President’s Letter – June 2019
This month’s meeting is going to be a busy one.
Participants of the Doug Stowe box seminar will be showing off boxes they have built.
Our first speaker is going to be Emile Damotte. He has created a new Hardwood Rotary Planer and would like to show it to the members.
Our second speaker is Brad Bernhard. He is going to discuss a “Pie Crust Table Build”. If you don’t know what one of these is, then look it up on the internet and think about the construction. Brad is not one to shy away from a challenge so this should be a very interesting program.
The Guild needs volunteer help to get items accomplished that we would like to. See the box just after Show and Tell below in this Newsletter for some of the positions that need to be filled.
The summer doldrums are on us. The Basic Woodworking Class had to be cancelled due to a lack of participation. This has been a popular class in the past and it will be offered again in the future. A scheduled safety class had no participants so we are instituting a new system of sign-up for that class.
Long time member and Guild Web Master Cecil Robertson has had a series of small strokes since the last meeting and is presently in a rehab facility with hopes to go home about the time the Newsletter comes out. He is in good spirits but if you have issues with the website, please contact David Zemon at david@zemon.name.
The July program will again be our version of “Speed Dating” where six different subjects will be discussed at six different tables with the audience changing tables every few minutes.
The August program will be David Stine discussing “Natural Edge Design”.
Just because it is summer doesn’t mean that you can’t work in the shop. Remember that it is only six months ’til Christmas!
Work safe,
Wayne Humphrey |
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| P.S.
Ever wonder who really makes the power tools that you own or consider buying? Check out this video for further information https://youtu.be/yGRVDRZbPkQ
If you have an interesting video you would like to share, send a link and a short description of it to president@slwg.org and we will put it in the newsletter.
WH |
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My Most Useful Tool |
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| Guild members were invited to show off some of their most useful tools this month and here they are: |
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Wayne Watson showed us a finger joint saw and |
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a Travisher spokeshave with a curved blade |
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Hal Donovan showed us a paragauge for setting a table saw fence, |
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a tool tray / small parts tray with an easy pour corner, |
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and a ratcheting box wrench for getting into tight spaces. Hal also highly recommended a set of hex wrenches with T handles for ease of tightening and loosening set screws and other fasteners that have hex sockets. |
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| Wayne Humphrey liked the advantage of this accordion style translucent plastic glue dispenser with a metal tip that has a hole large enough to clean out, unlike some competitor’s products. |
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| Robbie Field showed us transitional jointer (also called a long plane) that can be used for milling wood or leveling tables and other large surfaces. |
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Don Snyder presented several slides repeated below which show how to make and use an inexpensive Dial Indicator Jig. |
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Bob Kastigar brought a Unimat lathe which can be used for metal turning or milling small metal pieces. |
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Dan Reeves brought a set of leather-working tools with several punches. |
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He noted local sources of leather to be Tandy Leather and S-T Leather, who also has cowhide. |
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Larry Alvarez brought a skew chisel and a gouge which he says are his most useful turning tools. |
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Cecil Robertson brought an assortment of spokeshaves of various sizes. |
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Cecil uses spokeshaves for making the spindles and the saddle seats for Windsor chairs, the perfect application for this tool. |
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Jeff Nasser brought a detail gouge that has the handle loaded with lead shot to give it weight for stabilization. |
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Ron Suchara said that an iron brick was his favorite tool, but at 14 lbs. he decided to bring his next favorite tool, a combination square. |
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Another useful tool in Ron’s shop is a telescoping magnet with a light – mighty handy for reducing the number of times bending over in the shop to pick up a dropped screw. |
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Larry Koenig brought his Festool Domino — his favorite tool for joinery. |
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Mike Stoll brought a curved card scraper which he noted was a lot easier on the hands. |
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Keith Lissant brought the results of his favorite tool rather than the tool itself. He brought an intricately designed necklace cross that he produced on his scroll saw. |
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Mike Grogan showed us slides of one of 4 Fire Trucks that he made, painting them up to look like West County FD trucks. Each fire truck was made from 85 pieces of wood. |
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GUILD VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The guild needs volunteers in several areas. If you can help, please contact the indicated person.
Box Committee – This refers to the book boxes we make for Bring Me A Book St Louis. There are three on the committee and looking for a fourth to help out. Contact Tom Tierney. treasurer@slwg.org
Membership – We need one or two people to handle the membership duties. We have a written description of the job and estimates of the time required. Contact Wayne Humphrey. president@slwg.org
Equipment Liquidation – The Guild has a lot of donated equipment in storage and needs to liquidate it. Looking for someone to inventory the equipment and then sell it in an appropriate manner. Contact Wayne Humphrey. president@slwg.org
If you would like to help out at the Guild but can’t help with the above opportunities, please let us know. There is always a need for more help on lots of activities.
WH
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COMMUNITY
St. Louis Woodworkers Guild contributions to the local community
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Vickie Berry and Bill Schuchat standing by at the Toy Table to give out toy parts and receive the month’s toy donations. |
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Quality Checks
Last month we asked members to perform an extra quality check on their items to ensure there are no sharp edges or corners.
Starting this month, toy committee members will be randomly sampling donations at the regular meetings in support of our quality assurance program. Committee members will simply be rubbing their hands over some of the toys to see if they are smooth. This will enable the committee to give feedback to the members on the spot.
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Bill Meuth‘s toy work this month. What an amazing collection!! He’s been really busy.
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The Toy Committee was approached by a teacher from Rockwood Schools after she read about our last Rockler toy build. We are in discussion with the teacher about furnishing approximately 75 toys for a September event where the kids will assemble them.
The event will include 5 classes of 15 children. We will provide un-assembled toy parts with drawings or pictures, written instructions, and materials such as glue for the children to use. We will also loan some hand tools such as hammers and screwdrivers for their use during each class.
Several Guild members will be needed for supervision and guidance during these sessions.
More details will be provided to Guild members as the program solidifies. If you are interested in helping, please send a message to Bill Schuchat (314-406-1823) or wschuchat@gmail.com. |
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Collected
May — 508
YTD — 4,187
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Delivered
May — 543
YTD — 3,499
Since 1994 — 65,656!
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Over 750 Club
Bill Meuth – 888
Over 500 Club
Wayne Humphrey – 606
Rich Sanders – 523
Over 300 Club
Bill Love – 323
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Over 100 Club
Bill Schuchat – 257
Dale Norman – 240
Bob Zahner – 199
Steve Briner – 157
Keith Lissant – 129
Dan Sudkamp – 120
Charlie Goria – 109
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First Time Contributor
Ron Suchara
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2019 Target and Challenge
Target for Delivered Items: 6,141 To Date: 47% ACHIEVED
Well on our way!!
Target for Member Participation: 10% To Date: 17% ACHIEVED
37 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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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
BMABStL has begun its Summer program of providing books and book boxes to children living in Horizon Housing Foundation supported communities. These developments are located in St. Louis City and St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties. BMABStL will distribute on average 500 books and 100 boxes in June, July, and August. Guild member involvement is essential to keep this important program viable.
If you have not built boxes before, now would be the perfect time for you to get involved in the program. Information on how to build a book box from a kit is listed on our website at http://www.slwg.org/community.aspx just below the Toy Program information.
We are currently looking for additional members to serve on the Book Box Committee. Please contact Tom Tierney if you are interested in becoming a Committee member or have any questions about the 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.
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As of June 13, 2019
Unassembled Box Kits ready for members to pick up 96
Book Boxes in process of assembly 38
Book Boxes in QC 0
Book Boxes Completed and Delivered to BMABStl 772
since beginning of program in April 2018
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Tom Tierney: (314) 412-1817
Jack McKay: (314) 961-3512
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Charles Schrock: (314) 822-3709
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Woodworking Classes
Held at Faust Park Workshop |
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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)
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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HELP!!!
We need Guild Member input to suggest woodworking subjects that you want to learn about! We have had to cancel some classes due to lack of enough registrations and we want to keep this to a minimum.
Please send any suggestions to Eric Oman at the address/phone number below. |
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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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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
July 6 & 7, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
July 9 & 10, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
July 13 & 14, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
July 16 & 17, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
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Next Shop Safety Class
When:
Thursday, August 1
6:30 PM
Where:
Faust Park Workshop
Duration:
Plan for 3 Hours
Cost:
$20 for Current Members |
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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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Recent Board Activities
A lot goes on that sometimes the general membership doesn’t hear about. We will try to publish some bullet points every month to let you know about these items.
- The Guild is contemplating a project to provide picnic tables to the St Louis Torchbearers 2.
- The Toy Committee is working with the Rockwood Creative Learning Center to create a Toy Building Session for gifted children.
- A report was presented to the Board on the Faust Park shop usage by members. From March 2018 through February 2019 there were 291 visits totaling 755 hours in addition to toy building activities, mini workshops, classes, or the Thursday regulars who do work for Faust Park.
- An investigation was made into available Certificates of Deposit that excess Guild funds could be invested in for short periods. Short term rates are so low that it was felt there was not worth it to transfer the funds.
- Lighting in the Faust Park Shop will be upgraded. Information was given to Faust Park management so they may possibly get energy credits from the utility company.
- There are issues with the existing website that are causing it to load slowly. We hope to be able to resolve these issues without paying more or having to move to a different server.
- Safety regulations for our toy donations were reviewed.
- We email about 400 Newsletters per month of which about 45% are opened every month.
- Evaluation of new shop space costs continue.
WH
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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.
Member benefits also include:
> Discounts at Guild sponsors
> Access to 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, PayPal or credit cards accepted. |
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WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS
Douglas Larico
Steve Mikola
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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 Wayne Humphrey 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 Wayne Humphrey at president@slwg.org . |
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SLWG Officers, Board Members and Committee Leaders |
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President:
Wayne Humphrey – 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 Coordinator:
Wayne Watson
Book Box Committee Chair:
Tom Tierney |
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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