Show and Tell

Henry Yun

July is the traditional month that members of the Guild exchange tips and ideas; and this year was no different than past years. This year we had eleven members present ideas as small has needle holders to full size power boat.

John Petrovic, as we all know, is a collector of antique tools and show & tell night is no different. John started the evening by showing us a broad axe he had found and described how is made a custom handle and leather guard. The leather guards were made from heavy duty leather work belts, cut glued and riveted to form a pocket which covers the tool edge. One belt can make a number of guards depending upon the length of the tool edge.

Jerry Davis helped his son with a school project by making two model telephones, one a wall mounted crank operated telephone and the other a desk set with a separate ear piece. The telephones were very realistic and gave Jerry an opportunity to try his hand at turning. Don’Äôt know what grade Jerry's son got, but Jerry was given an 'A' for his efforts.

Ed Davis, Jerry's son, is entering the Navy soon and wanted to build a case to protect his guitar while he is at sea. Ed wanted a sturdy case, and he seem to have achieve that goal, building the case with a 'two-by' framework. The guitar will be well protected, but a bit heavy; but he is a strong young man. Ed, good luck with your Navy career.

Beau Lowerr always has thought solutions to his problems. Being able to mill stock to the same thickness was a problem as it was difficult to transfer thickness measurements accurately to the thickness planer. His solution was to mount a dial indicator to his thickness planer, which allows Beau to accurately set the cut. Beau's system can be used on any planer, it's just necessary to attach a suitable dial indicator to a fixed portion of the planer.

Tom Fisherkeller showed us a hollowing tool which had a torque arm which absorb the twisting forces impart to the tool when hollowing bowls. Not being a turner, I could not full appreciate all the benefits, but I am sure the turners in the Guild would.

Jerry Tackes showed us a number of hand tools he had made, particularly a handle which he uses to hold needles. Jerry also suggested that when space is a problem, go to the ceiling.

Bill Drumel described the trials and tribulations of working with 1/4 inch plywood. Bill could not avoid splintering with his standard tablesaw insert, so he set about making a 'zero clearance' insert. His unique approach to making the insert was leveling it in his saw with chalk. After milling the insert to size, Bill set the insert in his saw on a bed of chalk and held it down with some 'two-by' material until the chalk dried. Note: Bill said to drill a hole into the insert before setting it in chalk. He didn't on the first one and had a heck of time getting it out of his saw.

Ron Hinderman took the commercial approach, show us a number of things which make shop life easier and more pleasant. Of particular interest was an electrical controller sold by Sear. This controller allow a shop Vac and another tool to be connected and controlled by the tool. When the tool is first turned on, the Vac is started before the tool starts. The opposite occurs when the tool is turned off; tool stop and then the Vac stops. This allows the user to hold and control the tool with both hands while controlling both the tool and Vac.

Joe Mantsch showed how he made a wooden puzzle by gluing nine pieces of wood together and still allows the top and bottom to turn, revealing a secret inner compartment. The puzzle required measuring a number of angles and gluing the parts carefully. The result is an interesting, and a bit mysterious, wooden puzzle.

Dave Gillis is both a photographer and a woodworker, and he combines his two interests by making frames for the pictures he takes. In addition to making frames for his pictures, Dave cuts his own mats. To cut mats accurately, Dave made a mat cutter from some scrap wood, steel and plastic. The mat cutter holds the mat at the proper position and provides a straightedge for the cutter blade to follow.

Mark Bonkalla brought his boat, not a model boat, but a full size boat. This beautiful boat is definitely a labor of love, as Mark has over 800 personal hours in making this boat. His family also have contributed hundreds of hours to the project. Mark's advise on projects of this size is to continually work at a small pace. A few days each week and never stop for long periods. Many projects of this size are not finished because stopping for long periods makes starting again so much more difficult. Great job Mark; it is a beautiful boat.?