VWC Mini Newsletter
November, 2009
As issues and activities
come to the fore at The Woodshop and with the Villages Woodworkers Club it is
sometimes helpful to sit down and bring these items out in a casual format and
that is the intent of this writing. There is much happening and it is
hoped that this newsletter can bring some clarity to these items.
Officer elections
We
are approaching that time of the year when we have the opportunity to elect new
officers to deal with the running of The Villages Woodworkers Club and
Woodshop. The procedural details will be
presented at the Membership Meeting on November 10 so it would be to your
benefit to attend and be informed.
The
offices that the Club fills annually are:
-
President
-
Vice President
-
Secretary
-
Treasurer
-
Board of Directors (3)
Except
for the Director’s position which is for 3 years, each is for a one-year
term. If you wish to know more about the
responsibilities of each position and the electoral process, please visit the
Web site for the Club: www.vwc704.com
Shop usage
In
the last issue of the newsletter it was mentioned that it is necessary to be
aware of the needs of others in using the shop’s facilities, a never ending
vigilance. When equipment and workspace
is used, it MUST be remembered that you do not have an exclusive claim to that
equipment or workspace except when you are actively utilizing it.
It
really is amazing the number of people the shop accommodates in a given period
of time. However, it is not without its
rough times. When members forget that
others are waiting to utilize equipment, work space, and storage facilities
they cause undo hardship for others.
The
key to this problem is the necessity to plan your project/activity. Except for the use of the lathes and the
cubicles in the loft, we have not had to “ration” use (sign-up for use) of
equipment and workspace, but there have been some recent instances where work
space has been used in a fashion that unduly excludes others. When you tie up a workbench with a project
and material, but are not actively working on it, it is unfair to others who
are in need of that space, a circumstance that could lead to a “sign-up”
process if it continues. Planning your usage can help protect everyone’s interests.
Please
make every effort to follow these suggestions as the usage of the shop
increases over the next five-six months:
} Do not leave your
project on the assembly tables except when you are actually in attendance and
working on it – there are off-table areas for it when it is not being actively
dealt with;
} Utilize the loft storage
by signing up (tool crib) for a space 30 days at a time – then clean it out
when you are completed or at the end of the 30 days (check with the tool crib
if additional time is needed)
}
Plan your work to be conscious of the needs of
others. A “humongous” project utilizes a
disproportionate amount of shop resource and is unfair to those attempting also
to utilize the shop.
Woodworking Tips
A
new feature will be forthcoming on the e-mail called the “Tip of the Week.” There are
so many good little tid-bits of information floating around that could be of
practical help that
Perfect
Grooves and Dadoes on a Router Table
When routing a deep groove (or dado) on the
router table, you’ll get much smoother results by making a couple of shallow
cuts. To do this in the conventional way, you simply raise the height of the
bit between cuts. But here there’s a catch. Adjusting the bit height often
shifts its position enough to create a “stepped” cut (photo above). You end up trading a
clean cut for an inaccurate groove...
But all is not lost. There’s a simple
trick you can use to get both a clean and accurate cut. The key is to avoid
having to change the bit height between cuts. To do this, set the bit to full
height and then install a spacer over it, as shown in Figure 1. The 1/4″ hardboard spacer is held in
place is held in place with a cleat at each end and can be added or removed in
a snap.
You make the first, shallow cut using the
spacer, and then slip it off for the second, full-depth cut. And the bonus is
that you actually get the job done quicker!
New Equipment
The
Club has recently purchased some new equipment (actually replacement equipment) in the form of a compound miter saw
(replaces the Delta that was falling apart and getting tough to keep running)
and two lathes to replace the Woodteks currently in place. (The Woodtek lathes
are for sale if you are interested…).
The saw is currently in place. The lathes are on their way and should be
up and running around Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter.
Unless
you are around the equipment every day, it is hard to realize the amount of
usage it receives. Much of what the
Woodshop started with was of good quality for an individual’s home shop, but it
didn’t stand up to six-day-a-week use, and therefore has required replacement. We have replaced worn-out machinery, in most
cases, with a more industrial (ergo, more expensive) grade and have reaped the
rewards of greater durability.
Membership
We
are well into the process of renewing memberships for the next year, 2010. Besides the payment of the dues ($45.00), it
is also necessary that you select your time for serving shop/tool crib monitor
duty. You will be asked to do the
sign-up on the 2010 calendar when you pay your dues so come prepared to know
when you are available. Also, a plea
from the office staff – mark your calendar at home in a way that you will not
“accidentally” schedule something on top of that time and have to deal with
getting a replacement. Be aware –
getting a replacement is YOUR responsibility, not the office staff’s; they only
coordinate the data. Plan wisely!
Another
thing to note is that you will have to go through the shop monitor refresher
training unless your last training date was in 2009. You will be apprised of this at the time dues
are paid.
In
connection with membership, remember that our membership meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM
in the
Calendar spotlight
There
are some dates you need to mark, or at least of which to be aware:
·
Nov. 26 – Thanksgiving; Shop closed
·
Dec. 3 – Shop cleaning; closed until late afternoon (help
needed!)
·
Dec. 5 – “Garage sale;” shop closed to woodworking
·
Dec. 24, 25, 26 – Christmas weekend – shop closed all
three days
·
Dec. 31, Jan 1, 2 – New Years weekend – shop closed all
three days
Shop cleaning
Periodically,
it is necessary to do a MAJOR cleaning of the woodshop facility. The dust and debris that accumulates doing
the ordinary things in a woodworking facility need to be cleared out – walls
dusted, machines completely blown out with compressed air, windows washed,
fixtures cleaned, etc. There’s a lot to
be done on December 3rd when we shut the shop to accomplish this. And we could
use some help! If you can help for a
couple hours, especially in the morning, we would appreciate it. If you could
give me a “heads-up,” give me a call or send me an e-mail at villageswoodshop@embarqmail.com ).
We
will supply some snacks, lots of coffee, and some beverages. If we need to go
into the afternoon, we will get some pizza sent in.
The
shop will NOT be available for use until ALL cleaning is complete.
Yard Sale
What
happens to all of the tools we don’t need or cannot use? Very simply, we have a good old-fashioned
yard sale with prices meant to induce a bargain hunter to bite. We will try to find a home for these used
items on December 5 (Saturday). This
time we have some interesting items for sale among which are the two Woodtek
lathes. There is also a “ton” of other
stuff. If you have useful tool-type
items you wish to donate to the Woodshop for the yard sale, please see
No
items will remain after the sale.
Projects
Two
different community groups have come to us for assistance in constructing items
for use by their group in community service.
One project is the “Dog Project” and the other is the “Duck Project.”
The
Police Canine Association will hold canine competitions in
Secondly,
an even bigger project is brewing, but not yet firmed up. It consists of making 24 (or more) nesting
houses for wood ducks. They measure,
roughly, 12”x12”x24”. Not big, but a lot of them. Again, if you would like to participate in
this project when it comes to fruition, let me know.
Wood
issues
There
has been some confusion on the Board’s policy on treated wood used in outdoor
projects. The Board is clarifying this
policy and will publish its clarification as soon as possible, but to maybe
help out in another direction, the Woodshop has cypress, a sub-tropical wood
that has great rot-resistant qualities.
A real plus feature about cypress is that when it is finished with a
spar varnish, the grain is much more attractive than most other outdoor-type
woods. Look into it for your next
exterior project. Select cypress is knot
free; #2 cypress has some tight knots and is great for construction. And it is
not expensive!
Education
When
new people join, as you did, each is required to take an Orientation
Class. These classes are an absolute
necessity, but we have run into a real problem –instructors to do the
training. We need help.
You
do not have to be “The Expert” to be an instructor; just have some reasonable
degree of experience. The orientation
staff has lesson plans to use and will train you to the extent needed to orient
people on specific machinery and in shop procedures. Please make your intentions known to Paul
Greene or any member of the Orientation staff.
If
you are willing – or even have a ‘passion’ – to teach one of our regular
education courses, there is a lot of need.
Let Bob Matthews know if you might be willing to do this and he will
supply you with all the guidance necessary to make it a comfortable
experience. Right now we have more people
wishing to take courses than there are instructors to teach them.
Also,
be aware that we are for the first time offering “Lady’s-Only” classes to
accommodate the women. Often, when there
is a mixed group, many women feel just a little intimidated (at least at first)
by the perception that they are in a “man’s field of expertise.” We all know that wood knowledge is not
exclusive to the male gender, but we are providing this opportunity to allow
the women to pursue their learning from their point of view. We hope the ladies of our Club will take
advantage of this opportunity and encourage each other in learning the skills
of woodworking
Board
Chairman
As a post-script, PLEASE
keep us up-to-date with changes in personal data such as address changes, phone
number changes, and email address changes. In an all-volunteer
organization of over 760 people this is a MAJOR, MAJOR effort.
Thanks.
Murry Bishop