ATLANTIC SHORE WOODTURNERS

Meetings 2^nd Tuesday of each month.

The next meeting will be January 10

7:30 PM.

Meetings are held at the small pre-school building on the corner of County Line Road & Ridge Avenue

Social hour @ 7:00

2006 Officers and Contacts

President	Mark Anderson	732.477.0156
Vice President	Tom Jones	732.571.9636
Treasurer	Buren Gilpin	732.223.9861
Librarian	Bruce Perlmutter	732.530.5762
Secretary	John Puckhaber	732.920.1915
Newsletter	John Puckhaber	732.920.1915

2006 brings us a new Vice President: Tom Jones

Tom has been a member since February 2005, lives in Eatontown, NJ, and has provided the club with his expertise in video recording of demonstrations (see Tom if you want a copy of Dennis Fuge’s May, 2005 presentation of “From Road Kill to Lathe”). He also shared his computer expertise by administering our new & improved website: www.atlanticshorewoodturners.com

We also want to thank Ed Aras for his work as our past VP. Ed has stepped down due to increased business duties. Ed will, however, remain on our program committee, set up last year to bring you an even better program lineup for 2006 and beyond.

Speaking of new and even better programming, our January meeting will feature a treat from one of our own accomplished turners:

Lee Alexander presents

“Turning Thin Stem Goblets”

Lee has been “seriously turning” for about the last four years, and devotes 20 to 30 hours a week in his shop if no golf opportunities exist. (Ed note: isn’t retirement wonderful!)

Lee has attended several turning classes at Craft Supplies USA’s excellent workshops in Provo, Utah, so he’ll bring that learning to us. He has also been an exhibitor at the Monmouth Festival of the Arts (you may have seen his work featured in the Asbury Park Press’ coverage of the event).

Lee, with his wife Mary, also operate their studio “Dreamworks Design” from their home. The studio features Lee’s turnings and Mary’s beaded jewelry.

Lee also is a turning instructor, teaching out of his shop in Lincroft. Classes will be announced here as they are scheduled (part of the proceeds of his classes will be donated to the Central Jersey Woodworkers Assn. (see class notice later here).

Lee has shown some of his work at our Show & Tell, so we already know it’s really good, so come on out Tuesday, January 10…you won’t be disappointed!

The 2005 Woodworkers Show

This year’s woodworking show was held December 16-18 at the NJ Expo Center in Edison. The club participated as we have done in past years.

A couple of observations about this years show:

There appeared to be fewer vendors than in the past. In fact, there were no wood sellers at all.

There seemed to be a lower attendance than past years. Perhaps it was due to the show’s date being so close to the holidays??? We did, however, have a fair number of visitors to our booth, so maybe we’ll get some new members.

There were very few club members participating. Again, maybe it was the show date just before Christmas. Thanks to all who did help!

If we continue to participate, and I think we should, since it is a good opportunity for new members, we need more people to help out.

Another Wood Show

“The WoodWorks Show” will appear the weekend of January 6-8, 2006, at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset, NJ. This is the same place as the Woodworkers Show used to be held.

This show seems to be turner friendly, as there will be a turning class: “Deep Hollow Natural Edge Turning” by Harry Memelink on Saturday and Sunday. Also, their website: www.woodworksevents.com features turning on their home page, has continuous turning demos, and lists NJ Turners as on of its exhibitors.

We’ll check the show out and see if this might be a good venue to participate.

Classified Section

The newsletter now has a classified section for buying/selling of wood working or turning related items.

Nothing for sale this month.

Wood of the Month

This month’s wood is Koa, specifically Curly Koa, a wood shown by Lee Alexander at a recent meeting show & tell, and described by me son as a fantastically beautiful (and very expensive) wood he saw on his honeymoon in Hawaii. Turning wood is hard to find, but is readily available in veneer form, as it is mostly used for fine ukuleles. As far as I know, the wood is only grown in Hawaii: trees grown at lower elevations usually produce straight grained wood, and those at higher elevations show greater figuring and attractive markings.

Color: light to dark brown with a golden luster and sometimes darker streaks

Grain: fine textured, with either straight and tight grain, or highly curly and figured, sometimes both occurring in the same piece of wood

Uses: used to be used for dugout canoes, but now primarily used for musical instruments due to its fine resonant qualities and attractive grain. It’s also used in fine furniture and turnings and carvings

Workability: usually comparable to teak, turning well

Finishing: sands well, takes a high luster, and glues well

Safety: This wood has no specific safety concerns; however, the usual safety issues associated with turning should be followed, such as dust management and respiratory protection

Scientific name: acacia koa

Growing range: all Hawaiian islands

Other names: koa-ka, Hawaiian mahogany

References: “A guide to Useful Woods of the World” edited by Flynn, et al, and various internet sources.

All members are invited to share in this column.

Local (and not so local) News

The Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA, is closed until February 2006. There are no scheduled events listed on their website. When events are listed, I’ll let you know.

There is no information yet about the 2006 Turning and Carving Fair to be held in Tylersport, Pa. Last years’ fair was great, with world class demonstrators. As soon as information is received, it will be published.

Bowl Turning instruction offered.

The Central Jersey Woodworkers Assn (CJWA) is offering a half day bowl turning class on January 21 (Saturday) from noon to 6 PM . Class size is limited to the first six who register (and pay)

The instructor is Lee Alexander and the location is his shop in Lincroft, NJ.

Cost is $75.00, which includes all materials such as wood, sanding and finishing supplies, etc. Part of the course fee will be donated to CJWA.

Details of the class will be offered at our next meeting, or you can contact Lee at 732.741.0156 or by e-mail: leealex@comcast.net

American Association of Woodworkers

As a Reminder: Our local club is actually a chapter of the AAW. All members should also be members of the AAW. Their dues are $40 per year which includes their magazine “American Woodturner” four times a year. Some of our club benefits are an insurance policy which is fully funded by the AAW, and a source of activities and information about turning worldwide.

If membership is submitted or renewed by January 14, you will receive a free DVD “Sharpening by the Experts” published by the AAW.

Also, the AAW has revised its grant program: instead of twice a year submissions, submissions will only be accepted once a year. All applications for grants in 2006 must be submitted by January 14. Grants may be submitted individually by AAW members or by AAW chartered local clubs. For details on AAW grants, see their website: www.woodturner.org.

The Program Committee

The new program committee is up and running, and has some of our meeting programs set for this year. Remember, if you have any suggestions for a demonstration, instruction, or anything else, let the committee know.

The Program Committee

Mark Anderson 732.477.0156

Ed Aras 732.741.5940

Buren Gilpin 732.223.9861

Russell Bertlesen 732.367.2862

Walt Rissmeyer 732.364.0707

Notes from the Editor

We need everyone’s input and participation to make the club be better and grow:

Showcase your work (even the mistakes help)
Demonstrate at our meetings (everyone has something to offer)
Research and/or write an article for the newsletter
Suggest programs, demos, topics of interest for us all to benefit
Attend our meetings (aside to Bob, your presence is missed).

New book of interest…

“Complete Illustrated Guide to Turning” by Richard Raffan, published by Taunton Press in 2005. List price is $39.95, but available on Amazon for considerably less.

This hardcover book covers all techniques for turning, including bowls, vessels, and spindle work. It’s presented in step-by-step format with plenty of illustrations.

Richard Raffan is an internationally acclaimed turner and instructor from Canberra, Australia. He has previously written “Turning Wood”, “Turning Projects”, “Turning Boxes”, and “Turning Bowls”, all by Taunton Press.

(Reminder…Amazon usually ships free for orders over $25 and there’s no tax

The Website

Our website: www.atlanticshorewoodturners.com now has a members’ photo gallery. To submit photos or your work, contact Tom for specifics by e-mail at twjones@bigfoot.com or bring them to a meeting on disk.

Meeting Specifics

Meetings are the second Tuesday of each month except for July and August. They are held at the little pre-school building, which is located at the corner of County Line Rd. and Ridge Ave, Lakewood, NJ.

Meeting Directions

Directions: From Route 9, go east on County Line Rd for 2 ½ miles. You will see two large church complexes; Holy Family is the second complex. From the Garden State Parkway, get of at Exit 91 and continue on Lanes Mill Rd for 7/10 mile. Follow Lanes Mill Rd as it turns right for 1.2 miles. Bear right onto East County Line Rd and turn into the church complex.