Sunday, March 17, 2024

Our March Meeting.... on a new night!

 Heads up, everyone - we have a big change in store for our meetings going forward. No more Wednesday meetings! To fit better into our host’s schedule, the night of our meetings will now switch to Thursdays.


Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, will now be meeting on the third Thursday of each month to share everything from techniques and ideas to information about local suppliers and much more. 


Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 21, at 7:00 where we’re lucky to have Phil Bourekas discussing TableSaw Maintenance. 





Phil is an amateur woodworker, generally retired but works and teaches part time at Woodcraft.  He has over 30 years of woodworking experience at the advanced hobbyist level.


Whether you have a $200 bench top saw or a $6000 professional cabinet saw - Phil’s discussion will be invaluable for keeping your saw running at its peak. He’ll cover tablesaw maintenance in a variety of areas - including deep cleaning, lubrication, calibration, alignment, and routine maintenance. He’ll also be discussing tools and techniques that are necessary to keep this centerpiece of your woodshop in tip-top condition.


This meeting will be held at Woodcraft of Las Vegas at 5220 W. Charleston Blvd.  As always, the public is welcome to attend the meeting, so members - please feel free to bring a guest along. If you have questions or need directions, call (702) 672-8981.

 

 



Sunday, February 18, 2024

Time to control your dust!

It’s time to congratulate ourselves - this is our 15th year anniversary! 





We’ve hosted a ton of woodworkers and makers, tool representatives and parties over the years. So it’s time to acknowledge that we’re the longest running woodworking group in Las Vegas history. 


Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, meet on the third Wednesday of each month to share everything from techniques and project ideas to information about local suppliers and much more. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 21 at 7:00, and here’s your chance to get some solid information about dust collection for your shop.


Gary Bush is a KCMA Certified Cabinetmaker, and has been a woodworker since childhood. He has designed, built and finished pretty much anything made from wood - but his area of expertise in dust collection will be our topic this week. Gary will discuss the very basics of dust/chip collection and how to incorporate this into your woodworking shop - whether it’s a large and dusty the garage shop, or a small room or shed. His basic tenet is - get the dust out of the air, keep the dust out of the air and more importantly, contain it and simplify the disposal!




Gary’s system utilizes high quality sealed barrels along with chip and dust collector devices such as, Onieda’s ‘Dust Devil, Bauer’s Dust collector, low-profile, separators and of course, the good old stand-by and effective shop vac. Gary will have 4 of 5 barrels available to see which are not readily available to the common consumer (for a reasonable cost) verses a 5 gallon bucket or worse, a lidded HD 30 Gal Trash Can.If you struggle with dust collection and need an effective solution - this is the meeting for you!


As always - this meeting will be held at Woodcraft of Las Vegas at 5220 W. Charleston Blvd. The public is welcome to attend our meetings, so members - please feel free to bring a guest along. 


If you have questions or need directions, call (702) 672-8981. See you Wednesday!


Sunday, January 14, 2024

Interested in dovetails? Come to our January meeting!

 Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, meet on the third Wednesday of each month to share everything from techniques and ideas to information about local suppliers and much more. 

Our next meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, January 17 at 7:00 and will be held at Woodcraft of Las Vegas at 5220 W. Charleston Blvd.



And wow - do we have a special treat in store! We’re thrilled to announce that Chuck Luttrell will be demonstrating his tried and true method for hand cut dovetails.


Ask ten woodworkers about cutting dovetails … and you’ll get eleven answers! 

Hand cut dovetails without the aid of a jig, requires lots of practice and can be discouraging to beginners. But Chuck’s method is one that employs using hand tools and a simple jig. The good news is - Chuck’s method allows beginners to produce very good dovetails on the first try.

Chuck is the senior carpenter for Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and in addition to carpentry and historic preservation for the park, he’s also a hobbyist woodworker. He’s made over 70 sea chests, tool chests, hope chests, - all with hand cut dovetail joinery.
We’ll be holding a show and tell, too - so bring your latest project and share it with the group.

As always, the public is welcome to attend our meetings, so members - please feel free to bring a guest along. 

If you have questions or need directions, call my shop at (702) 672-8981.
See you Wednesday!

Sunday, December 17, 2023

No Sin City Woodworkers meeting this December - see you in January!

 No December meeting - see you in January!


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! 


 

We have so much to be thankful for - a new venue, lots of new members, and lots of great projects that we've made throughout the year!

 



Saturday, November 11, 2023

Join us for the annual swap meet on Sunday, November 12 - at 10:00 AM

 Game on!


Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, usually meets on the third Wednesday of each month. This is a reminder that we will be holding an outdoor swap meet on Sunday, November 12.  We’ll get started at 10:00 AM and stay until the last deal is done!


This will be your chance to buy - sell - or - barter tools with like-minded woodworkers, so clean out your woodshop and join us!


Have something to sell? Grab your gear and head over to 2267 West Gowan in North Las Vegas.   


Everyone is welcome to bring a table or cart to set up a booth in our parking lot. The parking lot is mostly empty on Sunday mornings, so everyone will have a chance to spread out and sell their wares. 


Some of the goodies up for grabs include many hand tools, small power tools like routers, drills, drivers, nail guns, and MUCH more. You’ll find some bargains, some rare tools and a whole lot more. There will also be wood for sale - including live edge slabs, exotics, dimensional lumber, and too much to mention. You’re going to find some great bargains here, just in time for your winter projects!


The swap meet open to the public, so please feel free to bring a guest along. If you have questions or need directions, call 702-672-8981 for more info.

We hope to see you at the swap meet!!



Monday, October 30, 2023

It's time for our annual Swap Meet!


Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, usually meets on the third Wednesday of each month. There won’t be a regular meeting this month, but we will be holding an outdoor swap meet on Sunday, November 12.  (Fingers crossed for good weather!)




We’ll get started at 10:00 AM and stay until the last deal is done!


This will be your chance to buy - sell - or - barter tools with like-minded woodworkers, so clean out your woodshop and join us!


This early announcement will give you time to grab all the extra tools and gear that you'd like to sell or trade.  Start your pile!


Everyone is welcome to bring a table or cart to our next meeting and set up a booth in our parking lot. The parking lot is mostly empty on Sunday mornings, so everyone will have a chance to spread out and sell their wares. 


Some of the goodies up for grabs include many hand tools, small power tools like routers, drills, drivers, nail guns, and MUCH more.  There will also be MUCH wood for sale - including live edge slabs, exotics, dimensional lumber, and too much to mention. You’re going to find some great bargains here, just in time for your winter projects!


This swap meet will be held at 2267 West Gowan in North Las Vegas.  The swap meet open to the public, so please feel free to bring a guest along. If you have questions or need directions, call 702-672-8981 for more info.

We hope to see you at the swap meet!!

Sunday, October 15, 2023

Everything you always wanted to know about lasers... come to our October meeting


Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, meet on the third Wednesday of each month to share everything from techniques and ideas to information about local suppliers and much more. Our next meeting is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, October 18, at 7:00 and will be held at Woodcraft of Las Vegas,  5220 West Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89146.


If you’ve attended our last few meetings, you know we’ve gone down a rabbit hole with laser discussions.  Our guest speaker this week will be Rick Ratayczak, of Castle Craft Furniture, 






who will speak about lasers - the different types, what to look for when purchasing one, how to use them (software wise) and much more. Better yet - Rick is bringing his XTool D1, which is a 10 watt diode laser, to demonstrate how a laser works. 




He’ll be lasering a couple of things, and has a ton of knowledge to share about these amazing tools. If you’ve been considering adding a laser to your arsenal, you’ll definitely want to attend this meeting!



We’ll also be displaying our entries for the “Nativity” contest we discussed last month. 




Partnering with Lighthouse Charities - we challenged our members to come up with Nativity scenes that Lighthouse will be able to decorate and sell at their upcoming holiday fundraiser. First prize is $100, second is $50 and third is $25 - we hope we get some amazing entries!


With the laser discussion AND the Nativity contest, holding a Show and Tell is iffy - but we’ll try!


As always, the public is welcome to attend our meetings, so members - please feel free to bring a guest along. If you have questions or need directions, call my studio at (702) 672-8981.


See you Wednesday!