The month's meeting will be at 6:30 pm on the 15th at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, room H111. For the program, Gary Runyan will be discussing plane blade and chisel sharpening using waterstones.
A complete list of scheduled programs can be found on the website.
On our October meeting night, Christmas Eve will be just ten weeks away! If you’re like me - already behind on your holiday to do list, I’ll try and point you to a few free plans in this issue of Splinters. A lot goes into that special gift. It may be a special piece of wood. Maybe some special brass hinges or other hardware. But the thing that makes a gift really special to family or friends is your time. I’ve come to realize that time is the most valuable asset we have. So be sure to put an extra measure of your time in those holiday projects. They’ll be treasured.
Elections are not far off. A nominating committee has been appointed to seek out members willing to serve. The strength of our club is largely due to members who are willing to step up and take part in club activities.
The Franklin County Library is seeking for volunteers to build Little Free Library boxes. There was a mix up at last month’s meeting and the library representative didn’t make it. Someone is planning on being there this month, so stay tuned. For inspiration, go to Google Images and search for Little Free Library. Or just click this link..
No new members during August.
Contact Carl Blumenthal if you have Tips & Jigs you’d like to share with the club.
Carl Blumenthal brought in some samples and discussed some “special” pants. What made them special was all the extra pockets and storage locations made into the design of the pants. He had purchased the “JobMan” brand pants a few years ago, but now many other companies are making the same design pants. The pants have a storage area for everything that you would want to carry while doing a job. If interested, the web site is www.jobmanusa.com
Fred Heltsley showed a simple way to hold a flashlight. He made a stand out of copper wire to hold the light in any position required. A “third hand” is needed on some jobs.
Vince Zaccardi discussed the method he used to flatten the bottom of a large platter. The platter did not set level. He used a piece of MDF, putting sandpaper on the MDF and moving the project back and forth over the sandpaper to make it flat. A quick way to flatten a project.
Pictures can also be seen in the Gallery and possibly more (close-ups and other views).
 |
Ken Gould brought two ornamental cherry slices with “burned designs” on the face of the slices. The process he used was the “Fractal Burning” technique to create the design in the wood. He went into detail on how the process works and pointed out the massive dangers of the process, since it deals with very high voltage. (Due to the inherent danger of this process, the Executive Committee of Tennessee Valley Woodworkers is discouraging promotion of the practice at our Club’s meetings, events, and media. See our website for the full statement.). |
 |
John Hartin brought three bowls. One of the bowls had a decorative lid design. The larger lidded bowl was made from cherry and had unique “foot” design. One of the smaller bowls was oak crotch and the other was Magnolia. All were finished with lacquer. |
 |
Doyle McConnell brought a wedding gift salt and pepper mill set. The set was made from spalted maple and finished with gloss lacquer. |
 |
Vince Zaccardi discussed his two cutting boards made from cherry, maple and walnut. They were finished with oil. |
 |
Geoff Roehm brought a beautiful guitar. The woods used were spruce, ebony, mahogany and maple. The back of the guitar was book-matched with a beautiful grain pattern. The inlays were done using CNC. The finish was UV cured polyester. Geoff demonstrated the final product by playing the instrument. |
 |
Paul Credle brought one of his rocking horses. He discussed the evolution of the design and building process. He also talked about the difficulties he encountered along the process. The material used included white oak and maple. He discussed the importance of painting the bright colors on parts of the horse to attract the attention of the youngsters using the toy. The finish was urethane. |
 |
Steve Shores showed several of his Christmas ornaments while presenting the September program. |
If you hear of a club member in the news or perhaps deserving a “Shout Out”, let me know and I’ll post it here.
Wood magazine listed several free gift projects and construction tips in this month’s issue –
*note - I forgot to mention that you have to register on the site to get the free plans. That’s free too tho.
The Splinters Carvers meet at Jim Jolliffe’s shop on the first and third Saturday's of the month from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The shop is located at 201 Jolliffe Acres Ln, Tullahoma. Tools and wood are available at the meetings, just bring yourself and try your hand at carving!
I’m sure you all can relate to this and will smile a little.
Then say a prayer for those families actually suffering from this awful disease.
That's all for this month. Watch out for SPLINTERS!
Submissions to the newsletter are more than welcomed. Send funnies, tips, or other content that may be of interest and you may see it in a future edition of SPLINTERS.