Newsletter
January 2010
Newsletter
January 2010
January Meeting
Is Tuesday!
7:30 PM. Start
Meetings are held
at the small pre-school building on the corner of County Line Road & Ridge
Avenue
Social hour starts @ 7:00
Things you need to know about the January
meeting
Newsletter Changes
Starting now, the
newsletter will be published monthly, with a deadline of the Friday before the
next meeting (how’s this one for getting it out right at the last
minute?). To shorten the business
section of our meetings, the newsletter will contain the kinds of items which
are just “information you should know” such as upcoming events, the Woodworking
Show stuff, future meeting agendas, etc.
Having said that, if
there are any questions, suggestions, ideas or anything else you have, still
bring them up at our meeting, or contact the editor (me) or any officer.
Also, if you have
anything to contribute: wood, stuff for
sale, things you need, anything of interest (like Ron Hughes’ wood info), send
it to me & I’ll include it in the newsletter.
Beginning this
issue, there will be a President’s Column.
Thanks, Tom. This is another way
we can shorten the business part of the meeting and still keep you in the know.
The President’s Message
Welcome to the new year!
2010 brings a lot of change to the ASWT. To start with, effective with this
issue of our newsletter, we will be introducing a new President's Column, where
the president of the club gets to say whatever's on his mind. I want to point
out that this was John Puckhaber's idea, not mine.
But I do think it's a good one, and I am going along with it willingly.
For this first column, I can't think of a better first topic than to thank our
previous club president, Mark Anderson, and former treasurer, Buren Gilpin, for
all their wonderful efforts and hard work over the years. Mark and Buren have
held those positions since before I became a member, and I have a hard time
imagining anyone else doing these jobs, or doing a better job than they have. I
think I speak for all the other members when I extend my thanks to them, and
commend them for doing such a great job.
By now, you should know that I am the new club president, Ismael
Tuazon is the new vice-president, Stan Liebowitz is the new treasurer, and luckily, John Puckhaber will continue to be our secretary.
We, the new board, are determined to make this the best year ever for our club.
We plan to pay attention to the opinions of our members, and do what they've
told us they want from our club. We plan to introduce some important changes,
which we hope will make our meetings better, more enjoyable, and much more
effective.
First, we will keep the business portion of our meetings to 30 minutes or less.
In the past, we've had a habit of rambling on and on, rehashing the same things
from meeting to meeting. I've seen the bored looks on the faces of those
sitting in the audience. We (the officers) don't enjoy these long sessions any
more than you do. So, starting with this month's meeting, this is going to
stop!
We will establish an agenda, and stick to it. John has promised to put out a
real newsletter, every month, which will deliver the information that we normally
would talk about in the business sessions. We will only talk about things that
require feedback from you. If discussions start to go on for
too long, we will table the discussions and deal with them offline. This
will often mean setting up sub-committees to investigate, and report back to
the club during regular meetings. This will require some of you to step up and
be part of these committees. It's not fair to expect the officers to do it all!
Second, it will require the officers to make some decisions
on behalf of the club, rather than constantly asking you what you want.
Examples of this include decisions related to meeting content, demonstrators,
and some of the nitty-gritty details related to participation in events, such
as the Woodworking Show. These are the type of topics that have prolonged the
business sessions in the past, and the type of changes that will be needed if
we're going to speed them up.
Shorter business sessions will mean two things: the meetings will be able to
end sooner, and we should be able to get more done at each meeting. I hope you approve
of these changes!
Next, I want to extend a giant thank you to everyone who helped out at our
December meeting. The boy scouts (and their leaders) were thrilled with the pen
making sessions, and the pride they felt is evident in the pictures of them
with their pens. But this can not overshadow the wonderful work done by the
rest of the members in the back room. The new cabinet is AMAZING, and the room
looks 100% better! Make sure you check them out when you're at the next
meeting!
Upcoming Events
The Woodworking Show will be held this season the weekend of February 19th to the
22nd, 2010 at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset. We will again participate, so there will be
sign up lists at both the January and February meetings.
An important change!
This year, member
admission will be by ticket only! Each
club will get only 36 tickets, and each ticket will be for one day’s
admission. I’m hoping to have them at
the meeting, but for sure, they’ll be here for the Feb meeting. For you, this means “take ‘em if you’ll use ‘em”
Three noteworthy
things to think about: (1) Craft
Supplies USA will not be at the show, so we can’t purchase anything from them
at the show.
(2) There will be a
“Showoff” contest open to any attendee (us too) with a grand prize of a Delta Unisaw. For details,
go to the show’s website at: http://cms.thewoodworkingshows.com
(3) We now have two
display cabinets so bring your smaller pieces for display at your booth. The more good work the showgoers
see, the more they’ll stop at our booth.
Also, plan to turn because shavings and moving things attract visitors!
(4) We have been asked by Craft Supplies to host
(along with other turning clubs) an introduction to pen turning. We will supply the lathe & turning tools,
but Craft Supplies will give us the pen supplies and a mandrel. We‘ll also need members to actually do the
demos (in our booth).
(5) We need to be sure we have people to both set
up Friday morning & pack up at show’s end.
If you can do this, Please put it on the sign-up sheet.
(6) Once again, the Show organizers are
attempting to have “strolling seminars” and we are committed to do at least one
in order to participate in the show at all.
They should be about 15 minutes each one or two times a day. Ours will be “Pen Turning” and “Introduction
to Turning.” Let’s see if this actually
happens.
(7) Despite earlier information, commercial
activities are prohibited!
Totally Turning 2010 Symposium will be held in Saratoga Springs, NY on the weekend of March 27th & 28th, 2010. This symposium will be a part of “Showcase” which is a very large and excellent woodworking symposium. Attendees will have full access to both Totally Turning and Showcase. There will be World class demonstrators there, including David Ellsworth, Kurt Herzog, and Jean-Francois Escoulen. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.totallyturning.com
2010 AAW National Symposium will be the weekend of June 18th to 20th, 2010 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. Details such as the demonstrator list and the topics for special interest night are not yet set, but will be posted on the AAW website at: http://woodturner.org/ If you are thinking of attending, Register early and even earlier for hotel reservations, as close-by rooms disappear quickly.
AAW EOG Grants The
2010 Educational Opportunity Grant (EOG) application submission period has
begun, and will run through January 15. Time Is Short! This is open only to AAW members, so if you
are, go for it! The details are on the
AAW website. Our club and some of its
individual members have been very successful in getting grants, so hopefully,
history will repeat itself. The club may
this year attempt to get video/photo equipment for demonstrations, the website
gallery, and teaching purposes.
Demonstrators
We are currently in the process of lining up outside demonstrators for 2010. The possibilities include:
Mark St Ledger
Kurt Herzog
Dennis Fugue
Ted Sokolowski
We will try to have two demonstrations this spring; they will be held on an all-day Saturday format. They’ll tentatively be held again in my shop and we’ll let you all know about the ‘modest’ cost.
An added note: The DVD of Bill Grumbine’s demo for our club is finished. Copies are available for $10.00 for the two disc set…see Tom.
Things to think about
AAW membership: Our club is, in reality, a local chapter of the AAW. While AAW membership is not mandatory for non officers of the club, it is highly encouraged, as it provides a lot of benefits for you. Read all about them at the AAW website: http://woodturner.org/
HOW (hands on workshops): These one-day, limited attendance, small fee, member-expert hosted workshops have proven quite valuable and popular at other clubs, and could really provide new skills for us. What do you think? Let us know.
Mentoring program: look around us at the meeting…some of us are getting greyer (not all), so we should think about getting newer, younger folks interested in turning. What about it? Let us know.
The Website
For those of you who haven’t recently visited, take a new look! The calendar is right up to date with all sorts of interesting things, and the members’ gallery is chock full of great photos of OUR work. The site is continually getting better…thanks Tom. To submit news, calendar items, or photos, contact Tom at:
http://www.atlanticshorewoodturners.com
Members can get the user name and password for the members-only section at a meeting. Reminder, the members only section contains the complete club roster. Check it out and let me know if there are any changes needed.
2010 Dues
Club dues are due for 2010. They will remain at $25, a real bargain! See the Treasurer, Stan Leibowitz.
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
2010 Officers and Contacts
|
President |
Tom Jones |
732.571.9636 |
|
Vice President |
Ishmael Tuazon |
732.792.3806 |
|
Treasurer |
Stan Leibowitz |
732.886.1530 |
|
Librarian |
Ishmael Tuazon |
732.792.3806 |
|
Secretary |
John Puckhaber |
732.349.4275 |
|
Newsletter |
John Puckhaber |
732.349.4275 |
Meeting
Directions
Directions: From Route 9, go east on
complex.