President’s Letter – May 2019
April brings spring flowers, rain, and the election of new Guild officers for the next year. We should acknowledge these changes and thank these people for the time and effort they have put in and continue to do in the present.
Bob Brinkman stepped down as President to be replaced by Wayne Humphrey. Bob will continue to be on the board as Immediate Past President, replacing Mike Sistek. This is the first time in more than 10 years that Mike has not held a formal position at the Guild.
Keith Lissant has stepped down as Secretary and will be replaced by Tom Tupper. Like Mike, Keith has more than 10 years in an active role with the Guild.
Mark Zupec has assumed the role of Membership Coordinator that Tom had previously held.
John Bronson’s term as a Director has expired and he has been replaced by Don Turner.
Many other people continue in their roles (elected or appointed) in the guild and we appreciate and thank them for their efforts. There are also people that hold no appointed or elected position whose input to the board and to the meetings is valued and appreciated.
While it sounds like we have enough people to get everything done, that is not the case. There are lots of ideas floated around that need to be explored and some positions that could use some additional assistance. If you have an hour a week to work on the computer at home, we might have a job for you. Have 30-45 minutes on meeting nights to greet visitors? Have an hour once a month to help make meetings more social? Lots of activities to help the Guild involve little time and no need for technical skills. If you would like to help, contact me and we can discuss opportunities.
It is never too soon to think about Christmas. Mark your calendars for the Guild Christmas party on Dec 5that the Shriners. Primarily a social event, this is also a last opportunity to donate toys for distribution before Christmas and to sell any items you have made that would make good stocking stuffers, tree ornaments, or great handmade gifts.
The upcoming May 16thmeeting will be an opportunity to Share Your Favorite Tool with everyone else. The term “favorite” is wide open to your interpretation. It may be a functional definition. It may be a great value you picked up. Something you have used from the first days of your woodworking experience. Something that is weird and strange with limited usage but yet intriguing. Maybe it is a tool handed down from generation to generation in your family. Bring it in and share with the others. If it is too big, bring in photos to share.
Hope to see you on the 16th.
Wayne |
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Annual Show and Tell
and
Silent Auction |
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Above, Sign-in Table for the Silent Auction
Everyone got an opportunity to pick up a good buy at the Silent Auction tables.
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Joe Turner showed us his finished walnut bench for behind the sofa and a piece of the raw wood. |
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Jerry Lammers showed us a stool with a long handle which is very handy for moving it around without bending over, and also as a steadying grab point. He also had several jar openers that he made for gifts. |
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Jeff Nasser showed us a peppermill made of birds eye maple and rosewood. He noted that one of the issues he had was dealing with excessive bleeding of oil from the rosewood. But it was a beautiful result. |
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Daniel Sudkamp showed us a tray and several wine accessories that he constructed recently using leftover barn wood. |
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Barn wood wine bottle/glass holder, wine rack, wine bottle stoppers, and tray with inset pieces. |
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Don Snyder showed us a scraper honing jig that he made using his 3D printer. |
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Don also noted that he had made a holder for a Bridge City “Kerf Maker” using his 3D printer. |
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Rich Sanders pointed out a potential safety issue that he had not come across until recently. He found that his drill/driver battery had welded itself in the charger when he left it there overnight. He recommends that practice be avoided if you don’t want to burn your house down! |
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Rich showed us a small rosewood cradle that he had scroll sawed and fitted together without the use of any fasteners or glue. He also had an airplane and a walnut and maple clock base. |
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Bob Meyer showed us pictures of a toy chest that he had made from oak and walnut. Featured in the construction of this chest were |
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torsion hinges that counter-balance the lid and hold it open and will not allow it to slam shut on tiny (or not so tiny) fingers. |
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Larry Alvarez showed us a variety of items that he made using spalted wood from a tree taken down in his yard. |
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Among the treasures from the old tree are pen barrels, christmas ornaments, and beautiful bowls. |
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Bill Love showed us a beautiful adjustable angle bed tray that he made from one piece of walnut, book-matched to preserve the pleasing look of the grain. |
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Bill liked the moose telephone stand that Steve Crouse made and showed us at last month’s meeting, so he made one for himself and brought it along. An egg stand was also in his group. |
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Keith Lissant showed us a walnut trivet that he scroll sawed. |
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Bob Kastigar saw some giant dice while on vacation and decided to make some himself with great results. He inserted walnut plugs into the pine blocks to make these way cool dice. |
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Dan Lender shared with us his journey to find the right kitchen barstool. After no success commercially, he decided to design and make his own custom swivel bar stools. |
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Above is the prototype that he built and brought to the meeting. The final stools below were constructed from cherry. |
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One of the unique features of the stool construction was the method that Dan used to scoop out the seats. He use his table saw, raising the blade incrementally to achieve the desired material removal. |
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Mike Peery brought a critter that he made on his CNC machine. |
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Wayne Humphrey, our newly elected Guild President, brought a very detailed bull dozer that he built. |
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He made several of these following his retirement from the construction industry. |
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Phil Haskins brought pictures of several projects that he recently completed.
One item Phil showed was an armillary sundial made by his son. |
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His daughter was looking for a gate to the garden so Phil came up with this eastern influenced design made of sassafras. |
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Phil also constructed this driveway gate using sassafras. |
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Grady Vaughan showed a box joint sled he constructed using Doug Stowe’s design in Fine Woodworking magazine as a starting point. |
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Grady incorporated two inserts for the sled, one for 1/4″ fingers and the other for 3/8″ fingers. The insert bolt holes are slotted to make fine adjustments to the finger and slot dimensions. |
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Inlay Class at Faust Park
Don Snyder, Instructor
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| Attendees for the class:
Bill Miller
Bill Schuchat
Paul Berglund
Tony Palmisano |
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| The picture was taken after the class, at the end of the day. All look pretty happy — maybe that’s because the class is over after a day of steady work doing line inlay with a variety of tools, starting with some home-made hand-tools and ending up using a Dremel router following precut patterns. |
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| Tony Palmisano setting a line into a piece of MDF for practice. |
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COMMUNITY
St. Louis Woodworkers Guild contributions to the local community
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FAUST PARK TOY TRUCK ASSEMBLY DAY REDUX
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April 20th was another successful and VERY productive toy build day attended by Paul Bailey, Reece Waymire, Bill Schuchat, Vickie Berry and Vickie’s brother Larry Berry (yes, his parents named him Larry Berry). There was lots of sanding, gluing, hammering and nailing. So much so that 47 trucks were completed by the group in just a few hours. We’re hoping to have more Toy Build Days in the future so even more members can participate. |
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SPECIAL PROJECTS
These Chalk Board Blocks were made by Bill Tarter in response to a request from one of the organizations that we donate to. They will be used to write letters or numbers on temporarily for placement with photographed items. |
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| These blocks were made by John Bronson in response to another request from one of our organizations.
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What great projects with a specific purpose!
Thank you, Bill and John!
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TOY COMMITTEE INSIGHTS
By all measures, the St. Louis Guild has a very successful Toy Program and we want to continue to expand and serve more kids and organizations. As such, we’d like to hear from you. Some thoughts are having quarterly Toy Build Days at Faust Park to work on specific items and have a toy of the month theme.
We look forward to hearing from you, so feel free to contact any of our committee members or send a message to Bill Schuchat (314-406-1823) or wschuchat@gmail.com.
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TOY REQUEST
Last month we announced the addition of Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition and their request for individual keepsake boxes for the children. Our inventory doesn’t include these boxes so, it’s more important than ever that members start submitting them on a monthly basis. Suggested sizes range from 4” x 6” up to 9” x 12” and be unfinished. We hope the participants from the Doug Stowe weekend will participate in this activity even if it is only to provide “practice” boxes as they develop their box-making skills.
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Collected
April — 535
YTD — 3,679
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Delivered
April — 817
YTD — 2,956
Since 1994 — 65,113!
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Over 750 Club
Bill Meuth – 779
Over 500 Club
Wayne Humphrey – 506
Over 300 Club
Rich Sanders – 499
Bill Love – 323
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Over 100 Club
Bill Schuchat – 209
Dale Norman – 200
Bob Zahner – 133
Dan Sudkamp – 120
Charlie Goria – 109
Steve Briner – 105
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2019 Target and Challenge
Target for Delivered Items: 6,141 To Date: 40% ACHIEVED
Well on our way!!
Target for Member Participation: 10% To Date: 19% ACHIEVED
38 Members so far!
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Toy Pattern Library is Growing
Keep checking the website for new patterns throughout the year as well as the schedule for donating seasonal items. We’ll continue to add new and interesting patterns for all levels of woodcrafters so check back often.
Find patterns at: https://slwg.org/toyplans.aspx |
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A Word about Toy Quality
The Toy Builds of February, March and April produced 150 great toy trucks. The Toy Committee inspects all donations as part of the Guild quality assurance program and we found that there were some quality issues with many of them. In addition to sharp edges and corners, there were pins from the pin nailer that were not flush with the surface of the wood and splinters that had not been sanded down.
The quality of our toys is extremely important since they are being donated for use by children. We have found that an effective procedure to identify these problems such as those above is to simply rub our hands over all surfaces of the toy. This instantly reveals any sharp edges or corners which can easily be smoothed with a little sanding.
In many cases these issues can more easily be addressed prior to assembly or in subassemblies as corners and edges are much easier to smooth with a round-over bit or a power sander at that stage rather than after the toy is fully assembled.
Please incorporate these types of actions for all donations to maintain the quality of our products.
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Organizations that we currently donate toys to include:
Foster and Adoption Care Coalition
Mercy Children’s Hospital St. Louis
Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital
Shriners Hospitals for Children – St. Louis
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
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Bill Schuchat: (314) 406-1823
Vickie Berry: (972) 741-1944
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Bob Zahner: (314) 291-1878
Hal Donovan: (314) 570-6563
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| Please contact us with comments, suggestions or if you need to arrange pickup or delivery of toys. |
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Bring Me A Book Team News
In the first quarter of 2019, BMABStL distributed 1,800 books and 120 book boxes to St. Louis and East St. Louis school students. So far in the second quarter of 2019, BMABStL has provided students with 300 books and 75 book boxes.
BMABStL plans to give 1,500 books and 300 book boxes to children during the months of June, July and August in partnership with the Horizon Housing Foundation. Also, during this same period BMABStL plans to distribute 5,000 books (no boxes) to children through its partnership with the St. Louis area FoodBank summer meals program.
Currently, a dozen Guild Members are working to build 102 book boxes. We can always use more Members to build book boxes. Please see Tom Tierney if you would like to participate in the BMABStL book box program.
Thank you to the members who have supported the BMAB program by building boxes.
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For those Guild Members who are delivering completed boxes, please set your boxes in or near the White Ford F150 parked at the rear entrance on the lower level. Two-book box, flat-packed kits, will be available in or near the pickup truck as well.
Please make sure to tell Tom the number of book boxes you have returned.
Book Boxes delivered to BMABStl as of April 30:
708
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Tom Tierney heads up this project for the Guild. About 35 Guild members have participated in the project so far. If you would like to participate in the project, please contact Tom at 314-412-1817. |
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Woodworking Classes
Held at Faust Park Workshop |
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Decorative Inlay (Fans, Berries, Flowers, & Other Shapes)
When: May 25th 2019
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Cost: $25
Materials: A material list will be included in the tool list
Tool List: Available upon sign-up
Class Size: 4 Students
Instructor: Don Snyder
Note: Decorative Line Inlay Part I is a prerequisite class
Basic Router Jigs & Fixtures
(Sold out, get on the waiting list!)
When: June 29th & 30th 2019
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Cost: $50
Materials: A material list will be included in the tool list
Tool List: Available upon sign-up
Class Size: 6 Students
Instructor: Mike Sistek
Upcoming Classes
(More details to come)
June 24 Build a chessboard
June 29-30 Router jigs and fixtures
July 28 – March 22 Basic Woodworking
July 20 Build a River Table top
Sept 21 Turn and embellish a plate
Sept 28 Using the Leigh jig for dovetails
Oct 19-20 Build a Campaign book shelf
Nov 16-17 Build a hand plane
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Payment for the above classes:
-Payment in advance is required to be registered
– By check, mailed to Guild’s PO Box
– Pay online Guild web page through PayPal
– Pay at the meeting to Eric Oman
Please note that registration closes by the 5th of the month in which the class is scheduled. For example, for a class held in July, registration is due by July 5.
Registration or Questions?
Contact Eric Oman at eric.oman@yahoo.com or 636-248-0069 |
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Fundamentals of Woodworking Class
Beginning in June!
Learning the Essential Skills of Good Craftsmanship
Are you new to woodworking? Wondering how to get started? What tools to buy and when? If you answered yes to these questions, the St. Louis Woodworkers Guild has the answers. A new class is starting in June, which is tailored for new woodworkers.
The class will meet once a month for ten total sessions. The class will cover the essentials needed to start you on your woodworking journey. For example in Lesson One, you will learn about wood, its properties, how to select it and how to buy it. Each following lesson will build on the previous class throughout the course.
Succeeding lessons will introduce you to hand tools and their proper use, woodworking machinery, and the safe use of both stationary and portable power tools. How to plan a project and purchase the materials required through finishing will also be covered. Joinery techniques from mortise and tenons to hand cut dovetails will be taught.
Throughout the course, lectures will be followed by practical hands on exercises that will build your skills and provide the knowledge required to become an accomplished and safe woodworker. The course will wrap up with the construction of two projects which will challenge you and put your new knowledge into play.
Some “homework” will be required between sessions. While not required, it is highly recommended that class members attend the Guild’s Safety Class so that they may utilize the Faust Park shop between classes.
The class size will be limited so don’t put off signing up! You can pay for the class in one of two ways: either monthly, at $35.00 per session, or an upfront, onetime charge of $300.00 for the total course. The cost of materials is extra and you should plan on acquiring some basic hand tools along the way.
The first class is scheduled for Sunday June 23rdand will continue on the fourth Sunday of each month for the next ten months.
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Faust Park Workshop Information
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- To participate in the Workshop Safety Class or use the shop, you must have paid the current year Guild dues and have your current membership card with appropriate marking.
- To use the Guild Workshop during open hours, you must have passed a Workshop Safety Class.
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June Shop Hours
June 1 & 2, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
June 4 & 5, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
June 8 & 9, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
June 11 & 12, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
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Next Shop Safety Class
When:
Thursday, June 6, 2019
6:30 PM
Where:
Faust Park Workshop
Duration:
Plan for 3 Hours
Cost:
$20 for Current Members |
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Notes from the
Faust Park Shop
With the help from Guild member’s volunteers, the installation of the whole shop dust collection system was completed this month. Ron Romitti deserves special credit for donating, not only his time over several days, but all the material required to provide power to the system. Already we see the positive results in having a cleaner shop. We now are also able to run several machines at the same time which will help speed work during open shop hours. In addition, now that individual dust collectors are no longer needed it has opened up more space. A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered their time to make this possible.
We have also added a couple of new machines with improved performance for those using the shop. A new Stellex hollow chisel mortiser has replaced the old Delta bench top mortiser. This new machine is more powerful enabling a greater range of work. Also added is a new 12” disc sander and oscillating spindle sander to replace the Delta disc/belt sander. The Delta machine was showing it’s age and parts were impossible to source.
We are next looking into improving the lighting in the shop and hope to make improvements in that area in the near future.
Wayne Watson, Shop Manager |
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Installation of the dust collection ductwork. |
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Completed installation.
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The Guild is looking for new Shop space
We find ourselves in need of additional Shop space to accommodate our growing membership and equipment wants and needs.
We are asking all members to help us locate a facility that has the following:
- Location: within a 10 mile radius of Hwy 40/64 and Hwy 270
- Square Footage: 3,000 to 5,000 sf
- Floor: Minimum 3” thick concrete slab
- Ceiling Height: 8 to 12 feet
- Electric: 400 amp Single Phase (3-Phase a plus but not required)
- Lighting: adequate fixtures in place for manufacturing
- Plumbing: Restroom(s) and kitchen sink
- HVAC: Heated and air conditioned
- Parking: 20-50 spaces
- Garage Door: at least one 8 foot wide drive-in door
- Dock: Optional – Standard truck height
Please contact Tom Tierney (314) 412-1817 if you have any questions or comments.
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Guild Business
Annual business items handled at the April General Meeting:
1. Election of officers was performed with the following new officers installed:
President — Wayne Humphrey
Vice President — Wayne Watson
Secretary — Tom Tupper
Treasurer — Tom Tierney
Director (term expires 2023) — Don Turner
2. Tom Tierney, Guild Treasurer, presented the annual financial report to the members. He noted that an audit was performed as required by the Bylaws and the books were declared accurate.
3. Tom Tierney, Guild Treasurer, presented a change to the Guild Bylaws which would add the book box program as a standing committee. This will need a Guild vote at the May Meeting to be implemented. Following are the revisions:
New Section 7 In Article 7 of the St. Louis Woodworkers Bylaws.
Section 7: A Book Box Committee of two or more members shall be appointed by the President, with the approval of the Executive Board, to provide leadership for the Guild’s program of making and distributing book boxes for the Bring-Me-A-Book St. Louis organization that provides new books and book boxes to needy children in the St. Louis area.
Current Article 7 Section 7 becomes Section 8 and Section 8 becomes Section 9.
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GUILD MEMBERSHIP
Annual membership renewal is available online with PayPal (preferred, as this speeds up the check-in process at the meeting) or at the meeting when you sign in. Current membership status is required for use of the Faust Park Shop.
Annual Membership Dues:
Basic Membership $40 (4 uses of the Guild Shop during 2019)
Full Shop Membership $75 (Unlimited use of the Guild Shop during 2019)
A basic membership entitles the member to four uses of the Guild Shop during the year. A shop membership entitles the member to unlimited use of the shop during open shop hours.
The Guild accepts cash, check, credit cards or PayPal for dues payment.
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WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS
Terry Brunner
Larry Burrell
Travis Martin
Ron Schwarz
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If you are a current or retired Boeing employee you can now contribute to the St. Louis Woodworker’s guild through the Boeing Gift Match program. The guild is now an approved charitable organization with the Boeing program. As an employee participant, your donation of $25.00 USD or more or the equivalent volunteer hours of 25 hours or more will be matched 1:1 by Boeing. The maximum individual contribution is $6,000.00 or 6,000 volunteer hours. Your contribution is tax deductible as long as you follow three simple steps:
Step 1: Eligible Boeing employees or retirees first make a contribution directly to the guild
Step 2: After making your donation go to Total Access and click on My Community Giving – GIVE – Gift Match on the Boeing Gift Match page.
Step 3: Register your donation whether it’s monetary or volunteer hours and select The St. Louis Woodworker’s Guild and enter the total amount and the date of the contribution.
It’s that easy, you get a great tax break and it benefits the guild directly. If you have any questions, please email Mike Sistek at president@slwg.org and if I don’t know the answer, I will try to find it for you. |
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The St. Louis Woodworker’s Guild is now listed with Amazon Smile.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite woodworker’s guild every time you shop at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the St. Louis Woodworker’s Guild.
Simply go to smile.amazon.com and select the St. Louis Woodworker’s Guild as your organization that you want to receive donations from your eligible purchases. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. You don’t make the donation, Amazon Smile does. It truly is at no cost to you. Just make sure you go to smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com. If you have any questions on how the program works, just send an email to Mike Sistek at president@slwg.org . |
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Member Benefits Include:
> Discounts at Guild sponsors
> Access to the Guild Shop & Project Workshops
> Access to a local community of woodworkers
> Access to the secure portion of the website
Just Complete & Return This Application!
Or, bring the completed form to the next meeting and Join right there!!! Cash, checks, or credit cards accepted. |
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SLWG Officers, Board Members and Committee Leaders
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President:
Wayne Humphreys – 314-440-2173
Vice President:
Wayne Watson – 314-541-3047 |
Secretary:
Tom Tupper – 636-236-3313
Treasurer:
Tom Tierney – 314-412-1817 |
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Directors:
Grant Black (exp. 2020)
Vickie Berry (exp. 2021)
Violet Oman (exp. 2022)
Don Turner (exp. 2023)
Immediate Past President:
Bob Brinkmann
Marketing & Membership Chair:
Wayne Watson
Membership Coordinator:
Mark Zupec
Woodworking Show Committee:
Wayne Watson
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Newsletter Editor:
Grady Vaughan
Librarian:
Al Carlson
Toy Committee Chair:
Bill Schuchat
Shop Manager:
Wayne Watson
Classes and Workshops Coordinator:
Eric Oman
Web Master:
Cecil Robertson
Legal Counsel:
Bill Hobson |
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Our Sponsors
The St. Louis Woodworkers Guild relies heavily on sponsorship to execute on our mission statement of education, community service, and local development. Please support our sponsors.
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(In-store only)
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