Burn, Baby, Burn....

Congratulations are in order - we’re celebrating our ten year anniversary this month! It’s hard to believe we’ve been around that long, and frankly, our meetings just keep getting better and more interesting.  We have a terrific presentation planned this month, so join us on Wednesday, February 20, at 7:00 for a night of sparks and flames!  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 Wednesday, February 20, at 7:00 and we’re in for a treat this month - co-presenters Emily Davis and Maciek Jezierski (call him Mac!) will share what they’ve learned about fractal burning on wood.  Curious?  Fractal wood burning is a process of applying an electrically conductive solution on wood and then applying high voltage electricity through a transformer using two probes. When this electricity is applied, it burns in the wood from one probe to the other. The figures that are created are commonly called Lichtenberg figures or fractal burns. The results are unpredictable, the technique is often uncontrollable, but the results are amazing! Emily and Mac learned much of what they know by following DoubleReno on his website:  http://www.fractalburn.com.  (You can follow him here: https://www.facebook.com/FractalBurn/) They built their fractal burner using some of his safer methods, and will share what they’ve learned with our group.   Here’s a sample of what they will be doing...  Emily and Mac will also be bringing some various woods to experiment on, but suggested that members are welcome to bring in a piece of wood to burn.  This technique will create some smoke, so we’ll probably have to have the garage door open… so dress warmly! It’s scheduled to snow on Wednesday! Anyone looking for carving woods? Utah wood dealer Jim Grace will be heading back to Las Vegas with a trailer fill of wood, and will be selling it at Wood It Is on Saturday, March 2 at 10:00 AM.  Jim is planning on bringing 4/4, 8/4 and 10/4 cherry, walnut, ash, butternut, white oak, eastern red cedar and hard maple.  Some of the slabs will be with natural edge.  He’ll also bring a large selection of basswood and butternut in sizes from 1" to 4" thick… so carvers - start planning your next work of art!  As always, this meeting will be held at Studio: Wood It Is!, 2267 West Gowan, unit 106 in North Las Vegas. The public is welcome to attend the meeting, so members - please feel free to bring a guest along. But remember that there are a limited number of chairs in the woodshop. Attendees might want to bring a folding chair if they wish to sit during the meeting. If you have questions or need directions, call the studio at 702-631-1870.