Sin City Woodworkers, a Vegas valley social and networking group committed to serious (and not so serious!) woodworking discussions, meet on the third Thursday 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 Thursday, May 16, at 7:00 where yours truly (me!) will be discussing stave construction.
What’s that, you say?
A stave is a narrow piece of wood with a bevelled edge on both sides. When grouped together, they form the sides of round pieces - cylinders, barrels, tanks, tubs, vats and buckets and more.
I’ve been experimenting with staves for about a year - when a buddy gave me a ton of narrow pieces of walnut… probably a few hundred board feet! Sure, making cutting boards was an option, but I decided to experiment a bit, and I was hooked! There’s so much you can do with your smaller cut-offs, and this is a great way to use them up and create some really unique pieces.
I’ll talk about making a jig to simplify this technique, and offer some tips about gluing up your stave container… the first time can be a challenge! This discussion will make stave work so simple, you’ll wonder why you haven’t tried this before.
Here are two links that will be incredibly helpful:
https://www.woodmagazine.com/woodworking-tips/techniques/intermediate/staves-and-segments
And this stave calculator for creating your precise shapes and cuts:
https://larrymarley.com/scripts/Stave_Calculator.php
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.
