April Meeting Blog

Our April meeting began with 30+ members and guests in attendance.  Really good attendance again, Jamie jokingly said she may have to knock down a wall to get all of us together, and there was a full house:

    After our customary, round robin self introductions we had a short business section.  A couple of items discussed were the voluntary dues of $20.00.  Next month will be the last time they'll be collected and all of those monies goes to maintain the MeetUp site, pay for any outside speakers, and also fund the end of the year Christmas party.  That is the years highlight with food, social time, and gift certificates to Lee Valley.  Last year we gave out about $400.00 worth.  Your name is automatically entered into the drawing when your a dues paying member and additional entries are given if you do a demonstration for the group.
    The Makers Faire was held earlier this month.  It's a new event designed to draw people to the downtown area.  One of our members, Tom McGrady, had a booth set up featuring his Las Vegas Swings.  His goal was to attract the attention of Zappo's since there "corporate vibe" is a laid back one and he did!  Last I heard they were scheduled to come to his shop to see all of his work and (finger's crossed!) place an order with him.  Here is a LINK to his website, his work is fantastic.
    Bill Patten brought in his magnetic, resaw fence for his bandsaw that was talked about during Joe's bandsaw demonstration.  No picture of his but here's a LINK so you can buy one of your own!
   

Farmer's Markets are a place where some of the members have set up booths to sell their work.  They work but you do have an initial cost of tent, display shelving or table, and entry fees. Pete Hauser mentioned that he could possibly get members a booth space at Tivoli Village for free or a reduced price that would include those items.  Contact him if you're interested in doing that.  Speaking of Pete, he brought in this checkerboard for show and tell.  I noticed that Ed also had bowls that he turned but the darn, featured speaker took so much time the show and tell section of our meeting was cut short --- sorry about that!

    When the subject of showing and selling our work came up the question was how do you find out about these things if you're interested in them.  One good source for us here in the western USA is a magazine called Woodworkers West.  It's relatively inexpensive and is full of all sorts of information pertinent to us, here is a LINK to their website.
    The last bit of business came about when someone asked what the best way to store lumber is.  Do you lay it flat?;  do you set it upright?; store it under the bed?; etc.  In the discussion that followed I was reminded of Jamie's statement: "ask 10 woodworkers the same question and you'll get 12 answers!"  I think the bottom line is that you have to store it based on your space and work habits.  I'd love to a basement like James Krenov has in his book but I'm stuck buying just enough for my current work and then trying to figure out what to do with the usable scraps.

   

I had the honor of being the featured presenter at this month's meeting and first of all I want to tell you how I appreciated your attention and interest in it.  When Jamie asked how many of you had ever hand cut dovetails very few of you raised your hands.  They are a very traditional joint and modern technology allows us to do similar work in quicker ways.  With routers,  jigs, and computer guided tooling the hand cut work is becoming rare.  I'm among those furniture makers that really enjoys the process of the work, although it may get frustrating!

Before I began there were a couple of things that generated some questions.  One of those is the portable bench I used.  This is one I use for carving, joinery, routing, etc. I like that it's portable and it brings the work closer to me. Being in my sixth decade the higher working height keeps me from having to struggle straightening up after being bent over the workbench!  I made this bench from plans in Fine Woodworking Magazine by Jeff Miller.  This was the March/April issue of 2005 so you can probably find them online in their archives.  Another question was regarding the tools.  My advice to students is to buy the tools as you need them.  It's foolish to drop hundreds of dollars on a set of chisels and dovetail saw when you're not even sure you'll like the work.  My first joints were cut with the same Stanley plastic handled chisels I used as a carpenter in the early 70's.  As my interest and skills progressed I invested in better tools -- that's what I'd suggest you do too.
     I'll briefly explain the process I went through at our meeting with the help of these photo's.  As usual, Lupe has done an outstanding job documenting what I showed plus she took this really video that's posted on YouTube.  She edited it and it will give you a good idea of what I did and jog your memory. Here's a LINK to that on YouTube.  I was glad that Jamie asked how many of you had ever done hand cut dovetails and there wasn't an overwhelming majority.  I hope my demonstration didn't overwhelm you but instead inspires you to try to make them on your own!  I love this craft and am happy to be able to share it.

Wood Prep and Lay-out

   

Setting the Angle

The slope of a dovetail is referred to as 1:6 and 1:8.  That's set with a sliding bevel square by drawing a perpendicular line on a board.  Next you measure out 1" at the bottom and also measure 6" or 8" up on that line.  With the sliding bevel square you connect those two points and there's your angle.  There are numerous dedicated dovetail markers on the market or you could make your own.

    The first step to the process is having your pieces absolutely square and the opposing pieces must be the exact size.  For boxes and drawers I prefer to cut the groove (dado) that will house the bottom before I begin cutting the joinery.  The advantage to me is that you now know which part of each board will be at the bottom and inside.  Keeping track of which board goes where and marking them for their final position is critical.  The other reason for cutting that groove is to accurately lay out the tails to conceal it.  

   

Length of Dovetail on Front

The drawer front  needs to have the thickness of the drawer side and the length of the dovetail scribed on it.  Customarily, 1/3 of the thickness of the front will remain to conceal the dovetail.  The trick I showed you was using a 1/4" piece of plastic to set the marking gauge first.  Since my piece was 3/4" thick that's the 1/3 and a line was scribed from the front face.  Next, I re-set the marking gauge to that line from the inside of the drawer.  That setting was scribed onto the drawer sides to establish the length of the dovetails.

Length of Dovetail on Side

The last mark that needed to be scribed is on the inside of the drawer front and that's the thickness of the drawer sides.  To do that, gauge the thickness directly from the side piece and transfer it to the front.

 Cutting the Joint -- Tails First

Both Sides ready for Lay-out

    There's an ongoing debate among woodworkers as to what cuts first, pins or tails?  I'm a tails first kind of guy so that's how I teach it.  I always encourage students to try both and then use the method that feels best to them.  Lay out of the tails will depend on your skill level and what you're after.  I like to vary sizes and spacing as proof of them being hand cut.  Other's like to make the tiniest pin possible to show their skill.  I find it easier to saw accurately by clamping both sides together and cutting them at one time.  I usually clamp  them with a parallel clamp (forgot it at home!) and put the outside faces on the inside.  This way I can see the groove and being face to face minimizes tear out while cutting.  For a simple piece like this I laid out the sides to conceal the groove as my main goal.  Next I located the center and measured out about 1/8 to give me a fairly small pin there.

      

Cutting the Tails

Practice cutting before you start out on the real thing.  Allow the weight of the saw to carry it through to the line and don't force it.  If you practice, in time you'll develop muscle memory that will yield square, consistent cuts.  A little bit of beeswax works wonders on saw blades and plane bottoms as well.  A few asked where I got mine and if you do a Google search you'll find many vendors for a block of it -- lasts forever!  Start the saw at an angle and concentrate on duplicating the tail angle as you cut squarely across the top.  After those cuts you need to remove the outside pieces with a saw.  I like to cut a slight V-shape with a chisel before using the saw, that will help you get the saw started.  The inner waste is chiseled out.  Again, if you cut a V-shaped cut on the shoulder line like I demonstrated it'll be easier to remove that waste.  That V gives the bevel of the chisel some clearance and helps you cut a good shoulder.  Once things are square and looking good it's time to transfer the tail board over to the pin board for cutting.

Cutting the Drawer Front Pins

   

Drawer side ready for Scribing

The traditional way is to use a plane laying on its side. then adjust the drawer front in the vise level with the plane.  I prefer using a block of wood like in this photo.  This was always somewhat tricky since you needed to make sure things were lined up squarely.  Unless you use the Stanley 140 trick I showed you by rabbeting the front of the drawer things are hard to control.  Here's a LINK to a blog I did a few years ago on how you can do this trick without the Stanley, skewed rabbet planes.  If you don't have a tenoning jig you can carefully guide the board, upright against your rip fence.  I'd recommend making a jig that fits over your fence and supports the piece to be safer.  

Easier Transfer Jig

A better way to support the wood while transferring your tails is with the jig I showed.  It insures that the front and sides of the drawer are aligned.  To transfer these markings I recommend using a marking knife as it gives you a physical groove to saw to rather than a pencil line which can go away.  

Always mark your waste as soon as you lay things out --- trust me on this one!

Transferring the Tails

Chopping shoulder, Tape used as a depth gauge

Now we are ready to cut with a dovetail saw.  The technique here is cutting on the waste side of the line. After carefully cutting to both shoulder lines and inside the waste area it's time to chisel things out.  I demonstrated two methods, one where you chop on the shoulder, then come from the end of the board to remove the chip.  

The other is making a series of cuts down to the line with a smaller chisel, gradually working your way back to the shoulder line.

Fishtail Chisel

Once the bulk of the material is removed it's time for trial and error refining of the joint.  Honestly, I'm running out of words here!  For the corners it's best to use a pair of skew chisels or a fishtail like I use from Lie-Nielsen.  This is a wonderful tool for this job, here's a LINK to it.  The sides of the board can be trimmed with smaller chisels and you'll find you have more control cutting across the grain.

Trimming Sides

Remember the piece of plastic I set my marking gauge to at the beginning?  This is used to help you cut a smooth area for the dovetail to fit into.

Trick to a Smooth Web

Although it's not quite ready for prime time, here's what I accomplished by the end of the day.  Keep in mind that these require concentrated effort to accomplish successfully.  Usually the only audience I have is my radio!  If you enjoy the process of woodwork then this may be your next challenge.  Consider making the holding jig using dovetails or even a simple bench hook --- anything to get the practice and develop your "muscle memory".  Here is a picture of one of the drawers of my current project:

Sapele front with Maple sides

An alternative joint you can use for drawers is this one, here the drawer front is rabbeted and the sides are doweled to lock the two together.  By using a contrasting colored dowel this becomes a strong and decorative joint.

Once again, I appreciate the attention you all gave me during this complicated demonstration.  Trying to recap it all in writing for the blog makes me realize just how complex this process is!

April Meeting Coming Up ---- Wednesday the 16th.

     This is your reminder to set aside tomorrow night for our April meeting.  As usual the meeting will start at 7am and is at Jamie's studio:  Wood It Is.  The address is 2267 West Gowan, unit 106.  The public is invited but remember there is a limited number of chairs/stools available so if you'd like you should bring your own.

    We're still collecting the voluntary dues of $20.00 which goes towards the end of the year Christmas party food and gift certificates.   Even though Ted is out of town for this meeting, Bill Patten will be running the raffle if you should have anything to donate to the club coffers.  Things like tools, plans, instructional DVD's, extra project parts, etc.  Anything that's collecting dust and taking up space that you feel may be of value to someone else.  That money also goes for gift certificates and any outside speaker we may want to bring in.

    There will also be our customary show and tell which gives us an opportunity to share our latest work.  As always, please try to keep your presentation to 5 minutes or so to allow ample time for the featured presentation.  Talking with Dennis and Ted who are in charge of scheduling our featured presenters I know there is a need for them.  This would be a good time to share what you've done, learned, or figured out with the rest of the group.

Speaking of the featured presentation, this week it will be on:

   Half-

                   Blind 

                                Dovetails!

        

Pardon the pun but I had to inject some frivolity into this blog some way or another!  This presentation is one I'm going to do.  I'll demonstrate how to lay out and cut half blind dovetails like you typically find on drawer construction.  Through dovetails are somewhat easier to do but  I plan to share my techniques plus some of the tricks I use to make this joint easier to cut.   Chisels, mallet, marking gauges, and dovetail saws will be used for this demo, no power tools.   Thanks to Tom McGrady, who offered to help me bring in my current project;  I'll be able to illustrate different areas dovetails are used in traditional furniture construction. Hope to see all of you there.  Jamie's shop phone number is 702-631-1870 if you need directions to her place.

March Meeting -- The Start of our Sixth Year!

     With about 26 members present we officially started the sixth year of the Sin City Woodworkers and, to coin a phrase: "who woulda thunk it!"
The meeting began as most of them do, with groups of us standing around:

……. talking about things we had done since our last meeting.  Jamie, who is sitting on the table in the center of this picture, called us to order and the meeting officially began.

As you can see, we all immediately stopped our conversations and paid attention to her and began the round robin self introductions.
   

     First of all, one of Jamie's students has been going to California and coming back with different logs she's found in the Monterey area.  One was very intriguing and created a lot of discussion as to what type of tree it may have come from.  I spent some time doing a search to see if I could find the exact link that you can use to have the US Department of Agriculture identify a specific piece of wood for you I had to give up on it --- wasn't one of those quick searches.  Here's a LINK to their forest products laboratory which has a wealth of information.  One of those sites you can spend hours on I'm sure.  According to Jamie, all you need to do is send them a piece of the wood in question (preferred size at least 1" x 3" x 6") and they will research it for you.  That's what they did with the log in question and it turned out to be from a Eucalyptus tree.  This service is free of charge and generally takes about 3 weeks.
     Next up we had a discussion about using club funds to bring in outside speakers.  This turned out to be quite a lively discussion.  The conundrum is this:  should we pay a local person to do a demonstration for the entire group or should it be a separate event where only the people actually attending pay for the speaker.  Since we have many members willing to give their time freely for the good of the group (and an extra raffle ticket!) when do we deem someone should be paid.  The consensus was that we should bring in Nelson Cassinger for a regular meeting.  Here is the only LINK that I could find where it gives a short bio about him at the Utah Woodturning Symposium.  He has come up with a unique way to turn segmented bracelets and bowls and sells his special jigs and fixtures to make them.

Show & Tell Session

Show and tell was pretty sparse this time and there's only one photo to show you.  That's Ed with his first attempt at turning a live edge bowl.  It's a good thing that his son lives in North Carolina and Ed is able to go there and get wood (and antique tools) from him.  I got a little confused but one of them is Olive and the other he brought in was some Cherry from a log he was able to get on board an airplane for the trip home.

     Ted, our feature presenter at this meeting, brought in a few of his plumb bobs.  He has a fantastic collection of them that needs to be seen to believed.

Feature Presentation; Ted Warren and Cabinet/Card Scrapers

Cabinet and card scrapers are simply pieces of (usually) rectangular spring steel that have a burr shaped on their edges to smooth your wood.  Ted prefers a thinner, more flexible blade as he is showing in this photo.  Notable brands are Lie-Nielsen, Lee Valley, Sandvik, and Balco.  The metal used in them is tempered which allows it to be sharpened and hold a burr as well.  You could use a piece  of an old handsaw to make your own just as you could to make a scratch stock.  Pieces of metal available at your local big box store wouldn't have the needed qualities to make a scraper.

The primary difference between a card scraper and a cabinet scraper is that the cabinet scraper is held in some type of device.  In this picture you have a (probably) hand made device at the left that's often referred to as a Rams Horn.  The black one in the foreground is the Stanley #80 which is pretty easy to find on ebay.  Here's a LINK to the current listing of them and they range from just a few dollars to $30.00 or so.  The nickel plated one in the back is a Stanley #81 which has a Rosewood sole and the nickel plating, it's considerably rarer but occasionally you'll find them.  Cabinet scrapers have much heavier blades that are initially ground to 45 degrees prior to forming a burr on the blade.  Heavier body means a more aggressive cut plus you save your thumbs from the amazing amount of heat you'll create when using one of these tools.  There are a couple of holders available for card scrapers, most notably this one from Lee Valley.

One other scraping tool is the scraping plane.  The one Ted is holding is Lie-Nielsen's # 112, here is a LINK to that tool and as you can see, it's pretty expensive.  At the meeting I mentioned that there was one on ebay --- the winning bid was $212.37 plus shipping so that person could have purchased a brand new one!  This tool is patterned after the Stanley model and the main advantage is that you can adjust the angle of the blade to achieve the finest cut in various types of wood.  The angle will change depending on the grain.  If you work primarily exotics, highly figured, or crotch wood this may be your best choice for scraping.
 

 Although card scrapers are a simple tool, maintaining an edge on them so they produce a fine shaving may give us fits!  Ted brought this arsenal of sharpening equipment for the demonstration.  You can use traditional stones such as Arkansas or India, Japanese style water stones, ceramic stones, or diamond stones.  The goal is the same -- you want a highly polished 90 degree corner on the edges of your scraper.  Regardless of what you use to sharpen your tools, the process is the same.



Begin with first filing a square edge on the long edges of the scraper.  This can be done free-hand like Ted is showing here with a single cut, mill bastard file.  Single cut means there are a single row of teeth cut into the file.  You can also cut a groove in a block of wood and use that as a guide to maintain the file 90 degrees to the face.

If you don't have a vise to hold the scraper, this device is easy to make.

After the work is done with the file and you have a uniform, fine scratch pattern it's time to use your stones to refine that edge.  It's important to utilize the entire surface of the stone when doing the edge of the scraper.  This minimizes the risk of creating a groove in your stone.  Again, you could use a 2" square block of wood to support the scraper when doing the edge to ensure that 90 degree angle.

Stoning the Face

Stoning the Edge

Now we come to the mystery part of the scraper, establishing the 5 degree or so burr on the long edges you've just prepared.  This is done with a burnisher.  A burnisher is a hardened metal rod which can be round, oval, or triangular in shape.  The first step is to hold it vertical to "draw" the metal up:

After 2-3 passes on each side, you then take 2-3 passes on the edge.  First horizontally and then at about a 5 degree angle, you should be able to feel a slight, uniform burr the entire length of the blade as Ted is finding here:

If all went well, you should be able to get shavings like in this short video that Lupe took, here's a LINK to it.  I tell you what, Lupe is pretty good with hi-tech stuff and woodworking!  

   

 Last of all, don't just throw your now sharpened card scraper in the drawer; protect those edges.  Ted made this cool holder just for that purpose.  Another thing, to prevent rust on the metal use a Camilla oil or something similar on your newly sharpened tool.  Although we don't have much of a rust problem here in the desert we do sweat and if you used water stones the oil will prevent rusting on your tools.

March Meeting: Wednesday the 19th.

Can Your Card Scraper Do This?

  ……. or do you just get a bunch of dust?

     If you're like most of us woodworkers you may have answered that your scraper produces dust rather than a fine, thin shaving like in the picture.  Card scrapers are one of the simplest tools in our finishing arsenal and yet they give us problems.  Personally speaking, I've had a card scraper make shavings like in the picture but then, as it needed tuning up; my new burr only produced dust.  Frustrating to say the least!!

     At tomorrow nights meeting, Ted Warren will share his 40+ years of furniture making with us and show his methods for creating a burr on that finely tuned card scraper.  Many of you are probably familiar with the card scraper, essentially a rectangular or curved piece of metal.  Ted will also be bringing in a Stanley #80 cabinet scraper, a Lie-Nielsen #112, as well as what's called a "rams horn" scraper.  This promises to be a very informative meeting and I'm sure we'll all walk away with knowledge we can put to work in our own shops.
     As always, there will be a show and tell session and I'd like to ask everyones cooperation in limiting your show and tell to five minutes or less.  I know we all get excited about sharing our work with other members of the group but we need to leave ample time for the feature demonstration.  We will also be collecting the voluntary $20.00 yearly dues so that you'll not only be eligible for the year end drawing but also be able to say you're an official, dues paying member of the fabulous Sin City Woodworkers group!
     We will also have a raffle at the end of this meeting.  Let me explain the purpose and reasoning behind this new addition.  We have always had a voluntary dues of $20.00 per year which covers the cost of the MeetUp site, our Christmas party, and gift cards for random drawings and contest winners.  There have been requests to bring in outside speakers to demonstrate or hold workshops but these folks charge money!  Here is where the raffle comes in -- most of us have experienced buying a tool, book, or instructional DVD that we were sure we needed but then once we had it in our hands it really wasn't what we thought it was after all.  Maybe you have some extra parts, knobs, hinges, etc. that are just gathering dust and taking up space you could put to better use.

     Ted belonged to a large woodworking group in San Diego that used this concept to generate funds for things members thought would enhance the group.  If you have anything that you would like to donate, bring it in and give it to Ted.  He will also be the one selling the raffle tickets at the beginning of the meeting.  I'm sure there will be an opportunity to buy tickets just prior to the drawing if you notice a "must have" item you want to take a chance on.  In case there aren't enough items brought in for a particular meeting he'll hold on to them and we'll have the raffle at the next meeting.

   Last of all, the meeting is held at Studio: Wood It Is!, 2267 West Gowan, unit 106 in North Las Vegas. As always, 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 631-1870.

February Meeting --- 5 Years in the Making

 Wow, check out this panoramic shot that Lupe took --- she's getting pretty darn professional!  This meeting marks the 5th. year anniversary of the first ever meeting that was held at a library.  This month we had about 33 people in attendance and of those, 6 were at that original meeting.  I keep hearing that old saying:  "….and they said it couldn't be done!" but thanks to Jamie's leadership and all of us that are interested in woodworking we're doing it!
     We've decided to change things up a little bit with the meeting format.  As usual we had our round robin introductions and then the business session.  In the past we would have our featured presentation after the business session and then do the show and tell.  What tends to happen is that by the time the featured person is done, it's gotten late and the show and tell is sparsely attended and kind of an after thought.  This time, the show and tell was held before the featured presenter and it seemed as if it got a little long winded!!  I suppose it's going to take self-discipline from all of us and we should try to limit the show and tell to no more than 5 minutes each to ensure the featured presenter has ample time to cover their topic in detail.  I know that's tough because many times the show and tell stuff is interesting and generates a lot of discussion.  Maybe we need a time keeper, you know like a Sergeant at Arms or something like that!  I'd just ask that we keep this in mind so the featured presenter will have ample time to cover what they prepared for the meeting.

Business Portion:

•      Started off with a reminder of the voluntary, $20.00 yearly dues.  We'll probably collect these for another 2-3 months.
• After the discussion we had in January regarding our local lumber suppliers and their customer service (or lack thereof) I shared my recent experience with Woodworkers Source who is located in Phoenix.  They do mail order using UPS, I'm not the only one in the club that has used them.  I recommend them highly for exotics as well as domestic woods.  If you go there, they are on the north side of Phoenix, right off the I-17 so you won't have too much traffic.  Here's a LINK to them.
• Pete will be teaching a class at Jamie's school beginning on March 25th.  It will meet in the evenings from 6-9 and he will be teaching how to make that table he showed at January's meeting.  It's not on Jamie's class list yet but here's a LINK to that, check back to see when it's listed.  You will need to have taken Jamie's basic class to enroll in this one.
• Woodworker's Emporium will be having their parking lot swap meet on Saturday, March 15.  Time is from 9-12am, it'd probably be wise to contact them (871-0722) if you have things you'd like to sell.

Show & Tell

John brought in two items to show tonight.  He (along with many others of you) has taken Jamie's very popular cutting board class.  this example is from a design he found on the internet and is made of Walnut, Maple, and Cherry.  His other cutting board is based on a leaf design.  It's frustrating to give these as gifts since most people tell him they're too nice to use!

Our presenter for the evening, Joe brought in this really nice example of an antique plane:

 

It is a find from his father-in-laws shop and at least 100 years old.  Since there are no brand name on the tool it was more than likely made by a craftsman.  It's hard for us to imagine how it was "back in the day"; you didn't go on-line and find what you needed, you made it yourself!  Joe also brought in this 1/2 scale model of a blanket chest he plans to make:

This one is stained Poplar with Alder for the legs.  What makes it unique is the coopered top which was achieved by cutting the edges of the boards at about 4 degrees and then glueing them up.  He then used a hand plane to form the curve.  Nice looking piece.

Ken brought in a new product from FastCap called 2P-10.  It's a super fast adhesive and accelerator that joins your stuff in 10 seconds.  If you want to see more of it than you were able to during the meeting, here's a LINK to it that includes several videos.

Joe's Bandsaw Demonstration:

Bandsaws are a tool that many of you may have in your shop. They can be used for scroll work, cutting joinery, re-sawing,  cutting circles, etc.  Being one of the safer woodworking tools is a plus too.  Since all of the force is aimed down, towards the table there is very little chance of a piece of wood being thrown out at you.  About the only area of danger with this machine is to the side of it.  Extremely rare but if a blade breaks there is a possibility of it snaking out on that side.
Like any other tool, it will only work work well if it's properly set up, cleaned, lubricated, and adjusted according to the owner's manual.

There was a general discussion about blade sizes and the bottom line is it will depend on what you plan to use the saw for.  A 3/8" wide, 3-4 teeth per inch is a good all around size to keep on the saw.  It's important that there is a fairly deep gullet (space between teeth) to clear out the created sawdust.  It's wise to keep the blade clean the same as you would any other blade.  Simple Green, Easy-off, or any other available cleaner is a good choice.  A clean blade runs cooler, requires less effort, and will yield a better cut.  When ever you change the blade, there are a number of things Joe suggested you do.  He made a list which I sent out to everyone in an earlier email and that list is much more complete than what I'm going to write here so check it out.

  Once you've opened up the saw and removed the blade it's a good time to do some preventative maintenance items.  Some that Joe suggested are to clean the wheels and check the condition of the rubber on them.  You can use a scrap of wood or a nylon brush to accomplish that.  Be careful that you don't nick or cut the tire and, just like your car tires, check the over-all condition of the rubber.
It wouldn't hurt to lubricate, wax, and otherwise clean the top of the saw too.  Bandsaws are driven by a belt on a couple of pulley's so check the condition of that rubber as well.  Our desert climate is pretty hard on these things.




Alignment of the wheels and pulleys rarely goes out but it wouldn't hurt to check these from time to time too -- maybe yearly.  After everything is clean, lubricated, and adjusted it's time to re-install the blade.  These are usually stored in a coiled up manner and Joe showed a trick that makes handling them a bit easier.  Instead of doing it up in the air, he uses a bench or stool to anchor one end.  Lupe made this video of him in action, here is a LINK to it on YouTube.

When you replace the blade there are a couple of things to keep in mind.  First off, the teeth must point down, towards the table.  If needed, the blade can be flipped inside out to change the direction of the teeth.  It's a good practice to move the blade guiding mechanism (cool blocks, wheels, etc.) so you can get the blade tracking as it should without any interference from them.  We had a pretty good discussion on how to set the blade tension and I sent out a link for a hi-tech and pricey gauge you could get to check that.  The gauges on bandsaws are notoriously inaccurate so experience with your machine will be to your advantage.  You don't want to crank the tension up so high that you put undue stress on the bearings and blade.  On the other hand, you don't want it so low that the blade jumps off the wheel and out of the guides.  As with everything else these days it is possible to find video's on the internet showing you how to go about setting the machine but if you follow the owners manual and do a bit of experimenting on your own with your machine you should be able to achieve success.
As for setting the guide blocks or rollers, again check your manual.  As a general rule you want them to be as close to the blade for maximum support but not touching.  Some say to use a dollar bill as a shim to place between the blade and the guide.  In any case, Joe demonstrated turning the blade through by hand several revolutions and listening for any sounds that would tell you things aren't quite right.  Last of all, it's very important that the blade and table are 90 degrees to one and other unless, of course, you're cutting bevels!  This can be checked with a reliable try square as Joe is doing here or you can use an electronic gauge.

Joe covered all of the major items needed to keep your bandsaw running true and safely.  Like all of the tools you use, regular maintenance and cleaning will keep them running true.  If you're typical though we tend to put off that maintenance work until something goes wrong.  Hopefully his presentation inspired you to clean and adjust your own bandsaw --- Thanks Joe!

Raffle:

Not sure of the outcome of the raffle at this meeting but there was an interesting array of items on the table.   Keep in mind that the money generated from your donations will go to bring speakers, presenters, and possibly workshops from outside sources.  We have a wealth of information among the members of the group but sometimes it's nice to bring a "expert" in from elsewhere.

February Meeting -- Tomorrow Night!

Hey you !!! 

Do you have one of these Big Boys in your shop?

Well, maybe yours is a tad bit smaller and of more modern design but a bandsaw is a valuable woodworking tool.  Depending on its size and your method of work they can be called upon for cutting intricate scroll work, cutting joinery, or resawing huge planks of wood.  However you use it, this tool will only function well if everything is set up and adjusted properly.  The focus of this meeting will be a presentation by Joe Hessling.  Joe will share his expertise with us and show the proper ways to adjust this tool, tension the blade, and everything else you'll need to make your bandsaw, no matter how big or small; function as it should.

The Purpose of our Raffles

Something new for our meetings is to have a raffle at the end.  Let me explain the purpose and reasoning behind this new addition.  We have always had a voluntary dues of $20.00 per year which covers the cost of the MeetUp site, our Christmas party, and gift cards for random drawings and contest winners.  There have been requests to bring in outside speakers to demonstrate or hold workshops but these folks charge money!  Here is where the raffle comes in -- most of us have experienced buying a tool, book, or instructional DVD that we were sure we needed but then once we had it in our hands it really wasn't what we thought it was after all.  Maybe you have some extra parts, knobs, hinges, etc. that are just gathering dust and taking up space you could put to better use.

Ted belonged to a large woodworking group in San Diego that used this concept to generate funds for things members thought would enhance the group.  If you have anything that you would like to donate, bring it in and give it to Ted.  He will also be the one selling the raffle tickets at the beginning of the meeting.  I'm sure there will be an opportunity to buy tickets just prior to the drawing if you notice a "must have" item you want to take a chance on.  In case there aren't enough items brought in for a particular meeting he'll hold on to them and we'll have the raffle at the next meeting.

Dues and Location, & Time

As I mentioned before, we're in the process of collecting your voluntary $20.00 dues.  Besides being able to say that you're a member in good standing, paying the dues means your name is in the hat for the Lee Valley gift certificates at the end of the year party.  Keep in mind too that if you do a demonstration or presentation at any meeting you get an additional "name in the hat" for that drawing too.  See Ted or Dennis for that.

The meeting time is 7:00 pm tomorrow evening.  The location is Jamie's shop at 2267 West Gowan, unit 106.  You know the drill about bringing a chair to sit on and for more info call her at 631-1870.

January 15th. Meeting --- First of the Year

     Our first meeting of the year saw about 33 folks in attendance with quite a few new faces.  Many of these are students from Jamie's classes -- she's really doing her part in exposing more and more Las Vegans to woodworking, Great Job Jamie!  As a teacher I know how much time and effort it takes to set up classes and organize instruction.  Before the meeting started some of you may have noticed an exchange of money going on at the corner table, nope; nothing underhanded going on there.  Although unplanned people started to pay their yearly dues of $20.00.  The majority of the dues actually come back to the members in the form of a great end of the year Christmas party and Lee Valley gift certificates for either a raffle our contests we may have through out the year. There are some club related expenses that the dues pay for, mainly the fees Meet Up charges.  Jamie recognized Lupe for all of her work taking photographs of our meetings and me for writing up this blog.  I'm sure I'm speaking for Lupe too when I say we appreciate your appreciation and enjoy what we're doing -- Thanks for your applause.
     After the round the room introductions the following business items were brought up:

Feedly: 

This is a website that Richard brought up.  Not being all that technology savvy myself here is a LINK for that.  Apparently it replaces the RSS feed and has a number of apps you can download to follow blogs.

Magazine Subscriptions:

There was a discussion regarding magazines and in impromptu survey to see whether or not we still subscribed to them.  Before the technology of the internet they were an invaluable source of information but now it seems the consensus was to simply research what you need on line and then print it out on your home printer.  For those of us (myself included) that like to physically turn pages there's always the library.  Fine Woodworking offers an on-line subscription for less than $35.00 a year that gives access to everything they have plus numerous forums.  Here's a LINK for you.

Buying Lumber:

There was a pretty lively discussion about the "lumber triangle" consisting of Peterman, Rugby, and McKillican at the corner of Russell and Arville.  Through the years the attitudes and especially customer service has changed but probably not for the better.  Knowing that Jamie orders much more lumber than most of us do she has a good idea of what's currently going on.  McKillican seems to have deteriorated the most in terms of product availability and customer service.  Peterman probably has the best selection but pricing seems to be an issue which doesn't make sense because everything is on the computer but they probably have different pricing levels depending on how much you buy.  Good thing to do is write down any price given over the phone as well as the date and person who gave you that price.  It's also wise to double-check their board tally.  The lumber there is easy to pick out and displayed so you can see the boards.  The third yard in the triangle is Rugby.  They are often cheaper but their wood is "hit and miss" meaning it's not as surfaced and may not have a straight line ripped edge.  It's a little bit harder to access their lumber piles but I've found they are very willing to move units around so you can get to them.

      Let me add this personal experience to the discussion.  I've had lots of luck with Woodworkers Source in Phoenix.  It's a cool place to visit if you're into long day trips but they also do mail order.  Here's a LINK to them.  I have ordered quite a bit of material from them over the years ranging from a mix of 8/4 and 4/4 Canarywood for a dining table and chairs to the Sapele used on a hall table.  I'm working up an order for them now but may want to hand pick and do the trip myself!  They ship UPS, the last single board order from them came in 3 days.  One thing is that they have what they call UPS Packs that include shipping.  Before ordering that put the same amount in and have them calculate shipping to your zip code.  Usually it's cheaper that way since we're so close to them.

Pete Hauser's Presentation:

Billet of Big Leaf Maple

 Peter Hauser first became interested in figured woods when he was in the USAF, stationed in Texas, and worked part time at a Woodcraft store.  It started with turning and has ended to where he is today building furniture and specializing in end grain cutting boards.  The way he amassed his collection of wood is interesting!  After retirement he became an independent contractor (2001-2009) flying cargo for the Air Force so at times had a huge cargo bay just begging for something to be hauled, enter his search for wood!  I've already sent all of you his lumber sources and I've had a few of you tell me about other ones.  Rather than list all of them and make this blog longer you can do a search on the internet and you'll find a multitude of sources.  Figured woods can come from many different trees, Pete had examples of Maple, Myrtlewood, Redwood, Claro Walnut, Koa, and probably others I didn't write down.  Some of the figure is result of the way the grain grows at the crotch of the tree.  The term that is sometimes used for this figured grain is Chatoyance.  That term is also used to describe that effect in minerals.

 Here are some examples of the pieces he brought in to share with us:

Myrtlewood & Crotch Walnut (shimmer = chatoyance)

Redwood Burl

Curly Koa

This tool box is one that he made from a Texas Mesquite tree.  He actually felled this tree, seasoned the lumber and made the box.

Mesquite on top, highly figured Maple on bottom

Bubinga tool tray

When Pete worked at the Woodcraft store he taught a class on making this table. The top is a book matched piece of Claro Walnut.  The design of the table was inspired by a magazine article that dealt with designing furniture.  An internet search proved successful as he found more detailed photos of it.  The original had steam bent aprons but he found a way to simplify that.  By using a Domino Joiner from Festool to create floating tenons the project was greatly simplified.  Just a side note, some of you may not be aware of what the heck a Domino Joiner is so here's a LINK for you.  After the joints were cut, the legs were tapered four ways. 

 

The apron parts were cut out (again after the domino joinery) from a wide piece, holes were drilled first to insert ebonized pegs.  He used India Ink to ebonize the Maple.

Close up of pyramid leg and floating top illusion

Pete's presentation ended with a discussion on veneering panels and showing examples of his end grain cutting boards.  I'm going to edit the rest of the blog because if it gets too long I won't be able to send it and you guys won't be able to read it!  To summarize, Pete brought many examples of figured wood and I'm sure it whetted your appetite to possibly use them for a project of your own.

Show & Tell:

Jamie and I decided that from now on we will hold the show and tell session after the business part of the meeting and before the featured presentation.  I apologize to those of you that brought your work in to share that weren't able to at the end of the meeting.  We'll limit the show and tell session to less than 5 minutes for presentation and any questions.  Here's what we had at the meeting:

Ed's turned bowl from a Weeping Cherry Tree

Burl on lathe

Ken's Purple Heart box with wooden hinges.  He uses an Incra set up  for this work.

Wine gift box of Quarter Sawn Oak, Walnut, and Lacewood.
 Inspired by Richards 2x4x8 project, he just happens to be in the background!

That's it for this newsletter, hope you were able to read this lengthy one but there was lots to cover.  Keep the raffle in mind as you work in your shops, that tool you don't need or like could go to someone else and the coffers of the club will increase!