January 2000 Newsletter


Index

Regular Features

John's Junket Board Briefs Workshop News Calendar Raffle column

Special Articles

Reflections January Program  Woodworker of the Year Award   TOYS  Exhibits Membership Renewal  Officers for 2000   Letter   In Memoriam

John's Junket

    A very happy New Year to all of you! Part of me wondered if I shouldn't wait until after the New Year begins to write the January Junket. I didn't want to put all the effort into writing something for the Newsletter if we were all going to be destroyed in some cataclysmic fireball on January 1st. But being an optimist by nature I have decided to push on and take my chances. I'll have plenty of opportunity in upcoming months to discuss the challenges that we face this year so for now just let me say that I'm excited about the programs and workshops that we have planned for this year. If the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season has kept you from taking a detailed look at the Program & Workshop Calendar I encourage you to take a few minutes to review the offerings for 2000. And while you are examining the Program & Workshop Calendar I would also like you to take note of the kinds of programs and workshops in which you would be interested but are missing from our offerings. This would be important information to feed back to our Program and Workshop Committees as they begin their tasks for 2000 and 2001.
    As always, I would love to discuss your thoughts and ideas on how to make our Guild better. Please feel free to contact me at the regular meetings, by Email, or by calling me at home.

Board Briefs

Jeff Nebel

The Board of Directors met on December 9th, 1999 at the Venice Club Restaurant in Brookfield.

Treasurer:

Elizabeth Rohde reported a current balance of $9,246.

Programs:

Bruce Bogust agreed to accept the position of Program Director for the year 2000 (thanx, Bruce). Inasmuch as this came after the November elections, he was appointed by President Petrovic, and the appointment was approved by the Board.  The January Program will be Design Strategies for the Woodworker, scheduled for  February in the current calendar publication.  Liz. Rohde will check on prices for a possible return to Zorbaís for next yearís Holiday Season Dinner Party.! !

Workshop:

Bob Vincent, the retired Workshop Director, turned over his paperwork files to the current Workshop Co-Directors. The Board expressed its appreciation to Bob for his past efforts in this position.  Thanx, Bob!  He suggested a series of joint meetings with the Program and Workshop Committees for optimal coordination of programs and workshops. Bob Jahncke is current custodian of the new sound system, but alternate arrangements must be made. The Washington Park Senior Center does not have adequate storage facilities for this, and access to the facility is limited to scheduled meeting dates/times. Dick Yezek distributed a packet of information on workshop registrations.

Exhibits:

Don Berger reported making contact with the California-based Woodworking Show people. Don will run a help-wanted article in the next newsletter, and check with Chris Kraemer about the storage bins purchased last year for show security.

Publications:

Si Farmer distributed minutes from their November meeting to show the diversity of tasks related to this committee, and the willingness of individuals to accept assignments. Assignments have been made through the February typesetting. Jerry Davis, Webmaster, will make a formal presentation to the Board at the January 2000 meeting on a new website. Art Paque reported that the phone message number is up and running. It is hoped that his number will be published in the next Woodshop News. It will appear in all subsequent Guild publications. Si reported that the last issue of the RIPSAW was printed free because of a company policy: If itís not done right, and on time, itís free.

Membership:

Ellen Davis reported 104 renewals to date, on pace with prior years at the same time. She has received numerous email requests for snail-mail membership forms. She was given permission to place membership forms on the Website so people can print them out and send them in.

Toys:

Ron Hindermann reported 147 toys were made this year (as compared to 307 last year). A survey will be handed out and collected at the next Guild meeting to try to ascertain the reason(s). A discussion was held regarding toy-making workshops in 2000.

Old Business:

Jeff Nebel reported on the status of insurance claims for the stolen A/V equipment. Jeff will follow up. There was no report on the cost to modify the Guildís insurance policy to cover the current assets.

New Business:

The next board meeting will be held on Thursday, January 13 at Wrico Stamping, N50W13471 Overview Dr., Menomonee Falls, WI

January Program


    Bruce Bogust reported that the program Design Strategies for the Woodworker will take place in January 5th, 2000, rather than February. This is a program that was originally scheduled in 1999. It will feature Tim Cozzens from Chicago, Illinois. Tim is a designer from Chicago who operates a five person studio producing custom furniture, fixtures, lighting and decorative accessories for residential and commercial clients. He will discuss design theories, concepts and rules of order. Tim received a degree from Northern Illinois University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. In addition, he currently teaches at the Art Institute of Chicago and has participated in numerous exhibitions as well as publications. This has the makings of a very informative and interesting evening.

Woodworker of the Year Award

Gerald (Gerry) Veenendaal


    The Woodworker of the Year Selection Committee chose a seasoned, competent, experienced, and hard-working Guild Member to be this year's Woodworker of the Year. Gerry has worn many hats over the year on behalf of the Guild. A long-termer, he has served as Guild President, a member of the Board of Directors, frequent presenter of programs on various aspects of turnings, and has conducted numerous workshops on turning the segmented bowl. Gerry has had a sustained interest in toy making for those kids in shelters for battered families. He Chaired or Co-Chaired the Toy Committee for several years, and hosted many toy-making workshops over the years. It is with great appreciation that the Guild chose this recipient for this honor. Congratulations !!
 

Calendar


(Items in bold are Guild sponsored)
January 4, 11, 18, 25 & Feb. 1, 8,15, and 22.

January 5, Wednesday 6:15 - 10:00 pm January 5, Wednesday, 6 - 9 pm January 6, 13 Thursdays 6 - 9 pm January 8, Saturday, 9 am 4 pm January 8, Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm January 10, Monday, 6 - 9 pm January 12, Wednesday 6 - 9 pm January 15, Saturday 9 am - 6 pm January 17, 19, 24, and 26 6 - 9 pm January 18 & 25, Feb. 1 & 8 6 - 9 pm January 20 & 27 Thursdays 6 - 9 pm January 22 & 23 9 am - 3 pm February 2, Wednesday  6:15 ó 10 pm February 2, 16 (Wednesdays)  6 ó 9 pm February 3, 10  Thursdays  6 ó 9 pm February 5, Saturday  10 am 3 pm February 7, 14   Monday   6 ó 9 pm February 9, Wednesday  6 ó 9 pm February 12, Saturday  9 am 6 pm February 17, Thursday   6 ó 9 pm February 19, Saturday   9am ó Noon February 19, Saturday   9 am  1 pm February 19, Saturday  9 am ó 4 pm February 21, 23  Monday, Wednesday  6 ó 9 pm February 24, Thursday  6 ó 9 pm February 28, Monday  6 ó 9 pm February 29, Tuesday  10 am ó 2 pm

Note: Rockler's (The Woodworker's Store) is located at 845 N. Mayfair Rd. Wauwatosa (414/771-1882) and Woodcraft is located 1725 S. 108th Street, Milwaukee(414/607-6164). Call for class sizes and fees.


Raffle column

Alan Clapp

    Congratulations to the two lucky winners of the 1999 year end raffle. Virgil Penn won the Scandinavian Cabinetmaker's Bench and Si Farmer won the Incra miter gauge. Thanks much to Chris Kraemer and the Milwaukee Woodcraft Store for these generous donations.
    Kettle Moraine Hardwoods gets our New Year off to a great start by donating a spectacular piece of 8/4 spalted maple, measuring 11 1/2" x67". The January 5th raffle will provide you the opportunity to feature this beautiful piece of highly figured wood in your next woodworking project.
Kettle Moraine Hardwoods is a hardwood sawmill and dry kiln with a great selection of hardwoods, paneling and flooring. They have two locations in the Milwaukee area, 5261 Aurora Road in Hartford, 262/644-8119 and 195 S27th in Caledonia, 262/835-9212.
 

Workshop News

Sunburst Table Workshop

Brian Halligan

    The Sunburst Table workshop was conducted by Bill Hull on November 5 and 6 in Scott Stanwyck's deluxe barn workshop. Bill came from Oklahoma with a car full of tools, veneer and supplies in case he became trapped in the early November Wisconsin snowdrifts. The table, a Federal Style demilune table, has a veneered top, tapered legs with ankle and stringing inlays and some tricky joinery. It is obvious that this is not a beginner project and would not be completed in two days. Luckily, some of the difficult work had been completed before we even began. Carl Widder and John Petrovic had thin mahogany strips cut for them by Rich Sitzes at Fillinger's and formed the curved aprons as bent laminations. The legs may be tapered to give the piece a light feel, but the apron is capable of supporting a tank. The tops had been cut from 3/4" MDF and the edges covered with mahogany strips.
    The first task that we had to do was to level the edging with the top. Some of the tops, either due to the edging being slightly below the level of the MDF or overly vigorous trimming, required the use of Scott's wide belt sander to bring them to flat. The next step was to cut the backing veneer for the bottom of the table. The backing veneer is required to "balance" the face veneer and to prevent warping of the top. In order to get a tight joint between pieces of veneer, the edges must be flat and straight. To do this, we used the shooting jig that Bill had demonstrated at the November meeting. The jig is made of a straight piece of MDF with a piece of bendable plywood (Wacky Wood) held in place with a solid wood cleat. Two or more pieces of veneer are placed between the plywood and MDF layers with their edge projecting out slightly. The veneer is then trimmed with a router and touched up with sandpaper attached to a MDF stick. An alternative approach is to use a plane to trim the edges and Mike Callihan took this opportunity to demonstrate his Lie-Nelson Shooting Plane. Some of the others tried the plane as well, being careful to remove the drool stains before returning the plane to Mike. After the edges have been fiddled with until a gap-less fit is achieved, the two pieces of veneer are held together with pieces of thin paper veneer tape. Bill told us that when a new person comes into his shop, they spend the first several months doing the backing before moving on to doing faces. Since we did not have that luxury, we went to work on the faces. Working from lots of veneer chosen at random, six consecutive sheets were cut to rough pie shape using a pre-made triangle of the correct 30¡ angle that Bill had brought with him. The edges were the cleaned up with the shooting jig and laid out in order to form a semi-circle. The first day ended with applying glue to both the sides of the top and gluing the veneer to the top in a vacuum press.
    The second day was spent primarily in applying the edge banding. In planning ahead for this step, the mahogany veneer for the top was cut shorter the width of the top and the edge of the veneer was not glued to the MDF top. This allowed us to use a trim router with an edge guide to trim back the veneer on the top to make room for stringing and the edge banding. There were two choices for edge banding. One choice was ribbon mahogany with a striking vertical grain and the other choice was satin wood, a yellow wood with a curly grain. On the advice of Randy, most of us went with satin wood edge banding separated from the mahogany field with both maple and ebony stringing. One minor fly in the ointment was the fact that the stringing was 1/32Ó thick and the veneer was either 1/35" or 1/40" inch thick. This required the stringing to be planed down before use. It is difficult to judge the grain direction on a 1/16" x 1/32" piece of wood, so some of the thickness difference was cleaned up with a scraper. Fitting the wedges of satinwood and strings along the edge of the table was a time consuming, but relaxing process. After the pieces for the edge were taped up, they had to be carefully lifted off and glue applied to the top and whole assembly returned to the vacuum press. While the tops were being pressed, some members of the group helped Bill to have the requisite taste of frozen custard at a local stand. Since only several tops could be pressed at a time, while waiting, the tapers were cut on the legs on Scott's table saw that had the blade guard removed for clarity. Bill also demonstrated how to do the both ankle banding using a cordless router (Stanley #271) and stringing inlay on the legs using a trim router (PC 301). Once we removed the excess veneer from the edge of the top, we had completed the hands-on portion of the workshop. Bill finished up by explaining to the group how to build forms for doing veneering on curved surfaces.
    Although a good deal of the hard part of constructing the table was completed either before or during the workshop, we did not leave with finished tables, but rather with more of a kit. Some of the participants were confident in their ability to complete the half-lap/mortise joints require for joining the legs to the apron, while others were looking to further sessions to work these steps. We would like to thank Carl Widder for organizing the workshop, Scott Stanwyck for the use of his shop and hospitality, Rich Sitzes and Fillinger's Lumber for resawing the mahogany for the aprons, and John Petrovic for doing the apron laminations. We would also like to thank Midsouth Adhesives for a donation of cold press veneer glue and Certainly Wood for a donation of satinwood veneer.

Bill uses a router and homemade guide to cut grooves for stringing inlay.


 

Bill demonstrates how to cut the groove for the stringing inlay with a laminate trimmer and homemade guide.


Scott tapes his veneer while Bill tells the story about the fish that got away.


 

Scott shows that you don't have to be a brain surgeon to make two 2 foot rulers from one 4 foot ruler.

Registration Committee

Kathie and Dick Yezek


Questions and Answers

Q: Why must we fill out a form to register for each workshop?
A: The forms are used to track enrollments and time of payment. When necessary, wait lists are built for workshops that are over-subscribed. The forms are also used to correct errors and issue refunds as required. FInally, after the workshop closing date, the sponsor is notified of the total enrollment.

Q: Why do workshops have opening and closing dates?
A: By the opening date, the sponsor has arranged for a location and instructor. After the closing date the sponsor will make final room adjustments, obtain the proper equipment and purchase necessary supplies. In the event the workshop is over-subscribed, the sponsor may elect to accommodate more enrollments or arrange for additional workshops.

Q: What happens to the forms?
A: The forms are used to create a Microsoft Access database for workshop enrollment and payments. All forms are kept for one year past the close of a workshop to handle any questions that may arise.

Q: If IÕm already in the database, why do I need to fill out all that stuff on the form each time I register for a workshop?
A: The information you put on the form is used to validate your enrollment with the database record.You may be enrolling a guest, which requires a temporary member number to complete the enrollment. In other cases incorrect member numbers on the forms have resulted in temporary incorrect enrollments.

Q: I paid for a workshop. How do I know I am properly enrolled?
A: We post the enrollments at the regular monthly meeting. Also, you can call the Registration Committee to inquire.

Q: Does the Registration Committee deposit my payment in the bank?
A: No. Your payment is turned over to the Treasurer at the next Board meeting for deposit. This is an accounting check and balance.

Q: When a workshop is cancelled, I get a refund slip from the Registration Committee which I must give up to the Treasurer. Why is this necessary?
A: Firstly, only the Treasurer has the GuildÕs checkbook. Secondly, this method keeps our accounting straight, that is, we know exactly what money was transferred to the Treasurer on a given date and for what purpose. Thirdly, this is another example of the financial checks and balances used by the Guild to assure that your money is properly handled.
 

REFLECTIONS

Holiday Dinner Party

Elizabeth A. Rohde


Our Holiday Dinner Party, on December 1, 1999 was held at ZorbaÕs on Bluemound Road. It started at 5:30 pm with refreshments and good old visiting. At about 6:30 we went through the buffet line and promptly stuffed ourselves with delicious food. After our meal, we were treated to a talk on Reclaimed, Submerged Woods. Our speakers were Greg Leick and Greg Minster of Leick Furniture, Inc., Sheboygan. Greg Leick is the grandson of the founder of Leick Furniture, which was started in 1910. With the discovery of 150 year old logs in Lake Superior, Greg ventured into a new phase of furniture building. He, with the help of Greg Minster started up Echoes, which deals only with limited furniture styles made out of reclaimed, submerged wood. Greg discussed how the timber was harvested in the 1840ís and how the logs got to the bottom of many of the Great Lakes. After the trees were felled they were dragged, put on wagons or floated down streams to their destination. On the great lakes massive barges (some of the logs were 60 feet long and 40 inches in diameter) were needed to transport the logs to the east coast. Along the way some of the logs would fall off or a storm would sink a barge causing the logs to get waterlogged and sink to the bottom. By the 1920ís our virgin first growth forests were pretty much depleted and new methods of harvesting were being used. Some of the wood species found were white oak, which was highly prized because it was used to make masts for the great sailing ships. Red oak and some cedars as well as white pine were and are being found. Greg and Greg also brought a piece of furniture made of reclaimed oak. The craftsmanship was awesome. The grain of the quarter-sawn oak and detailed joinery made it a thing of beauty. By the end of our evening we were full of good food, wonderful company and little bit more knowledgeable.

>From my family to yours, a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

P.S. I would like to thank my daughter, Mary Anderson, for helping me with the centerpieces for the Holiday Party. I couldn't have done it without her.Thanks Mary. (Mom)
 

TOYS  - TOYS  - TOYS

    The Guild was able to distribute 147 toys this year to seven different shelters for battered families. The geographic area of distribution was roughly that of the distribution of the membership of the Guild. Recipient agencies this year were Sojourner Truth House, Milwaukee; The Women's Center, Waukesha; Watertown Women Center, Watertown; Women Horizons, Inc., Kenosha; Christine Ann Center, Neenah; Association for the Prevention of Family Violence, Elkhorn; and Friends, West Bend. These agencies act on our behalf and distribute these gifts to children, age and gender matched, who are in their charge at Christmastime. The toys are for these children to keep - not kept in the agency.
    We encourage all willing members, so inclined, to start making toys at your earliest convenience, so they will be ready for next year's distribution.
 

Exhibits

Don Berger

Help Wanted ! ! !
The Woodworking Show
January 28, 29 & 30, 2000
Wisconsin State Fair Park
Trade Mart Building

Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild Booth
1. Member(s) with truck to transport some show pieces to and from show.
2. Members to help with set-up and take-down of booth Friday am and Sunday 5 pm.
3. Members to represent Guild and and staff the Guild Booth during the show.
4. Members to exhibit show pieces in the Guild Booth.
Sign-up for helpers during the January 5th Guild Meeting at the Washington Park Senior Center.
Members not able to attend the Jan. 5th. meeting, who want to help, please call Don Berger (262) 966-2195 before January 10th. The list and schedule of volunteers must be submitted to show management one (1) week prior to the show to arrange for free admission.
This is the best opportunity for our Guild to attract new members and to broadcast our enjoyment of woodworking.
Thanx. Don

Membership Renewal


Just a gentle reminder that Memberships expire on December 31st, 1999, even though you might receive a newsletter beyond that date. In order to get your Guild Member Discounts, you must be currently registered as a Guild Member. It is very important that you fill out both the front and back side of the renewal form. This information is neded to serve the membership fully. Please make your suggestions in the appropriate places....relative to your interest areas and areas in which you are willing to volunteer for the upcoming year. Immediately after the February membership meeting, a Membership Diretory will be published. If you have not renewed your membership by that date, you will no longer receive any mailings or newsletters from the Guild and will be considered a non-member! Remember, in February 2000 the new area codes go into effect, so be sure to put your correct area code on the form. For those of you that wish to have your email address included in the Directory, be sure to include that also.
 

Officers for 2000

Position Person
President  John Petrovic 
Vice President  Dick Yezek 
Secretary  Jeff Nebel 
Treasurer  Liz Rohde
Program Director  Open Positaion
Workshop Co-Directors Bob Jahncke
Scott Stanwyck
Thomas Anshus
Exhibit Director Don Berger 
Director at Large Chris Kraemer 
Newsletter Director Si Farmer

Letter To The Wisconsin Woodworker's Guild

    It's the morning after the Guild's Holiday Season Dinner. What a wonderful evening of good fellowship I had. So I thought this was a grand time to write a letter to all the members who helped in the production of Woodworker's Day at A. Fillinger, Inc. The event itself is not that hard to produce, as I may've lead people to believe. In fact it is amazingly simple. It is simple, because of the members who step forward to help. I'm very grateful for these members for volunteering their time and services. They play an important factor in making this event entertaining and exciting. I think my wife (Angeles) summed it up the best with her observation of the event. When I finally got home from the event, Angeles came up tome and said, "Boy, what a great bunch of wonderful, fun in natured people in the Guild. No wonder you like going to those meetings." She is absolutely correct with that statement. I cannot say it any better. There are so many people I have to thank, I just hope I remember them all. Thank you to the following Guild Members for the help and support & good fellowship: Don Berger, Pete Kolettis, Klaus Zunker, Liz Rohde, Bob Vincent, Si Farmer, Art Paque, Team Deady ( John and Jim), Jerry and Ellen Davis, Brad Saber, Lorraine and Norbert Walker, Gerald Tackes, Kathie and Dick Yezek, Matt Bohlmann, Irene and Lenard Mumm, John Petrovic, Henry Mumm, Ron Hinderman, James Paulbeck, and all members that submitted their project in the Show Case Contest. If I forgot any one, please remind me, so I can thank you personally for your help and good fellowship.

            Sincerely,

        Richard W Sitzes

In Memoriam

    It is with sadness that we report the death of one of our Guild members, Raymond Wachniak of Brookfield. Ray passed away on Tuesday, December 7th. He was the Guild's Historian of record.
    We extend our condolences to his wife Betty, children and grandchildren.
 
 


Last Update: 1/4/2000
Web Author: Brian D. Halligan
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