Board Briefs
Jeff M Nebel
Secretary:
Minutes of the January 17th board meeting were accepted as written. The
annual Nonstock Corporation Report and fee were sent to the State of Wisconsin.
The board approved renewal of the Guild’s insurance with Rural Insurance
company. The board also approved renewing the Guild’s Tradename and Trademark
registration with the State of Wisconsin. The book A Guide to Useful Woods
of the World by the Forest Products Society will be offered again to the
Guild membership at the March meeting.
Treasurer:
Liz Rohde reported the treasury as of 2/14/02 was $9,981.40. Ed Goldman
will be asked to audit the 2001 financial books and records. Liz and others
have started some new accounting procedures to make the accounting and auditing
process easier.
Program:
Ken Bahr reported that here was universal agreement that the February program
on Modern Techniques in Boatbuilding was exceptionally well done and an
example of how all programs should be. Ken reported having a plentiful number
of program ideas to pursue. The Board designated Garrett Hack program in
May to be designated the First Annual Randy Johnson Memorial.Lecture.
Workshop: Matt Bohlmann reported the first meeting of the Workshop Committee
will be held this month.
Exhibits
Don Berger reported the Woodworking Show at State Fair Park was a huge
success.
Publications:
Si Farmer reported 2,000 trifolds have been printed and are ready for distribution.
The Publications Committee is working on development of standards for the
Guild’s newsletter. Presently, the three typesetters all have different
computer programs and platforms.
The website is in need of updating. Calendars that were not picked up at
the last Guild meeting will be mailed with the next newsletter.
Registrations:
Mary Anderson has accepted the position of Membership Chairman, replacing
Ellen Davis. Si reported the Guild now stands at 185 members. There are
presently 50 non-renewals from last year. The Woodworking Show resulted
in 13 visitors and several new members.
Publicity
Si recommended Don Berger to take on the duties of Publicity Chairman
because they fit well with what he is already doing as Exhibit Chairman.
Don accepted the challenge and requested each board member to provide him
with the contact information for all local newspapers.
New Business:
There are a number of Woodworking Guilds around the country building cases
for American Flags. Plans are available at www.woodworkersunitedforamerica.org.
Some work is needed to get the Guild’s library back in shape.
Program
March Program
Scroll Sawing
Al Caldiero
First Time Guest are Welcome
The Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild
P.O. Box 137
Milwaukee, WI 53201
March Program
Scroll Sawing
Al Caldiero has been scroll sawing for about five years - a very short
time for the level of skill he has achieved in his artistic rendition of woodworking.
Formerly a welder by trade, he changed professions after seeing a scroll
sawing demonstration. He started as a hobbyist, and quickly progressed to
the skill level he is at today.
Al will discuss how he picks the wood and patterns for his craft. He will
also explain how he modifies patterns and combines some patterns to fit
the size of the wood he is working with. He will also give some marketing
tips, explaining how he started selling his work and where he may be headed
in the near future.
April Program
Demonstration / Seminar
Chair Design and Fabrication
Saturday, April 6
9:00 am - Noon
(Review description in 2002 Calendar)
Sign up at the March Guild Meeting
Michael Doerr has been making chairs and other quality furniture since
1989. This will be a demonstration of fabricating the somewhat unique leg
to chair joint that is both beautifully designed, and exceptionally strong.
Michael will also demonstrate roughing out one of his chair seats, and demonstrate
some time saving techniques by cutting several parts out prior to the lamination
of the seat.
March Program
Wednesday, March 6st, 2002, 6 till 10 PM
Washington Park Senior Center
4420 West Vliet Street, Milwaukee
Guild Calendar
March 6, Wednesday, 6:15 - 9:30 pm
Guild Membership Meeting
Program: Scroll Sawing
Presenter: Al Caldiero
Location: Washington Park Senior Center
Time: 6:15 - 9:30 pm
March 16, Saturday.
Event: Workshop: Sharpening of Planes, Irons, Chisels
Presenters: Walt Hadcock & John Petrovic
Location: WoodCraft
April 5, Friday, 6:15 - 9:30 pm
Guild Membership Meeting
Program: Chair Design and Fabrication
Presenter: Michael Doerr
Location: Washington Park Senior Center
April 6, Saturday
Event: Demonstration Seminar
Topic: Chair Design and Fabrication
Presenter: Michael Doerr
Location: Sylvan Studio
Time: 9 am - Noon
Raffle
Alan Clapp
Joe Cina, Brian Halligan, Larry Jornt, Randall Kopplin, Dave Temple and
Alan Valente were all lucky winners of the February raffle.
The March 6th raffle has been donated by Might-T-Track. Four foot sections
of T-Track with hold down knobs will be given away to two lucky winners.
This T-Track is made of 90% recycled aluminum and is great for building jigs
and fixtures for your shop.
Might-T-Track is a customer focused business in Atlanta offering many T-Track
accessories. Might-T-Track can be reached at 1-888-512-9069, 3250 Oak Cliff
Industrial Street, Atlanta, GA 30350 or via the web: www.ttrackusa.com
Special Features
Book Offer
Jeffrey M. Nebel
The Forest Products Society, Madison, WI, has released the second edition
of A Guide to Useful Woods of the World. This 640-page book now covers 279
species of wood and the trees they come from. Flyers on the book and a sign-up
sheet to purchase will be available at the March 6th Guild meeting.Price
is $39.95 and includes shipping. Also, $5.00 from each book ordered will
be rebated to the Guild. In order to take advantage of this discounted price
offer, the Guild will be making a one-time quantity purchase following the
March 6th meeting.
If you wish to purchase a copy, sign up at the meeting or contact Jeff
Nebel at jnebel@execpc.com.
Catagory 2001 Income/Expenses Report
Income
|
Adman Income
|
337.74
|
|
Donations
|
25.00
|
|
Group Buying Income
|
0.00
|
|
Library Income‘
|
0.00
|
|
Membership Income
|
6,400.00
|
|
Merchandise Income
|
687.00
|
|
Raffle Income
|
877.00
|
|
Refreshment Income
|
502.87
|
|
Sawmill Income
|
0.00
|
|
Toy Program Income
|
36.45
|
|
Workshop Income
|
5,455.00
|
|
Year End Party Income
|
1,900.00
|
|
Year End Raffle Income
|
205.00
|
|
Total Income
|
16,426.06
|
Expenses
|
Administration Expenses
|
1,634.72
|
|
Charitable Donations
|
100.00
|
|
Group Buying Expenses
|
0.00
|
|
Hall Rental
|
2,838.50
|
|
Library Expenses
|
150.00
|
|
Meeting Expenses
|
22.14
|
|
Membership Expenses
|
68.00
|
|
Merchandise Expenses
|
1,049.03
|
|
Newsletter
|
1,257.85
|
|
Postage/Muleteer
|
659.60
|
|
Program Expenses
|
1,312.18
|
|
Publication Expenses
|
183.07
|
|
Raffle Expenses
|
240.13
|
|
Refreshment Expenses
|
180.28
|
|
Sawmill
|
0.00
|
|
Seminar Expense
|
3,337.85
|
|
Shows and Related
|
51.30
|
|
Toy Program Expenses
|
792.93
|
|
Workshop Expenses
|
3,725.47
|
|
Year End Party Expenses
|
1,997.14
|
|
Year End Raffle Expenses
|
276.50
|
|
Others
|
0.00
|
|
Total Expense
|
19,876.69
|
Library News
From the Boardroom
The Board is pleased to announce that we have a new librarian in the person
of Pat Kashmerick. Pat visited us at our last meeting and agreed to become
or librarian. Her role is to make the library completely functional and
give the best service to the entire Guild membership. She cannot do this
alone! She will need to be assisted by Guild Members. If you are willing
to help, please tell her at the March Guild Meeting.
As a Guild, you have a gold-mine of fine books and videos from which to
choose — and we are adding new selections constantly. If we are to serve the
entire membership, then we must all play by the rules. The rules listed below
have been printed in two prior issues of the R.I.P.S.A.W. However, some of
our members have joined since the rules were last published, and are reprinted
here, so that we may all follow them.
1. Only Guild Members who have a membership card, or has his/her
membership name label with name and number on it are eligible to withdraw
items from the library. Pat Kashmerick, our new Guild Librarian, will instruct
you as to the specific procedure to follow in obtaining library items.
2. No more than a total of three (3) items may be currently withdraw from
the library.
3. All items must be returned at the next regularly scheduled membership
meeting.
4. If members do not return library withdrawals at the next meeting, a
reminder will be sent by mail.
5. If members do not return library withdrawals by the second meeting (that's
two months), you name and items that you have taken from the library, and
have not returned, will be published in the Guild's newsletter, the R.I.P.S.A.W.
6. If members do not return library withdrawals by the third meeting (that's
3 months), you will be sent a bill covering all expenses that will be incurred
to obtain a replacement copy of the item(s).
Note! If you are unable to attend the next meeting to return the library
item, call one of your fellow members about taking it to the Guild meeting
for you.
Please follow the above simple guidelines and give your fellow members
an opportunity to get some of their favorite books and videos.
Library Column
Pat Kashmerick
The Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild Library is open again! Please return
any materials you have borrowed. Members are anxious to check out books
and videos and with such a small collection, it is important to keep items
in circulation. You can return and check out items at each Guild meeting.
Also contact Pat Kashmerick at <plkashmer@msn.com> with suggestions
of books & videos to add to the library collection. Include the title,
author, publisher, copyright date, ISBN number and price for each suggestion.
Leigh Jig Tips
Part 2
Dick Yezek
The individual fingers that make up the dovetail template are not polished
at the factory. The template should be absolutely flat so the router doesn’t
“catch” on a nib. Polish top and bottom surfaces of the fingers with 600
emery paper followed by fine 3M pads. Coat the template and router base with
a quality furniture paste wax.
If you can press the middle of the template and see any flex at all, you
have found one reason why a joint fits perfectly on one side but not the
other. Support the template at the same height all the way across with a
board underneath the template. Sink a round head wood screw in the middle
of the board and use the edge of the screw as a clamp on the steel bar, not
the fingers, to keep the template level. Do not drill through any part of
the jig!
By far a D-handle router is best for use on this jig. Besides the convenience
of a trigger in the D-handle, this type router is the easiest to control.
Every router used by the instructor on the finger template was a D-handled
router.
If you decide to buy a new router, buy a D-handle model first and add the
standard base later. As an accessory the D-handle base is more expensive
than a new standard base and it does not include the short cord from the
router to the D-handle.
Bit depth settings are critical. Once set, plan to make all cuts at that
setting at one time.
If you have only one router, you must change cutters at least once to make
a through dovetail test joint. Most hand held routers do not have micrometer
settings so very small depth adjustments are trial and error procedures.
Plan several test cuts every time you change a bit even though you set the
bit’s height using a previously cut test piece.
Most joint problems are the result of cutter changes. The instructor had
multiple routers; he changes bits only when they wear out.
Don’t try to use other than 8° dovetail bits for making through dovetail
tails. The template fingers have been engineered with a matching 8° angle
for making the through dovetail pins. (14° bits can be used for half blind
dovetails which are cut using the straight fingers on all board ends.)
One common 8° Leigh dovetail cutter is.8” long with a diameter of.5” at
the bottom and.275” at the top. A height change of 1/64” (.015625”) translates
to a.0044” change in diameter (ª 4 thousandths) but that.0044” makes the
difference between parts that fit and ones that don’t.
Diameter difference: .5 -.275 =.225
Height divisions by 1/64”: .8 /.015625 = 51.2 (1/64 =.015625)
1 division diameter change:.225 / 51.2 = 4.39453125 X 10-3
Leigh recommends the use of 8 mm. shank bits instead of?” shank bits. The
thicker shank minimizes wobble but you need 8 mm. collets for your routers.
I tried both and the 8 mm. shanks proved to be better than?” shank bits
but other types of router bits with 8 mm. shanks don’t seem to be available
in the United States. Using the smallest dovetail bits with?” shanks will
limit spacing somewhat on very narrow pieces.
All wood must be dimensionally accurate, flat with no twist or cup. Make
sure all parts are exactly the same thickness, including test pieces.
Make sure you set the template at the same scale markings on both ends
and that the scale stops are tight. The instructor used the scales only
as starting point; he had scribe lines on all the scale supports for all
the standard joints.
The template support arms for the mortise and tenon template are much longer
than the standard support arms. When used with the dovetail template, they
allow still greater flexibility but you will need your own scribe lines
on the support arms to set the scales.
Leigh recommends the use of Leigh’s 7/16” router guide bush for most applications.
The nose on this guide bush, i.e., the projection beyond the router base
plate, conforms to the Leigh jig template clearances. Other brand guide bushes
may project too far and track incorrectly in the pin side of the fingers.
I had to grind down Milwaukee 7/16” guide bushes but Porter Cable new ones
fit the template.
You can use guide bushes with diameters larger than 7/16” but the straight
fingers milled on the tail side of the jig are not as deep as those on the
8° pin side. This turns out to be a key limiting factor if a larger guide
bush is used. The center of your bit must clear the rear of your stock for
the tail to be cut correctly. Also, the scale markings will be meaningless
The 90° stops at the front of the jig need to set at 90° with a machinist’s
square to prevent a canted cut but those at the rear of the jig need not
be in line with the front stops. In fact the rear stops can be removed altogether.
This is because you always line up any piece in the rear clamp against its
mating piece already clamped in the front clamps.
Use both sides of the jig at the same time, e.g., make one drawer side
on the left and the other on the right side of the jig. The dovetail layout
on each side need not be identical. This technique must be used for asymmetrical
joints.
The Isoloc and finger joint templates depend on being absolutely centered
between the left and right support arms. The instructor used a micrometer
to do this. These templates should be waxed but not polished as they are
machined by an entirely different process.
Listen to the sounds made during the cutting process. If you hear terrible
high pitched noises, you are hogging out far too much material and probably
causing the bit to deflect slightly as well. Every cut should sound the
same; the idea is to creep up to that final pass.
To minimize tear-out, Leigh advises you start routing with a climb cut.
Climb cuts require a very firm grip on the router, a securely clamped work
piece, and small incremental cuts.
You may be able to “shave” pins that a too tight by reseating the pin board
and re-cutting the pins with the router essentially rotated 90°. This works
because the router shaft is rarely perfectly centered with your base plate.
Expect to shave one side but not the other.
Grooves for drawer bottoms must be the same distance from the bottom edge
on all four pieces. You can cut the groves before you cut the dovetails
but if you make even slight adjustments when cutting the dovetails, the
grooves will not line up. I cut all my grooves after I have test assembled
my drawers.
I’m sure after reading this you are wondering whether the author would
buy a Leigh jig again. My answer is an emphatic: “Yes.” The Leigh jig offers
variable spacing which insures adequate half pins regardless of stock width.
It permits not only asymmetric joints but also angled joints, sliding dovetails
and many other specialized dovetail joints not possible on other jigs. It
also easily handles thin stock which can split easily if a hand chisel slips.
Additionally, you can add the Isoloc or finger joint templates to increase
your jig’s versatility. Even though my Leigh jig is years old I have had
no problems whatsoever in obtaining upgrades or parts for it direct from
the manufacturer. This includes new instruction manuals to match my upgraded
jig.
If you tend to use the same thickness wood for most dovetail projects,
setup time will dramatically decrease, especially if you have scribed witness
marks for the correct settings on the template support arms. Bit height
adjustment can also be speeded up if you saved old test pieces for that
purpose and of course, using two routers instead of one saves time as well.
You are limited in your choice of dovetail bits that can be used with a
Leigh jig. Although you can use 14° dovetail bits for half blind dovetails,
Leigh’s dovetail finger assembly does require 8° dovetail bits for all through
dovetails as the pin side of the assembly is designed for 8° dovetails only.
The “base price” of a 24” Leigh jig is $370 when not on sale. The specialized
Isoloc and finger joint templates are in the $225 to $275 range depending
on the template.
If but a few dovetails are required you can certainly cut them at any angle
and spacing you choose with a hand saw and chisel but hand cutting becomes
tedious when many dovetails are required. If you cut dovetails by hand all
day long you eventually “get the hang of it”, but most of us would probably
cut poor dovetail joints if we had to do all of them by hand. Repair of
the occasional imperfect simple woodworking joint can usually be effected
by gluing in a sacrificial piece and re-cutting the joint; repairing imperfect
dovetails can become a time consuming and frustrating task!
The new Milwaukee 5619 routers (D handle and standard base) use a lead
screw calibrated in 1/64” increments to permit micrometer like adjustments.
The standard base on these routers has a 2?” opening so as to give a clear
view of the cutting process. To use standard 13/16 template guides you must
purchase an optional base.
Classified
For Sale
Shopsmith $600, Radial arm saw $375, Makita sharpener $180, Windsor chair
tools and supplies, 20 Antique Planes incl. Stanley #278 and Stanley # 51.
Lots more! A complete list available at next meeting.
John Douglas
For Sale
Belsaw Thickness Planer and Molding maker, 5 hp motor, 3 new sets of knives.
Also extra knives available. $650.00
Metal Cyclone, small 5 ft, with 2 hp Dayton Model 4C108 B bower with controls
for wood chips pickup. $450.00
Wood: two lots of approximately 600 bd ft per lot. Maple, Ash, Oak. 5 yrs
dry inside. $1.00 bd ft.
Dale Lagerman
For Sale
Seco Dust Collector, 3 hp, four bag, 220 V single phase, high CFM, $225.
Larry Whitstone