Two Year Anniversary

As you were scrolling down these pictures of the beautiful work brought in by Mike Viher, I bet you didn't realize what a monumental meeting last Wednesday's was.

Hard to believe but that meeting marked the two year anniversary of the:

SIN

CITY

WOODWORKERS (drum roll please!)

We had a great turnout for the meeting and started with some lively discussion on the quality (or lack thereof) of the tools we are able to find. The highlight of the meeting was Mike's presentation.

Mike brought a nice variety of his work, including this cherry clock, with hand turned spindles and some interesting details.









































Here is his shop clock, complete with chime, so he can keep track of time as he works in his shop. Who doesn't lose track of time when you're working in the shop!























Lucky for us he must have a pretty large vehicle and lots of help to bring all he had to show. Really nice work and we all admired his inlays, especially when we learned that some of them were about 3+ inches thick and went completely through the pieces.

Here are some of Mike's inlays, pretty amazing work.
























































He also showed some of his lathe work and it was interesting to know that the Almond bowl came from a chunk of firewood.



















Hard to find downed trees here in our desert so this must be the next best thing.




















Mike's presentation was informative and he answered all of the members questions about his technique.

At our next meeting, Jim Chadbourne is scheduled to bring some of the boxes that he makes. These are pretty small and very nicely done, he collaborates with his wife Mary Jane, who sells these boxes in galleries around town.

I brought up the possibility of any one of us bringing in a "Show & Tell" item to the meetings to share. The one concern about this was that you shouldn't bring in something that would upstage the presentation for that meeting. Rather, we could share a technique we learned or discovered, a new tool that makes your work easier, a way to finish, or what ever. The purpose of this would be for all of us to know each others work a little bit better. As an example, if someone talked about a technique it may be something that another member is struggling with so the two of them could get together and share what they know.

See you next month!

Our Meeting, this Wednesday 2/16

The meeting this month will feature Mike Viher who is one of Jamie's students.   He describes himself as a "retired bum" but, according to Jamie, he does some pretty incredible work.  We're hoping that he'll bring in work that includes inlaid, end grain cutting boards, some of his bowls, and maybe even a clock or two.  The meeting is at 7 pm and as always, bring a chair if you want to be sure to have a place to sit.  Bring your questions to shot at Mike as well especially if the type of work you do includes what he does.  It's always good to ask and discuss what we do with others, it's a win/win situation for all of us.
      See you there!, if you came across this on the web and need more information or directions just call 631-1870.