rose wood and the other was Alaskan cedar. He finished with a mixture of nitrous and Deft and French polish for the filler.  This wash coat of orange shellac and let it dry and than dip rag in mixture and rub around in a circle.  It will micro braid to the wood and be just the right color.  He will see that instructions on how to do this are put on our Web Site.

Maurice Ryan made a rod holder to use on his boat. It will mount on the bulkhead.  He used PVC pipe and heats the edges and than drove a wine bottle over them to form the lip.  Rods will not bounce out of this.

Bill Duncan made a plant stand and it has a smaller top than some of the others since he forgot to check his index on the joiner and the top ended up with a curve in it and he had to saw a part and do over.  He also put a skirt on his.  He brought in the clamp arrangement he made to clamp the stand together.

Bob Beswetherick brought back the mandolin that he brought in last time.  He redid the finish, which he is much more satisfied with.  It is a sunburst effect and he used brown leather dye and thinned it way down.  He sprayed the finish.  He also played a short tune on it for us to hear the tone.

Jim Roy showed a leg he had made out of Cherry.

Henry Davis showed the plant stand that was made by the members that attended his workshop.  He asked that the members that attended sign it.  He also thanked Tom Cowan for the assistance with the workshop.

Mary Ellen Lindsay brought in the plant stand she made at the workshop.  It was made out of popular and she carved it on the top and the sides.  She put a gel satin varnish on it.  She also brought in a stool with a carved top.

Barbara Keen showed a plant stand that she made at the workshop.  It was a Black Walnut stand with satin polyurethane finishing.

Bob Leonard brought in a scraper it was made from an old band saw blade.  He made a holding jig out of wood so that he could hold the blade in for sharpening it.

Newt Wright brought in a clock that he had made out of Mahogany.

Doyle McConnell found a red maple tree and it was so big he did not want to get it but was out voted by his wife and Karen so he got it.  He showed a couple of bowls he had made out of it.  He also showed a pecan bowl.  He also showed a bowl vessel he has started from a root.

Karen Kerce made 2 nice bowls out of spalted maple.  One she put epoxy in the holes but did it after the bowl was done and left her a lot of sanding and hard work to finish it.  Next time she will put the epoxy in before she is finished turning.  She also brought in an old Cigar box that she made a top for and finished it.

Matt Brothers made a knock off from an antique spool chest for a customer.  It was made of Black Walnut. Tom Cowan turned the legs for it since he does not have a lathe.  He finished with Danish Oil and deft spray lacquer.


Yew


Yew, a softwood, has branches to the ground and provides dense shade. A
tough wood, it played a major part in wars of the Middle Ages.

In Europe and the United Kingdom, the densely needled evergreen called yew stands
vigil in churchyards and cemetaries. The wood resists decay so well that clergy
traditionally cited it as a symbol of eternal life. But because the seeds of its fruit and
withering foliage contain poison, it may have been planted in these enclosures to
protect the living—both animals and man. Yew, in fact, was considered fatally toxic in
Shakespeare's time. He cited "slips of yew" as part of witches' brew in Macbeth.

While those who partake of yew may not see another sunrise, the tree itself lives a
 long time and grows to enormous size. A yew growing at Tandridge Church, in Surrey,
England, measures 45' in diameter, and experts estimate it to be 2,500 years old!

 The wood of the yew, because of its toughness, has always been suited for abuse-prone posts and furniture. Yet, yew
 played a much more important role in history.

 The formidable English military weapon of the Middle Ages—the longbow—was made of yew. In fact the law decreed
 only royal longbowman could have yew bows. Commoners had to settle for ash and elm. At times, yew became scarce,
 and the English had to import their bow wood from Spain and Italy. At the Battle of Crecy on August 26, 1346, the
 English devotion to yew longbows became well-justified. The rapid-firing longbowmen destroyed the French calvary and
 carried the day.

 In America, the Scottish botanist David Douglas discovered a variety of yew along Oregon's Columbia River in the
 1800s. Indians there were using it for bows, too!

 Photograph: Bob Calmer
 Illustration: Jim Stevenson
(WOOD Online)

The new building at the fairgrounds is coming along nicely.  There are pictures of the construction on the site.  This is really going to be a fine improvement to the fair and to the demonstration abilities of the Club.

The Stones River Woodworkers will meet on June 24, 2003 at 7:00 PM at the Broad Street Shoneys Restuarant in Murfreesboro, TN.  If you would like to join us for supper, please come at 6:00.  Calvin Duggin,retired MTSU professor, will present our program.  All interested woodworkers are invited.

Harry Hodge, Stones River Woodworkers Club



Saw in a book entitled, "The Woodright's Companion, Exploring Traditional Woodcraft" by Roy Underhill: "The bald cypress is valuable for construction in high-humidity locations. A coffin made from this wood will last a lifetime."


FREE Woodworking Charts


Easy board foot calculation Hardwoods sell in grades by the board foot,
a basic unit of measurement that equals a 1"-thick board that's 12" wide
and 12" long. That's because hardwoods--unlike softwoods-aren't cut
and milled as dressed, sized lumber in standard nominal dimensions
(2X4, 1X6, 4X4, etc.) to only be cut to length for construction.
Instead, mills saw hardwoods into random widths and lengths to
best take advantage of the clear wood in a log. Hardwoods do
come in nominal thicknesses, such as 1", 1-1/4", etc. (often referred
to as four-quarter, five-quarter, and so on), that actually are a bit
shy of the stated thickness.  Therefore, you'll pay for a 1"-thick
measurement but actually be getting about 3/16" less. Board widths
aren't standardized. Typically, the dealer will "round up"; to the next
inch of width and charge you for it. To help you in estimating stock
and cost for the projects you want to build, download the chart that
gives you the amount of board feet in a range of common hardwood
dimensions you'll likely come across where you shop for wood.
DOWNLOAD CHART HERE


FOR SALE:
Go to the Forum page to view the many items FOR SALE


SEE YOU ON THE 17th!!
 
 


 
 
 
 
 

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