Newsletter
February 2010
Newsletter
February 2010
February Meeting
Is Tuesday!
February 9th
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 February
meeting
The President’s Message
The Woodworking show is just a few weeks away. For members
who've never
been to the show before, try to attend if you can. This is a great show, with
lots and lots of vendors selling woodworking tools and
supplies. Unfortunately, Craft Supplies - typically the largest woodturning
vendor at the show - won't be there this year. However, there are still plenty
of other reasons to attend. There are lots of great demonstrations and shows.
Check the schedule to see if there is anything you're interested in, and
schedule your attendance accordingly.
Our club is there to promote woodturning, and hopefully, to get some new
members. We'll have 3 lathes going; two for general turning, and one for
teaching people to make pens. Come prepared to get dirty, because the wood
chips will be flying! Consider this like an Open Turning session. Ideally, we'd
like to see newer members doing the turning, while the more experienced members
watch over their shoulders, and teach them new tricks and techniques.
This year, our booth will be on the left wall, in booth #116. We're
right next to the Hudson Valley Turners, and pretty close to two big wood
suppliers: Lakeshore Hardwoods and "Loggin'
Lumber with Wood Mizer". Hopefully, they'll toss
some wood in our direction! If you want to see where we'll
be, check out the floorplan online:
http://cms.thewoodworkingshows.com/cms/Home/SomersetNJ219221/tabid/92/Default.aspx.
LEARN TO TURN: In the past, Craft Supplies had 3 lathes set up at their
booth, and they encouraged people to try their hand at turning pens. Since they
won't be there, they've asked if we'll do this for them, instead. They are
providing us with pen kits and blanks, and have asked us to work with show
attendees who are interested. Of course, they get to keep the pen when
they're done. It's a great way to introduce people
to woodturning. We're doing this in conjunction with
the New Jersey
Woodturners, who will have 6 lathes set up (2 of which will be for
turning pens). They're in booth 521, if you want to see where they'll be
located.
I hope to see you all there. It's a great experience, and well worth the trip.
And if you have never turned a pen before, here's your chance!
Tom
January Highlights
Because we had a
short business session, we had plenty of time for both show and tell and the
monthly challenge, which was “holiday ornaments”. All told we had the best participation ever,
with 22 people combined showing their work.
An interesting fact arose: many
of the pieces shown were made from wood supplied by Ron Hughes…Thanks Ron! Here’s an example of the great work shown:
“Snowmen” turned by Ron Hughes
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 a
sign up list at the February meeting. We
are limited to 36 entrance tickets (12 for each day), so please sign up for
each day you plan to work in our booth.
I will have the
tickets at the meeting. However…I’ll
have some tickets on me at the show, so if you later decide to work at the
show, call me on my cell: 732.267.4732
when you arrive. Because of the new
limits, please only “take ‘em if you’ll use ‘em”
We now have two
display cabinets (locking) so bring your smaller pieces for display at our
booth. The more good work the show-goers
see, the more they’ll stop at our booth.
Also, plan to turn because shavings and moving things attract visitors!
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).
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.
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.
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 Tylersport Turning & Carving Fair will be held March 5-7. The 9th annual Tylersport Woodcarving and Turning Fair is being held at the Tylersport Fire House, Pa Route 563, Tylersport, Pa. (3.2 miles south of Rte 309).This is a wonderful show that's reasonably close to us, and well worth the trip. Show hours: 10am - 5pm Fri and Sat, 10am - 4pm Sunday.
2010 AAW National Symposium will be the weekend of June 18th to 20th 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 Grant. Our club has submitted for grant money to get video/photo equipment for teaching
purposes, demonstrations, and the website gallery. We should know if we are successful sometime
in March… good luck to us!
The Monmouth Festival of the Arts will be held this year on April 17-21. This is an annual art show held at the Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls. The festival has in the past and will again feature several members from our club.
The Utah Woodturning Symposium will be held this year on May 6-8 at the Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City).
Kurt Hertzog full day Saturday Demo will be on June 12 in John’s garage/
shop. The exact demo subject(s) are still to be set, but you can be sure it
will be well worth it. Kurt is a
professional woodturner who enjoys the entire continuum of woodturning from
making his own turning tools to photographing his finished turnings. He has
intentionally kept his turnings diverse in an effort to keep exploring the
craft and the medium. As frequent demonstrator
and instructor on many facets of woodturning, he particularly enjoys
teaching tool sharpening, work holding, and advanced pen making. For further information, visit his website
at: www.kurthertzog.com/ The member cost has
not yet been set, but it will be about what it has been in the past.
Upcoming Meetings
March: Sal Straniero will demonstrate turning pepper grinders. Check out this picture from his gallery page, for examples of his work.
April: Barry Gross, world class pen turner and author, will be demonstrating pen making and finishing techniques.
May: Next Show & Tell. Other activity still to be determined.
Wood of the Month
Ambrosia Maple
by Ron Hughes
Most wood turners refer to this wood as if it were a new species. The ambrosia beetle has been known to attack over 100 different species of trees and shrubs.
The female beetle bores a tooth pick size hole into the sapwood of both hard and softwoods which sometimes reaches the heartwood. The beetle does not consume wood when she excavates the path or tunnel. At this time she introduces two types of fungus to the wood. The first grows on the walls of the tunnel and is consumed by the beetle for nourishment. This wall fungus is called Ambrosia and the name has expanded to include the word beetle. The second is a staining fungus. When introduced to the wood, causes greenish-gray or bluish-black staining around the pinholes.
The Box Elder is also a maple. When attacked by the ambrosia beetle it will cause red streaking and the tooth pick size tunnels.
For the last forty years that I have cut trees in central New Jersey, I see this beetle damage mostly in maples and more so in the red maple. I have also seen it in Beech.
I’ve been turning for about 6 years and red maple has become my favorite wood. It has so much to offer and can be highly figured. Curly maple is the broad term for tiger stripe, fiddle back, quilted and flame. These all fall under the category of “figured maple”. I feel that the ambrosia beetle damage is just an added bonus to an already wonderful wood.
Demonstrators
We are currently in the process of lining up outside demonstrators for future in-meeting and/or full day events. The possibilities include:
Mark St Ledger
Dennis Fugue
Ted Sokolowski
If anyone has suggestions for demo subjects or for a particular demonstrator, please let us know. Also, if any member feels a burning desire to demonstrate at a meeting, let us know as well.
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. To avoid insurance issues, this will be available only to AAW members. 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. To avoid insurance issues, this will be available only to AAW members. What about it? Let us know.
Charity/Outreach effort: Our first effort, the Freedom Pen project for troops, was a wonderful success, as we had the best participation (and fun) for any event so far. So…how can we continue this? Maybe something to raise money for Haiti or make products that can be used in Haiti. So come on boys and girls, let us know what you think. REALLY. (So far, we only hear silence when asking about these kinds of things).
More equipment for our lathes: We could use (1) a chuck for each lathe, (2) more tool rests, (3) maybe a hollowing tool, since our members always ask about hollowing, and (4) what else? We will check with our treasurer to see if there are funds for some or all of this.
Does anyone have any tools to donate???
A New Lathe? A couple of our lathes are getting weary and either need work or replacement. How can we do this?
Library Items: We will most likely have a budget line for library materials, so put in your request to our librarian, Ishmael.
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:
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.
