November 2021 Newsletter

Dedicated to the art of woodworking since 1984.

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November Meeting Location Change
Guild Meeting this month is in the 3rd Floor Ball Room.  If you park and enter from the back of the facility, take the elevator to the 3rd floor and follow signs.  If you park on the upper lot and enter the front door, take the elevator to the 3rd floor and follow signs.
No lending library will be available for this month’s meeting — check-in only.

Next Meeting:

THIS THURSDAY 

November 18th

Meeting Start
7:00 PM

 

Meeting Location:

 
Moolah Shrine Center
Oasis Room 3rd Floor Ball Room
12545 Fee Fee Road
St. Louis, MO  63146

OR

YouTube LiveStream Link HERE for online starting at 7:00 PM

Link to Directions to Moolah Shrine Center

Face Coverings Required

The SLWG leadership requests that in-person attendees at the November SLWG Meeting comply with the Order issued by the Saint Louis County Department of Public Health which requires face coverings for generally all attendees at this meeting.  Please click HERE for the link to more detailed information concerning this directive.

Attendees are requested to wear their masks properly during the entire meeting, fully covering both nose and mouth. Attendees who are at the front of the room doing presentations may remove their masks during that presentation, donning them before they return to their seats.

MASKS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE CHECK-IN DESK FOR THOSE WHO FORGOT TO BRING ONE.

NO GUILD MEETING IN DECEMBER!!!!

President’s Letter — November 2021

I’m writing this month’s letter as I sit in my screened-in porch enjoying the 75 degree weather – aren’t we fortunate to live in a place where the temperature can swing close to 40 degrees in one day? Well, I think I’m lucky, and in many ways.

November has been a difficult month emotionally for me for the last nine years. However, it doesn’t take too long for me to be thankful for the many blessings, friends, family and loved ones in my life – for those – I am truly thankful and always manage to feel better fairly quickly. I know my feelings and emotions aren’t unique as we all have our own story. I guess it’s why I find myself wanting to give back more in November than any other month…because I’m fortunate and thankful to be in a position to give back and it’s the right thing to do.

That’s why I want to call attention to another amazing not-for-profit organization that we might be able to help…if not as an organization, but by you individually. It’s called Home Sweet Home  [ https://homesweethomestl.org/ ] and I hope to be volunteering there, in February, after we get back from the Antarctic.

The mission of Home Sweet Home is to give under-served families a sense of pride and to improve the quality of their lives by providing basic household furnishings. Their partner agencies work with an array of individuals and families in the Greater St. Louis Area who are struggling with stability, homelessness, and/or re-integration. They serve individuals, families, single-parent households, multi-family households, and everything in between.

Here’s where we come in…basic household furnishings…especially, bookcases, nightstands, end-tables, dining tables, chairs, and dressers – are all the kinds of projects we like to build and always needed at Home Sweet Home. Don’t worry if you’re a beginner just getting started or are trying new techniques. Items don’t have to be museum quality, but certainly done well.

I found this website – The Spruce Crafts – that has many really cool free plans for all kinds of useful pieces. The Bookcase with Toy Storage caught my eye because it would be an ideal dual-purpose piece for a kid’s room. See plans at this LINK.

So, as you think about your next project or want something that uses up your scrap wood, think about items that Home Sweet Home might need. They have a thorough list of needed items on their website, so please check it out.

In the meantime, join me at our November 18th meeting where internationally known woodcarver, author, teacher, and video instructor, Mary May joins us from Charleston, SC. Her presentation on carving promises to be amazing. I also invite our member carvers to bring in some of their carved items to share with the group.

See you soon,

Vickie 
a.k.a. – 1abWdWrkr

THIS MONTH’S PROGRAM
(In-Person and Online Presentation)

WOOD CARVING
 with
Mary May

The  November 17  meeting will include a Live Webinar presentation by Mary May on Carving.  Mary May is a professional woodcarver and teacher in Charleston, SC. She has journeyed from learning carving, to carving as a profession, to teaching carving – although daily she still does all three.  Mary studied with various master European woodcarvers to learn the traditional techniques and designs that have been used for centuries.  One of her teaching outlets is the Mary May School of Traditional Woodcarving.  See her website HERE.

Link to SLWG Online Streaming Presentation

LAST MONTH’S PROGRAM

Finishing

with

Don Turner

Don gave us a very understandable and useful presentation on finish selection and pointers on proper application and tools.
 

See the October Meeting on the SLWG Website HERE.

CALLING ALL MEMBERS – with Websites,

YouTube Videos or Facebook pages that feature their personal woodworking projects or business that is relevant to woodworking…

The St. Louis Woodworkers Guild page has a section where we can post links to a members’ Website, Facebook page or YouTube videos.

If you’d like to be listed, please send your links to our Webmaster,  Brian Ellison at media@swlg.org.

DONATE to the St. Louis Woodworkers Guild HERE

HAND PLANE AUCTION

One of our Members donated several high-quality Lie Nielsen hand planes to the Guild. Three planes will be offered for sale at each of the next several monthly meetings until all are sold.

This sale will be held in the form of a silent auction.  The following planes will be offered at the November Meeting:
1.) Low Angle Jack Plane No. 62 – Reserve price $200,
2.) Large Scraping Plane No.112 – Reserve price $195,
3.) Small Scraping Plane No. 212 – Reserve price $165.
Information on these planes can be found on the Lee Nielsen website at

 https://www.lie-nielsen.com.

2-Day Adirondack Chair Class Completed

Four students made Adirondack chairs in the 2 day class.  3 used cedar that was specially milled by member Terry Blevins and 1 used pine lumber.  Class members were Andrea Lyons, Dan Hull, Eric Smith and Lowell Rush.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
 

The Rockwood School program is scheduled to be held at the Rockwood Center for Creative Learning on December 14-15-16-17.  Vickie Berry, Dave Windus, Don Turner and Keith Lissant have agreed to help supervise. 
 
Additional volunteers are needed.
Call or email Bill Schuchat if you are willing to help.

Did you Wonder about where the Wood & Shop is?

At the August meeting, Les Harmon and I (Bob Kastigar) were talking about an old woodworking shop we used to go to many years ago.  It was on Lindberg right near McDonnell Blvd, called the Wood&Shop, this would have been in the mid 1990’s. 

We both used to stop there after work for wood parts and supplies.  Les used a lot of Baltic Birch plywood, where I liked the exotics.  The shop was moved out by the late 1990’s, and was briefly off of Dorsett.  Then it has been gone for a while now.  However, we did see there was a Internet shop and an address and they are one of the SLWG sponsors.

I had some vacation time and Les is retired, so we planned an adventure to seek out the current shop.  Between my Garmin (which was way off) and Les’s phone, we found the address off of a long drive at 21505 Hwy OO, Eolia, MO 63344, a truly beautiful place.  We arrived and headed for the sound of a planer running, kind of an invitation to woodworker.  A nice guy named Rob told us to go to the office.  There we found Bruce Denslow, the same guy from 25 plus years ago, filling orders.  He took time to show us around the warehouse where I selected a nice piece of Zebrawood.  My real reason for coming was to find some nice hardwood dowels.  Bruce pointed me to a shelf that looked just like the rack that was in the little store years ago.  I happily picked up several.
 
After about an hour visit, (Bruce updated us on the move from the old locations, and how he came to this location, and he now also raises cows), we left with a handful of dowels and some great stories.  It was a grand adventure.  So if you want to step back to the old “Wood & Shop”, I’m sure Bruce would share more stories with you, too.  As we were looking for wood, I asked Rob (the guy running the giant planer) to take a picture.  (Above, L to R, Bob Kastigar, Bruce Denslow, and Les Harmon)
 
Bob Kastigar

SHOW AND TELL

Editor’s Note:

The St. Louis Woodworkers Guild encourages its Members to share their projects at the in-person Guild meetings.  If you can’t make it to the meeting, please send items you would like to showcase in future SLWG Newsletters to grady.vaughan@gmail.com.

GV

Dan Reeves shows his skills at leatherworking with protective covers
for his sharp-edged woodworking tools.  He also had a work apron made from various types of leather.  He also committed to making a custom leather apron for the winner of a drawing from the list of Shop Monitors:  Brad Bernhard.

SLWG Director Dan Sudkamp had a few scraps laying around and decided to make this fine bowl with a lacquer finish.  He also made this barn board tray and these all wood walnut and cherry knives.

New Guild Member Chuck Schrock brought in this Arts and Crafts inspired table lamp that he designed and made, updating to current LED bulbs for safety.

John Ferreira showed us a walnut bowl with epoxy inlay.
Another project was a slab with epoxy fill where he used bath salts for the epoxy coloring.  He also showed a flower holder.

Brian Ellison brought in some fun projects for Halloween and Christmas that he has been working on in his shop.

A Lesson Learned from Bill Schuchat

I Bought a New More Powerful Dust Collector and it turns out I did not need to. When I first bought my 1-1/2 hp Grizzly dust collector, it worked fine for my planer.  In recent years I had more clogs near the connection to the planer where the duct is vertical as Vickie can attest.  I bought a new filter bag, but that did not help very much, so I ponied up for a 2 hp model.

The new one works great, but in the process of switching them out I found the underlying issue to the declining performance.

Turns out the duct collector has a grid at the fan inlet (I guess to protect the fan) and it had a partial blockage with planer chips.  Frankly, it is amazing that it worked at all.  My new dust collector has a similar grid.  At least now I know what to do to fix it if the performance drops off.

I recently purchased 28 new poplar wood interior slab doors for my home.   For the hinged doors, I mortised for the hinges & latch set, painted, and hung the doors.  I replaced the bi-pass closet doors with bi-fold closet doors.  The doors were spray finished with Sherwin-Williams Sher-Wood Kem Aqua Industrial coats.

Dan Lender

Vickie Berry has skills in addition to her woodworking ones, knitting!! She wore a recent project to the October meeting.

SELECTED VIDEOS

We are looking for videos of interest to our Guild Members.  Please send us links to your favorites and we will publish them here.  These can be videos that you upload yourself to our website or see on another site.

TOOL RECALLS

 Here is a link to a site that lists safety recall notices for woodworking tools.  LINK


COMMUNITY

St. Louis Woodworkers Guild contributions to the local community
 

Christmas Toy Program

Lots of fun with the Christmas Rocker Builds.  Announcements for the next Christmas Toy Build will be emailed to all Guild Members.
Toys collected for the Toys-for-Tots program after the November meeting will be stored for next year’s Christmas delivery.
Dan Lender and his wife Cindy making a donation of toys to the USMC Toys-for-tots program.


(These toys look a lot like Flora and her sibling to me, Ed.)

Once more the Toy Table is set up at the Guild Meeting to receive completed toys and give out toy parts to toy builders.  Rich Weitzman is the Toy Committee Chair and is available to help toy builders with their questions.

  Toy Committee Update

 
Just a reminder, the Toys-for-Tots program for 2021 is ending with donations received at the upcoming November Meeting.  Any toys collected for this program after this meeting will be stored for next Christmas.

Rich Weitzman

Toy Committee Chair
314-920-7867

2021 Toy Report

Toy Tally

Collected
November — 472
YTD — 4,114

Delivered
November — 243
YTD — 2,533

Since 1994 — 77,745

2021 Toy Program Major Contributors

Over 1000 Club
Bill Meuth – 1392

Over 800 Club
Rich Sanders — 807

Over 700 Club
Wayne Humphrey — 741

Over 600 Club
Linda Turner — 646

Over 100 Club
Hal Donovan – 147

FIRST-TIME CONTRIBUTORS

None this month

2021 Target and Challenge

Target for Delivered Items:  6,000

42% ACHIEVED
 

10% Member Participation Target

5.7
5.6% 
ACHIEVED

14 Members

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/

Organizations that we currently donate toys and other wood projects to include:

BJC Children’s Hospital
Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital
Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition
LifeWise STL
Mercy Hospital

RankenJordan Ped. Bridge Hospital
Rockwood School District
Shriners Hospitals for Children
Toys for Tots

Toy Committee

Rich Weitzman, Chair
Paul Bailey
Vickie Berry
Hal Donovan

Dan Lender
Steve Mettes
Bill Schuchat

Please contact us with comments, suggestions or if you need to arrange pickup or delivery of toys. Individual contact info can be found on the Members Only section of the SLWG website.

Desks for Kids Program

 
One hundred and ten desks have been built and delivered to two non-profits in St. Louis City.

Thank you, to all of the volunteers who have participated in the Desks for Kids Build  Work Days at the Shop. Almost 30 different Members have participated during our 9 Work Days. 

An All Member email will be sent to announce upcoming Work Day dates.
 
Tom Tierney

Bring Me A Book Team News
 
The Book Box Program is currently in a holding pattern until BringMeABook St. Louis advises that they need more boxes.

Stay tuned for upcoming announcements.

Book Box Committee

Tom Tierney: (314) 412-1817
Jack McKay: (314) 435-2232

Charles Schrock: (314) 822-3709
 

Check out the Events Calendar on the SLWG website HERE.

Woodworking Classes

Held at Faust Park Workshop

Woodworking Classes
 

Upcoming Classes
See the Schedule on the SLWG Website HERE.

Next two months
                        Teacher                             Subject
20-Nov          Bill Schuchat                     Girl Scouts-tote build
2-Dec            Wayne Watson                  Safety Class
4-Dec            Brad Bernhard                   Bowl Turning class 
5-Dec            Wayne Watson                  Biscuit Joinery        
 
Recent Classes
                      Teacher                            Subject
3-Oct            Wayne Watson                  Half blind dovetails           
7-Oct            Wayne Watson                  Safety Class           
30-Oct          Bill Schuchat                     Adirondak Chairs
4-Nov            Dave Gronefeld                 Safety Class

Upcoming 2022 Classes
                                                
                    Teacher               Subject 
29-Jan      Brian Ellison        Beginner Scroll Sawing
30-Jan      Wayne Watson    Splined Miters
5-Feb       Jeff Nasser          Salt & Pepper Shaker                   
5-Mar       Dan Sudkamp     Cutting Boards
6-Mar       John Ferreira       Epoxy
2-Apr        Don Turner          Building Drawers
30-Apr      Dave Windus      Small Box with Splined Miters
7-May       Bill Schuchat       Build a Small Table

Short classes for Band Saw, Planer/Jointer, Hand Plane, Table Saw & Drill Press will be scheduled for 2022 again since we have so many new members.    

SAVE THE DATE

 

SPECIAL SEMINAR March 12 and 13, 2022
 

Michael Fortune will present a two day seminar on Furniture Design and use of the band saw in furniture construction.  Michael is one of Canada’s most respected and creative contemporary furniture masters.  He maintains a studio near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he designs one of a kind furniture for private clients throughout North America.

Michael has taught at many schools and craft centers including and, most notably in the Midwest, the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Indiana where the fellowship program for advanced students has been named in his honor. 
 

More details of this seminar will be announced in the coming weeks.

Faust Park Workshop Information

  • 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. 

December Shop Hours
December 7 & 8   10 am – 2 pm
December 11 & 12   9 am – 5 pm
December 14 & 15  10 am – 2 pm
December 18 & 19    9 am – 5 pm

Safety Class attendees must register online and bring their current Guild membership card.

Directions to the shop on the SLWG website HERE.

Next Shop Safety Class

When:
       Thursday, January 6th, 6:30 pm
       
Where:
           Faust Park Workshop
Duration:
           Plan for 3 Hours
Cost:
         $20 for Current Members

Visit the SLWG website for Safety Class Signup HERE.

The Shop is OPEN!

The Faust Park Shop Rules

Keeping in line with the latest St. Louis Department of Public Health requirements, face coverings are required for all Members using the shop See Link to Public Health Department Order.

Safety glasses will continue to be required as in the past.

Wayne Watson
Shop Manager

Join or Renew your Guild

Membership Today!

Annual Dues Renewals
 

Remember that letting your membership lapse will result in having to retake the Safety Class ($20) prior to using the Open Shop at Faust Park.

 

Annual membership renewal is available online (click on button below) with PayPal or any major credit card, or mail a check for the appropriate amount with member’s name in the memo line to 
St. Louis Woodworkers Guild
P.O. Box 411766
St. Louis, MO 63141-9998

 
Current membership status is required for use of the Faust Park Shop.
 
Annual Membership Dues:

 

Basic Membership            $40
Full Shop Membership      $75
 
A Basic Membership entitles the member to four (4) uses of the Guild Shop during the membership 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

See the SLWG Website for signing up!

Click here to pay dues online

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS

Brandon Jamison
Alec Meyers
Chuck Schrock
Chris Tinen
Keith Wood
Cameron Yuan

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 Vickie Berry at president@slwg.org and if I don’t know the answer, I will try to find it for you.

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 Vickie Berry at president@slwg.org .

SLWG Officers, Board Members and Committee Leaders

President:
Vickie Berry

Vice President:
Bill Schuchat

Secretary:
Adam Conners

Treasurer:
Tom Tierney

Directors:
Dan Sudkamp (exp. 2022)
Don Turner (exp. 2023)
Jay Noffsinger  (exp. 2024)
Dan Lender  (exp. 2025)

Immediate Past President:
Wayne Humphrey

Marketing & Membership Chair:
David Schindler

Membership Coordinator:
David Schindler

Woodworking Show Coordinator:
Open

Book Box Committee Chair:
Tom Tierney

Outreach Coordinator:
Open

Legal Counsel:
Bill Hobson

Newsletter Editor:
Grady Vaughan

Librarian:
Al Carlson

Toy Committee Chair:
Rich Weitzman

Shop Manager:
Wayne Watson

Assistant Shop Manager:
Dave Gronefeld

Classes and Workshops Coordinator:
Bill Schuchat

Web Master:
David Zemon

Media Coordinator:
Brian Ellison


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. 











(In-store only)










Kohler City Hardwoods
Walrus Oil

Photo Credits
Mary May Image from her website


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