Almost Forgot to Remember :-{

Hope this doesn't come too late for all of you to join us Wednesday for the monthly meeting.  It's also the first official show day for the AWFS at the Convention Center. I hope to go in the afternoon to walk part of the floor and have two classes on Thursday so won't be much time then.  It would be nice if some of you that go on Wednesday would come to the meeting to share highlights and "must sees" with the rest of us.


Our next meeting is scheduled for July 20 at 7:00 PM, and will feature Richard Daugherty, who has been raving about sector sticks ever since reading Jim Tolpin's Sector Stick article that Popular Woodworking published a few issues back. 

Rich says it's the best article he's read in years, and is going to bring a sample and show us how two sticks and one hinge will eliminate math and layout errors in our work. Rich is also in the process of making a 'Joseph Moxon' twin screw vise, and might have something to share about his progress. Rich's affable teaching style makes him one of most popular speakers, and this meeting is sure to be an informative one. 

Sliding Dovetails with Dennis Patchett

For our monthly Sin City Woodworkers meeting last Wednesday, June 15, we met at the shop of Dennis Patchett.  We had about 25 members at this meeting and I think I can speak for all of them when I say that Dennis presentation of cutting the sliding dovetail and work in his shop is excellent.

This is what a sliding dovetail looks like 

     Most people are familiar with the use of a dovetail on drawers and it is also used in casework, especially when using solid wood.  Where the sliding version comes in is to fasten shelves or dividers within the case.  The strength comes from the shape of the "tail"; it won't pull out of the side like a simple dado joint will.

     One of Dennis's traits is that he takes the easiest route to accomplish what he makes -- and that's said as a compliment.  The woodworking forums, magazines, and books would want you to believe that this type of work can't be done well unless you open your wallet to buy whatever whizbang gadget they're trying to sell!  Most would say you need a router table and fence to achieve this joint but what Dennis does is screw a fence that has been pre-bored to accept a screw, directly on his table over the hole where his router comes up.  In this picture you see him setting that up.  As a teacher I can only appreciate the attention that Allison is paying to him!

Setting the fence to cut the male half of the joint

Sorry about this break, let's call it a commercial message to show some other things that he shared with us Wednesday evening.  Just can't get the pictures to move where I want them to :-(

Using a large rasp to shape the beginnings of a foot for a chair.
Interesting note is that he got this from a  farrier who was going to toss it out!

His Carving Station

     Okay, back to the original story.  Here is a close up of the dovetail bit as it comes up from the bottom of the bench.  Something Dennis stressed was to have accurate measuring tools, he also mentioned how he makes a bunch (couple hundred) of shims from a 1x12, these taper down to nothing so are just great for setting a fence over a slight amount.  He made the joint pictured at the top of this blog out of MDF but when he makes it for a piece of furniture he always has extra material on hand to check his set ups.

Close up of Setting the Fence, notice his shims in the foreground

The remainder of the meeting had Dennis answering lots of questions about his work and techniques.  He is truly passionate about his work and it shows when he's talking about it.  He spends a great amount of time at the craft and gets pretty amazing results.  Like most woodworkers, he's quick to point out some errors in his projects but I think many of us strive to achieve the level of woodworking that he has.  During his demonstration he was asked how to do something and his answer was "there isn't any secret to these things, you just go out and do it" -- he's taken his own advice and succeeded!

The remaining meeting time was spent looking and admiring the work in his shop.  My guess is that his obvious passion for woodworking may have ignited a new spark among the members that were at this meeting.

Beautiful example of completed chest

Notice the bottom leaf? It extends over raised panel!

This linen cabinet is for his wife, hard to tell but the doors and side panels are carved linen fold.
All the remains is the finish and a granite top.

Believe it or not -- TOOTHPICKS!
They actually work and were carved with pins sharpened into chisels.

This is the brand of finish he plans to use on the linen cabinet

Corner Cabinet under construction
Notice the carved shell and the radiused door.

Very Impressive!

Sliding Dovetails -- June 15th.

     Our meeting for the month of June is next Wednesday at 7:00 pm.  DO NOT I repeat -- DO NOT go to Jamie's  shop.  Dennis has offered his shop for the meeting plus he's going to show us how to make sliding dovetails with routers.  This joint is a great one to learn and a router is a quicker way to make it than working the joint by hand.
     The address for his shop is 4141 Oquendo, Suite #3.  You can Google it but here's the directions.  If you're approaching it off of Russell Road it's between Arville and Valley View.  Turn south on Wynn Road, go a short distance and it runs into Oquendo.  Turn west (right) and it's a very short section of road until Oquendo curves to the left.
     If you're approaching from Valley View you'd turn west off of Valley View onto Oquendo. Oquendo is just south of Russel Road and will curve left after a few blocks, that's where his shop is located.  There is plenty of parking on the north side of the street at a warehouse.  The shop is on the south side of Oquendo where turns left.  You'll see two big pine trees and #3 is under the first one.
     If you'd like to have a place to sit be sure to bring a chair.  Dues for the year will be collected at this meeting.  They are $20.00.  Hope to see you there.

     Last Wednesdays meeting turned out to be one of information and conversation.  Our guest speaker was Linda Stockton from Louis & Company, here's a link to their website .  I guess I showed my ignorance because I always thought that they were just a small, local company -- boy, was I wrong!  Jamie told me that she's been dealing with them locally for over 8 years and when she was back east the company she dealt with for 20 years or so was called Baer Supply but it is one and the same.  According to her, it's a huge company.  It seems that dealing with them will be much quicker than an internet order most of us probably make when we need items that we can't find here in Las Vegas.
     Linda brought many catalogs and samples of a line of abrasives they carry.  Louis & Company is also a distributor of SawStop, a brand anyone in woodworking is familiar with.

Vince talking with Linda (trying to get more freebies)

Looks as if she has their attention

     A topic that came up at the meeting was regarding Meet Up.  Many of you are familiar with it but some of you weren't.  It does seem to be a good way to let newcomers to our area find out about Sin City Woodworkers.  If you're not aware of Meet Up here is their website , it would be worth your while (and a couple of keystrokes) to register and check it out.  Besides this blog, it's another way to be informed of our meetings.  There seems to be hundreds of groups in the area with probably any kind of thing you'd be interested in -- check it out!
     Last of all, just a reminder that dues will be collected at the next meeting.  They're $20.00 for the year.  Also, that meeting will be at Dennis's shop which is on Oquendo.  I'll send out the address and directions as it gets closer.  I know there have been new members that may not be aware of this but if you do a presentation or demonstration at the meeting your dues for that year are waived.

Toys 4 Smiles Field Trip

This month's meeting took us on a field trip to Toys 4 Smiles, a non-profit group here in town devoted to ensuring that every child has a toy in hand, especially during difficult time, such as hospital visits.

Rex explaining the program -- check out the cars and goodies on the table.

Toys4Smiles is a wonderful organization that exists because of the heart Rex Doty has for bringing smiles on children's faces that are having a difficult time or going through some type of personal trauma.  The passion Rex has for this is evident when you hear him explain and trace the history of the organization.

The wall where children who have toured and helped in the shop sign their thoughts and appreciation.

He is able to attract volunteers to help in the shop from every walk of life.  These include everyone from school age groups, scout organizations, and college age students to adults and retired folks just looking for a place to spend time doing something they believe in.

One of many work stations, this is where window and axle holes are drilled

Rex has worked tirelessly in the community to get donations for the charity.  These range from hundreds of board feet of donated lumber to shopping carts needed to move the toys from one station to the next.

Part of the tour

Ingenious branding stamp station

During the tour of the shop, Rex showed us several things that volunteers have made to help streamline the process.  It included this branding station where each toy is branded with the logo of Toys4Smiles.  It insures that children and the community know where the toy came from.

A rocking horse made by a volunteer

To sum the evening up, it was obvious that Rex has put all of his heart and soul into this project.  He explained the hours the shop is open and the need for volunteers.  An unusual aspect for our Sin City Woodworkers meeting is that we had refreshments (thanks for the Oreos!) and Rex pointed out that he requires all volunteers to take a break at the same time at least twice a day.  This is his way of making sure that the people working have a sense of community as they work away creating a portion of joy in the life of a child that needs it.

Wednesday, April 20th. Meeting

The meeting this month will be held at Toys 4 Smiles instead of Jamie's shop. Toys 4 Smiles is located at 3170 Polaris and they are in units 17 & 18. You may want to mapquest it from your house although it's easy enough to find.




To get there you turn west onto Sirius which is located between Sahara and Desert Inn. Once you're headed west the second right is Polaris. I've looked at it on Google Maps and there seems to be many rows of industrial type buildings.

Rex Doty's place is in units 17 & 18. When I spoke with him he said he had plenty of seating so you won't need to bring your chairs to this meeting. Hope to see you there, the starting time will be the same -- 7:00 pm.

*** AWFS-- IT'S HERE ***

If you haven't checked lately I'll pass on the Education Schedule to you.  Here is a LINK  so if you click on it you will go directly to the page that has a downloadable, PDF link on it.