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President’s Letter — July 2020
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Things are slowly beginning to get back to some degree of normalcy and activity of the Guild is beginning to pick up. Open Hours at the shop have resumed, classes are being scheduled at the shop and other locations, and we have a visit to David Stine Furniture in Dow, IL in the works for September.
In place of our regular meeting on the 16th of August, we are going to have Michael Fortune in a two hour video presentation on Chair Building for all the members. This will be held on Thursday night from 7 to 9 pm, the regular time slot for our meeting. I think beginners and experienced woodworkers will all benefit from this presentation.
Please check elsewhere in the newsletter for information about all these activities as well as the website and watch for emails from the Guild.
Because we do not know when we will be able to hold general meetings in person again and how many will want to attend, the Executive Board has authorized the purchase of video cameras and other equipment needed to live stream meetings in the future. We hope to have the equipment in here in August to prove out the concept and be ready to live stream an event in September. Presenting the program in this way will allow members to view the meeting on YouTube as it takes place and not miss any of the action. (The time-table for this is a little iffy as electronic equipment for this type of project is often on back-order.) To pull this off, we are looking for two more volunteers that could come to the meetings about an hour early to help set up the equipment and stay after to help put it away. We hope that these folks would also become interested in the system and be prepared to “produce” the live stream if necessary.
If you would like to volunteer, please send an email to president@slwg.org.
The Guild received $1600 in donations last month from members and the public. $1500 was designated to help build the new Storage Shed at the Faust Park Shop. If you would like to make a donation to support the shed project, the live streaming project, or just for general support of the Guild, your generosity is greatly appreciated.
We are in the process of creating some classes specifically for beginners on the use, setup, and safety of individual power tools in the shop. These will be about one hour long and be held early in the morning on weekends. Stay tuned for further details.
As always, stay safe in the home and the shop, |
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Thanks to Bill Tarter and Dave Gronefeld for making it safe to empty out the barrel at the dust collector at the shop. |
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Faust Park Shop ReOpened In July and Here are the Rules!
In consultation with the Director of Faust Park, the Guild’s shop reopened Tuesday, July 7th to our members. The Guild is taking additional health precautions for those utilizing the shop.
First and foremost, if you feel unwell or were in contact with someone who feels unwell please do not use the shop until you have been cleared by a health professional.
Second, the number of people using the shop is limited to four (in addition to the Shop Monitor) at all times. Shop usage is on a “a first come, first served basis. A new phone number has been activated so that you may call ahead to ensure that the shop is below maximum capacity. The number is 314-348-3945. This number is only available during “open shop hours” It is not available at other hours.
Third, every person in the shop must wear a facemask at all times while indoors. Safety glasses must also be used at all times.
Fourth, everyone entering the shop must have their temperature taken by the Shop Monitor. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will be denied entry. This is a St. Louis County health requirement for anyone using any building within Faust Park.
Fifth, each person entering the shop must use hand sanitizer before they start working in the shop. Hand sanitizer is available in the shop for your use. Sanitizer first, sign in second!
Sixth, the Shop Monitor will be enforcing “social distancing” to the extent possible within our space. He or she will assign appropriate workbenches as required to maintain the best separation among all users.
Seventh, the Shop Monitors well be sanitizing the machine controls such as, on/off switches, adjustment knobs etc. on a regular basis.
I would also like to point out that the Shop Monitors have all volunteered to continue to serve the Guild during these trying times, so please make their efforts easier by adhering to these health precautions. Doing this will ensure that we all can continue to enjoy one of the Guild’s greatest benefits.
Wayne Watson
Shop Manager
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THIS MONTH’S PROGRAM
(Video Presentation)
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Building and Designing Chairs Presentation Thursday, July 16, 2020, 6:30 PM
We have scheduled a virtual presentation by Michael Fortune on Building and Designing Chairs for the time-slot of our regularly scheduled July meeting. (Thursday, July 16, 2020, 6:30 PM) It will last approximately 2 hours. Readers of Fine Woodworking will recognize his name since he is a regular contributor.
Michael primarily designs and makes furniture by commission for private residences across Canada and the United States. His studio is near Toronto. He uses traditional woodworking and metal working techniques in combination with innovative forming processes that have been adapted from the aerospace and boat-building industries.
He describes his studio-based work as contemporary and enjoys playing with a wide range of natural and historical influences. Sketching, making scale models and building full-size prototypes are a very important part of his design process.
Among the articles that he has written for Fine Woodworking are: Curved Panels Made Easy, Cutting and Drawing Curves, Tapered Laminations Made Easy, Master Class: Shaping Curved Furniture Parts, Five Favorite Band Saw Jigs, and Nine Tips for Better Designs. He has also written for other magazines including Popular Woodworking, Wood, Canadian Home Workshop and Woodwork.
Details regarding the virtual presentation will be made available nearer to the presentation. We will post this information on the SLWG website and send an email notice to all members.
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On the morning of Saturday, June 20, 2020, Scott Grove gave an introduction to veneering to the St. Louis Woodworkers Guild. His own description of the presentation is below:
Scott Grove, internationally-renowned master craftsman, introduces you to the wonderful world of veneer. He covers veneering fundamentals that includes buying, inspecting, matching, cutting, seaming, and pressing. Scott shares lots of tips, tricks, and techniques that will leave you inspired and ready to start your first veneering project. During the live, interactive demonstration, his wife and co-host, Nancy, helps organize Q&A and provides tools and supplier resource links in real time, too.
You can see Scott in action on his educational site http://ImagineGrove.com: review his personal work at http://ScottGrove.com: and buy his books and other products from http://ImagineWoodworking.com. Follow him on social media here.
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| SLWG Members can view the video on our website Here. |
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Presentation on Making Shaker Boxes
We have scheduled a virtual presentation on Making Shaker Oval Boxes for the August 20 meeting. Details to follow.
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| Editor’s Note:
Show and Tell in the Newsletter has been a success and we will be continuing to feature the great projects of our Members.
Please send items you would like to post in future SLWG Newsletters to grady.vaughan@gmail.com.
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Mark Peterson made this replica of the Titanic deck chair (had to rewatch the movie and spy all the chair scenes. Haven’t thrown it in the pool yet!). |
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Also a couple of end tables and a condo association for our feathered friends. Pandemic projects!
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Keith Lissant made this Fly Rod Case from Walnut. |
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And he woodburned this medallion on the cap. |
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| Brad Bernhard made this 7 ft. by 16 in. bar top from a walnut slab which has been air dried since 2016. He installed ebony bowtie crack stabilization from both faces. |
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Other components include birch plywood with maple face frame, corrugated steel sides, surrounding walls are 1952 knotty pine refreshed with coat of amber shellac. |
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| Bill Meuth sent in his Danish-inspired chair project. |
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My daughter asked if I could make her some chairs and sent me this design. |
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I’d never made a chair before, so I agreed and here’s what we ended up with. |
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| I decided to make the profile from a single piece of 3/4″ Oak plywood since I had some rough sawn oak boards to use for the rails, cross stretchers, etc. |
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To make the profile; I drew a pattern on cardboard and had her come out to cut it out of 1/2″ plywood to use as a template so I could be sure that all the sides were identical. I then used a router to make multiple cuts around the template till the 3/4″ ply was cut through. |
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| She wanted the back and seat to be caned so I made seat and back frames and used a spacing jig to drill all the holes. |
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It was looking pretty good at this point. |
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I cut 3/4″ x 1/2″ oak strips for edging and attached it to all the raw plywood edges.
I sanded stained and sealed it with 5 coats polyurethane.
All that was left was the cane.
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| A couple of months ago, Dan Lender showed us his side chair prototype. Now he has completed the set. |
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Four production side chairs were completed. The design is original. |
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Primary wood material is cherry. The seat is made from hard maple with two cherry accent pieces and was scooped using the table saw. |
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The back support has both cherry and maple splats and the rails are curved along a 33” inner radius. The chair is finished with boiled linseed oil and precat lacquer. The design has a lot of angles, particularly the lower stretchers. |
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The stretcher assembly uses loose dowel-tenon joinery, so there are 24 mortises and 16 angled surfaces that must play nice with each other. The rear legs are tapered on three sides to 1-1/4” x 1-1/4” and have a subtle castle detail added. |
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| Mike Peery created this sign for a friend on his CNC using 3/4” Baltic Birch Plywood. |
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Ron Romitti writes: This was the largest project for me so far, I’ve done a number of smaller projects and a walnut curio cabinet last year that turned out beautifully. I used an existing bedroom dresser as my model, changed up a few things and laid it out from scratch. |
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| All and all, so far, with a couple of very minor adjustments everything went together as planned. I’m starting the finishing of the drawer fronts now but with the length of time between coats and the drying time of the Sam Maloof finish I probably won’t have any completed pictures for a while. The picture above is with the milled, unfinished drawer fronts in place. |
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Click on this LINK to see more detailed in-progress photos. |
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Rich Sanders writes: For all woodworkers looking for ideas, I suggest .. http://woodmagazine.com/videos. This is a free site available to all that has page after page of ideas on all aspects of woodworking.
Besides the toys, I have gotten a few of my projects in: 10 layer bowl, golf ball ?, sling shot racer, wind spinner .
Wishing good health to all, please be safe. |
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| Don Snyder writes: Ellipses occur as design elements in a variety of woodworking projects. A Shaker box is an example. |
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SLWG members who participate in the SLWG classes on Aug. 22 & 29 that are offered by Guild member and Director Jay Noffsinger will make some of these elliptical-shaped boxes (see the SLWG website for information about this upcoming class for SLWG members.) I’ve just finished writing and posting a new woodworking note – it’s “Ellipses in Woodworking.” You can read it on the Internet here:
http://dls-website.com/documents/WoodworkingNotes/EllipsesInWoodworking.pdf |
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| Bill Love has been busy making a couple of bowls and several beautiful pens. See also his video below. |
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Cherry Bowl
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Spalted Beech Bowl
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| Bill Schuchat writes: I have worked on four projects this month: a Tricycle for the Toys for Tots program, a model of a MRI machine for Ranken Jorden hospital, a small living room side table for my wife, and a bunch of small trucks for the Guild Toy Program.
(Editor’s Note: Due to Newsletter space available, we are saving Bill’s last two projects for the next Newsletter)
The Tricycle is made from oak and is unfinished. It includes a variety of curved parts including two parts that required turning (first time I have done lathe work in 15 or 20 years). This will be one of the projects in the Toys for Tots class scheduled for August 30 at the Guild Shop. The class will furnish plans for the projects as well as wood materials. Since the projects will take more than one class session to complete, participants will be expected to finish their project (s) on their own.
The model MRI is made from scrap oak flooring and 1/8” melamine. SketchUp was used to make the plans for this (my most successful SU project to date). After finishing the model of the machine, I decided to add a patient, a nurse and a doctor. I did so by downloading characters from the internet and gluing them to a wood backing and finishing them with water based poly. |
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The assembled Tricycle; screwed together, but not glued and locking dowels not yet trimmed. |
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Milled parts including turned handle bar and front wheel support. Axles for the wheels are steel. |
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MRI Machine
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MRI Machine with Nurse, Doctor, and Patient
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SketchUp isometric drawing
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Mark Bierman writes:
Here is a cute little project for game night. I built this for my son that plays Dungeons and Dragons. I have included the plans that I found online free. It works well and is easy to make.
See the plans and additional photos on the SLWG Website HERE.
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Mark also sent in this Popcorn Stand:
This is my first cabinet I have built. My family enjoys movie nights so this was a great addition to the living room. My wife did the painting by hand, I just did the construction. The top and poles are removable to relocate easily. |
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| Bill Love has made a series of videos for a Campaign Book Case project. See his final one for this project Here.
Bill also got his website up and running. Visit it at https://www.thesquiresworkshop.com/ |
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| Don Snyder sent in a really cool video tour of the International Space Station. Not woodworking, but a fantastic opportunity to see a complete tour of the space station and how gravity plays an important part of our life on earth. Tap into it on this LINK. |
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| Here is a link to a site that lists safety recall notices for woodworking tools. LINK |
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SLWG Surplus Woodworking Equipment SALE
No items to be posted in July. Stay Tuned.
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Guild (Picnic) Tour
The Guild “picnic” tour has been scheduled for September 26 at David Stine Furniture. ( Due to the pandemic, we are going to forgo the eating so everyone can keep a mask in place.) Dave Stine made a presentation at a regular guild meeting about a year ago, for those who remember. His shop is north of Grafton, Illinois between Alton and Jerseyville, almost exactly 45 minutes from Clayton. See his website for the furniture he builds – https://www.stinewoodworking.com/.
More information to follow as we work out the details.
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COMMUNITY
St. Louis Woodworkers Guild contributions to the local community
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SLWG Toy Program will soon be chugging along again.
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YOU ASKED…
We know we have many creative woodworkers who design their own toys – as such, we’d love it if you’d share your creativity. It’s now possible for members (from the Members Only section of the website) to upload their own patterns. To ensure consistency in instructions and patterns, detailed instructions were developed and are on the website.
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Toy Committee Update
Recently, two more partners were contacted to discuss delivering our shop-made toys again. Both SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital has said they would like to start receiving toys. So, now Hal Donovan has been busy with these partners, coordinating and working to the new, safe delivery procedures. Our other hospital partners have indicated that they still need more time and will let us know.
We are monitoring our inventory and are not accepting any new toys at this time. But, we anticipate we may have a need next month. We will let you know.
If you would like to contribute in a different way, consider making a more complex larger finished toy for the Toys-for-Tots St. Louis Program. You are encouraged to finish these toys with bright colors for the holidays. The Toy Committee will be collecting these toys mid-October/November 2020.
Please look at the St. Louis Woodworkers Guild Woodworkers class events. Bill Schuchat will be leading a Toys-for-Tots build day event on August 30. Sign-up now if you are interested.
Dan Lender
Toy Committee Chair
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Collected
June — 0
YTD — 3,533
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Delivered
YTD — 1,475
Since 1994 — 71,337!*
*No Deliveries in March – June
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2020 Toy Program Major Contributors
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Over 1000 Club
Wayne Humphrey -1,142
Over 750 Club
Bill Meuth – 801
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Over 100 Club
Rich Sanders – 254
Vickie Berry – 208
Keith Lissant – 166
Bob Baird – 154
Bill Schuchat – 141
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2020 Target and Challenge
Progress towards our 2020 targets:
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| Target for Delivered Items: 7,138 |
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21% ACHIEVED
A Good Start but having to reset due to the pandemic
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| 22% Member Participation Target |
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11% ACHIEVED
24 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/community-involvement/toy-program/ |
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Organizations that we currently donate toys to include:
Foster and Adoptive 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
Rockwood School District
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Dan Lender
Paul Bailey
Vickie Berry
Hal Donovan
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Steve Mettes
Bill Schuchat
Rick Weitzman
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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
Tom Tierney recently reached out to Michael Shipley to find out how the BMABStL program was doing.
He replied:
We recently sent more books to kids at Lemay Manor Apartments in South County and to another complex in St. Charles county. Over 200 kids received five new books. We’re in the process of developing new partnerships with local libraries to utilize our book bus to deliver more free new books to kids. I will let you know soon about how these new potential library partnerships develop.
It is important for our Members to know even though we are not building boxes at this time, the BMABStL program is still providing books to kids and exploring additional partnerships to continue distributing books and book boxes in the future.
Hopefully, we will be building boxes before too much longer.
Tom Tierney
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As of April 30, 2020
Unassembled Box Kits ready for members to pick up 0
Undistributed Book Boxes on Hand 8
Book Boxes Collected and in QC 14
Book Boxes Completed and Delivered to BMABStl
since beginning of program in April 2018 1045
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Book Box Program Major Contributors
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We will be posting major contributors for 2020 as the program moves forward.
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Tom Tierney: (314) 412-1817
Jack McKay: (314) 435-2232
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Charles Schrock: (314) 822-3709
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Check out the Events Calendar on the SLWG website HERE. |
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Woodworking Classes
Held at Faust Park Workshop |
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Upcoming Classes
Sharpening Class
August 1 at the Guild Shop. Three sessions: 10, 1, & 3. See the Guild website to sign up.
Oval Shaker Box Class
Two day class on August 22 & 29 at Jay Nofsinger’s Shop. See the Guild website to sign up.
Toys for Tots Class/Build
On August 30 at the Guild Shop. Two sessions: 8 & 1. See the Guild website to sign up.
SketchUp Class
The Guild held a class on June 4. Since then, the class participants have shared some of their follow up experiences and indicated a desire for a follow up class or a working group. Bill Schuchat has been working his way through an excellent book: “SketchUp- A Design Guild For Woodworkers” by Joe Zeh and has developed a better understanding of how to organize a project in SketchUp. This has significantly reduced his previous frustrations with the program.
Alex Gerberding has volunteered to teach and/or assist for a more advanced SketchUp class or users group. Bill Schuchat plans to organize this for the Fall; date TBD.
If you are interested in this, email Bill at vicepresident@slwg.org
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Faust Park Workshop Information
SEE SHOP MANAGER’S LETTER ABOVE FOR SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC
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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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August Shop Hours
August 4 & 5 10 am – 2 pm
August 8 & 9 9 am – 5 pm
August 11 & 12 10 am – 2 pm
August 15 & 16 9 am – 5 pm
August 22 9 am – 5 pm
Make Checks for Safety Class payable to SLWG and attendees must bring their current Guild membership card.
Link to Safety Class Signup and Directions to the shop on the SLWG website HERE. Limit of 4 per class.
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Next Shop Safety Class
When:
Will Email to Membership
Where:
Faust Park Workshop
Duration:
Plan for 3 Hours
Cost:
$20 for Current Members
To attend Safety Class, must RSVP by Monday prior to vicepresident@slwg.org
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GUILD MEMBERSHIP
Annual Dues Renewals
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.
If you are coming to the meeting and want to avoid a long line, put your funds in an envelope with your name on it and what you are paying for. You can just drop it at the table and not have to wait in line.
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 2020)
Full Shop Membership $75 (Unlimited use of the Guild Shop during 2020)
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
Paul Frauen
Doug Munsch
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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:
Bill Schuchat – 314-406-1823 |
Secretary:
Adam Connors – 314-495-1772
Treasurer:
Tom Tierney – 314-412-1817 |
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Directors:
Jay Noffsinger (exp. 2024)
Vickie Berry (exp. 2021)
Dan Sudkamp (exp. 2022)
Don Turner (exp. 2023)
Immediate Past President:
Bob Brinkmann
Marketing & Membership Chair:
Wayne Watson
Membership Coordinator:
David Schindler
Woodworking Show Coordinator:
Wayne Watson
Book Box Committee Chair:
Tom Tierney
Outreach Coordinator:
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Newsletter Editor:
Grady Vaughan
Librarian:
Al Carlson
Toy Committee Chair:
Dan Lender
Shop Manager:
Wayne Watson
Classes and Workshops Coordinator:
Bill Schuchat
Web Master:
David Zemon
Media Coordinator:
Bob Fuerman
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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