Mark's Musings
Mark Bronkalla
New meeting location
The July meeting was the first in our new location. Overall, it worked out
very well. The hall is nice and the acoustics are quite good. I was standing
in back for a few of the presentations and everything was plainly audible,
a big improvement.
Show and Tell
We had six show and tell presenters. Thank you to everyone who brought in
projects and demonstrations.
Tool swap
The tool swap was a lot of fun. I wish I had been a bit quicker for a few
items! Based on the positive feedback, we will do this more often. The next
one is tentatively scheduled for the February meeting.
Workshops
We are looking for suggestions and instructors for fall and winter workshops.
Contact Ken Bahr if you would like to share your knowledge and experience.
Wood donation
We had a generous “clean out the shop” wood donation from Bud Welch, a friend
of Don Berger’s. I now have a shed full of shorts that are perfect for toy
making and turnings. Don and Ron gathered and did the transportation, drafting
my son David in the process. We’ll have the wood available at some of the
toy workshops this fall as well as Logfest. Apparently Bud is also an accomplished
machinist. David came home raving about the whiskey fired Stirling cycle
engine that Bud had made.
Logfest
It looks like Logfest is a go. We will gather more feedback and volunteers
at the August meeting. How big (and how much fun) this will be is dependent
on the enthusiasm of the group. Since we are “restarting” this event after
a hiatus of several year, we are looking at rebuilding the committees and
features. I hear that we had 150 people at the last one.
In the shop
For me, I often don’t get to do much woodworking in the shop in the summer.
With the beautiful weather we try to get out on the boat as much as possible.
Additionally, the general outdoor projects take precedence.
This past Sunday, I was helping a friend continue building his deck. We had
previously installed the IPE decking with a blind screw system form underneath.
This means that on the top of the deck there are no screws showing. The railings
now needed to be installed. They are built with 4x4 Ipe posts and 2x6 pieces
top cap and use stainless cable in the place of slats. After discussing how
to join and fasten the sections, I suggested making mounting plates to attach
the railings to the posts. The plates (1/8” thick aluminum stock) are screwed
to the tops of the posts. The plates are let into mortises on the bottom
of the railing and fastened with more screws. Joints were to get the plates
on the bottom and a couple of biscuits to help hold them in alignment. Polyurethane
caulking is used as the adhesive. It seems that when we work together on
major project Gary (the friend with the deck) and I take turns figuring out
how to make a simple task more “elegant” (meaning harder, takes longer and
often is more expensive). This was another case of elegance winning over
simplicity.
To shorten the saga:
Rough out design ideas and make verbal material list
Send Gary to hardware store for aluminum stock and screws
Cut stock to length (discovering miscalculation and requiring more stock
than we had)
Show our boys how to drill and countersink the holes in the plates
Start mortising for plates
Redo most of the holes (boys did not check hole depths and did not clean
aluminum from countersink often enough)
Another trip to hardware store for more aluminum and new countersink (it
really is not supposed to glow when countersinking)
Attempt to cut biscuit slots
Fit the pieces together (or re-fit)
And so on (that Ipe sure gets heavy after a while)…
At the end of the day we had the railing on and it looks great. Between the
warm and very humid day and routing the mortises, I was covered head to toe
in Ipe dust. This results an interesting orange to red skin coloration. It
looked like I had applied some “instant tanning” lotion and then quickly
rolled in sawdust.
On the “attempted to cut biscuit slots”. As I started to plunge the biscuit
jointer into the end of one of the pieces. The clamp mechanism holding the
fence together suddenly broke apart. As the fence and the rest of the biscuit
jointer parted company,
the biscuit joiner then veered to the left and up, narrowly missing my left
thumb. It shows again what care must be taken with tools. You need to not
only anticipate what will happen when things go well, but also in case of
failure or kickback (much like never standing behind the blade of the table
saw). This biscuit jointer tends to pull to the left as it is plunged in.
I have made a point of keeping my fingers clear of that side and holding
the fence from the top to keep it in position. Had I let my thumb drape over
the edge of the board, a much more natural position, I am sure that it would
have been chewed up badly.
Board Briefs
Jeffrey M. Nebel
Present:
Ken Bahr, Don Berger, Mark Bronkalla, Si Farmer, Ron Hinderman, Jeff
Nebel, Liz Rohde, Dick Yezek
President:
Mark Bronkalla and several other board members reported receiving all favorable
comments about the new meeting venue. The Guild’s sound system seems complete,
which is a pleasant surprise since none of the board members could recall
an expenditure for replacing the equipment stolen from the bowling alley
a few years ago.
Vice-president:
Dick Yezek distributed a summary sheet for workshops held so far in 2003.
He reported no workshop income or sign-ups in July since there are no workshops
scheduled. Dick will purchase six locks, keyed alike, for all the cabinets
and an appropriate number of spare keys.
Secretary:
Minutes of the May 15th board meeting were approved as written.
Treasurer:
Liz Rohde distributed the latest financial report that showed a balance
of $5,453.07 as of 7/17/03. The guild received several donations at the last
meeting related to the tool swap, toy program and Lutheran College picture
CD. She reiterated her concern about the treasury balance and spending for
the remainder of 2003. The change in meeting venues has already had a positive
influence.
Program/Workshop:
Ken Bahr reported the speaker for the September meeting will be Tim Fenner
of Boehm-Madsen, Waukesha, who will speak on lumber. Ken Rasch has offered
to coordinate the logfest event and there have been several other volunteers
to help. A date needs to be determined so sign-ups can be taken at the next
two meetings. The board identified several logistics that will need to be
addressed: parking, admission charge, rest room facilities, food, beverages,
and an auctioneer. A bandsaw box workshop is tentatively being planned for
late September or October at Woodcraft.
Exhibits:
Don Berger reported the Lutheran College Exhibit was closed out successfully.
He has a few pieces in his possession from members who were on vacation.
Publications:
Si Farmer reported Larry Jornt has two large tablecloths in his possession
that are Guild property and were used years ago for displays at shopping
malls, etc. They are yellowing from age and Larry would like to be relieved
of storing them. The board decided to have them donated to a charity.
Toys:
Ron Hinderman reported receiving a lot of additional wood cutoffs.
New Business:
The next board meeting will be Thursday, August 14th at 7:00p.m. at the same
location.
Program
Ken Bahr
Wednesday, August 6, 2003. ( 6:15 - 9:30 PM
Regular Guild Membership Meeting
Program: Wooden Shoe Making (Klompen).
Presenter: Bob Siegal, Jr.
Location: Faith United Church of Christ, Fellowship Hall
78th & Hope ( see last month’s map)
Bob learned the craft of making wooden shoes in the Netherlands. He will
carve a pair of shoes using traditional tools. Bob will answer questions
and also play a video from his appearance on the Woodwright Show.
He has been featured on P.B.S. TV series, the Woodwright Shop, and in many
major papers as well as in the Fine Woodworking magazine. He has given demonstrations
on Klompen making at international festivals as well as throughout the United
States.
Wednesday, September 3, 2003 ( 6:15 - 9:30 PM)
Regular Guild Membership Meeting
Program: Woods of the World
Presenter: Tim Fenner
Location: Faith United Church of Christ, Fellowship Hall
78th & Hope ( see last month’s map)
Tim has agreed to give a presentation on woods of the world. Tim sells
lumber for Boehm-Madisen, a Waukesha lumber wholesaler. He has traveled around
the world to visit both producers and mills.
Tim will talk about woods of the world, and bring in several samples for
us t o look at. He will talk about which wood available, the best uses for
each type, and what is unique about each. He will also talk about the prices,
sources of supply, and some of the more exotic species. Questions welcome.
WORKSHOPS
Saturday, September 20, 2003 -9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Topic: Hand Plane
Restoration and Tuning.
Presenters: Walt Hadcock and John Petrovic.
Location: Woodcraft. 1725 S. 108th Street. West Allis Fee: $25; Members only
UPCOMING EVENTS
LOG FEST - Ken Rasch has agreed to coordinate the log fest. Plans are underway,
with a tentative date of late September or early October. Volunteers, please
call Ken. Details are being worked on and will be presented at the August
meeting. Stay tuned for this Guild event.
GUILD MEMBER WOORKSHOPS - November will be a be video presentation of members’
workshops. Should be informative and give the rest of us ideas to improve
our own shops. Members, who are willing to offer their shops for filming,
please call Ken Bahr so we can schedule the day for video taping.
UPCOMING WORKSHOP BASICS
Program/Workshop committee is trying to schedule a series of basic workshops
for the members who desire new skills on a more elementary level. We are
trying to have a “getting started” series, and are looking for members who
are willing to share their knowledge with fellow Guild members. Any members
willing to share their knowledge, Please contact Ken Bahr and one of the
committee members will work with you to set up a date.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The guild is your source of information and camaraderie. You get out if
it more than you put into it. Please share your time and skills to help make
the guild even better than it is now. It’s easy and rewarding. Thanks for
any help you can give.
Log Fest 2003
VOLUNTEERS
Please confirm date and location with George Henderson. Go to sight and plan
setup
As of press time we had the following volunteer staff in place. Ken Rasch
is the Coordinator of the Log Fest and he has, so far, the following individuals
willing to help:
- Jay Pilling
- Charles Worzala
- George Henderson
- Ken Bahr.
We need individuals to drive, haul trailers, finesse logs (bull work) and
miscellaneous. other duties.
We need tools such as cant hooks, chains, a generator and a
good metal detector.
We will need to rent a rest room (Port-A-John), and secure an auctioneer.
This is anticipated as a Family Day for members. One should plan to bring
one’s own food food; the Guild may supply some refreshments for a nominal
price.
To cover the basic cost, the Guild has chosen an admission charge of $5.00
per person.
This is how the Log Fest stacks up as press time. More definitive information
will be forthcoming as it becomes available.
Reflections
Show and Tell
Si Farmer
At our last Show n Tell, we had five presenters who showed us nine items
of interest.
Bruce Bogust started off the evening with a couple of fixtures that
makes his work more productive. The first was a fixture that is used in making
dadoes. He draws a dado line and cut a dado. He then fits his fixture into
the slot that he has already cut. This allows him to locate the space for
the next dado to be cut. This fixture is unique for each size router bit,
and therefore he marks as saves each one.
The second item that he displayed was a template for laying out the drilling
of holes for shelves. Although these templates are commercially available,
Bruce makes his cheaper. He chose a strip of aluminum slightly thicker than
the depth of the router bushing and drills holes into it along a line, the
diameter of the holes are equal the router bushing diameter. He then
used a plunge router and drills the holes. He puts tape on the template
to prevent him from drilling too many holes. If the number of holes exceed
the template’s length, he puts a peg into one of the holes, and moves the
template up or down to accommodate the additional length.
Jerry Tackes also demo’d two items, both ‘man made’. He got the plans
for a horizontal mortiser from Shop Notes #16. The clear plans and hardware
kit was $105. It is useful in several area, i.e. mortising the end of a long
board; 
more control of the process, and the ability to fine-tune the process.
At his speed it took about 2-weeks to complete. (For the rest of us one could
replace weeks with months or years.)
Jerry’s second item was a Vacuum Press, the plans for which he obtained
from the internet at joewoodworking.com.
It consisted of vinyl bags, which he made from 40 mil vinyl which he purchased
a marine store, a vacuum pump (or one could use a Venturi pump), gates, regulators,
one-way valves and relief valve. He has used this unit repeatedly and says
it is very useful and strong. This unit cost appreciably less than commercially
available ones.
Ron Hinderman was brief and to the point with a couple of suggestions for
dust collection. The first was to drill 3/8 inch holes in the corners of
the blast gates on the dust collection system so that when one shut the blast
gate, the sawdust would be forced out of the gate.
The second item was a chip picker-up made from a length of sewer pipe.
This makes it easy to pick up larger chips from the floor....and its easier
on the back too.
George Krauspe also had two items, both of them table. The first was a triangle
table. (He made two of these, but just brought one along for the demo.) George
likes to do projects that expands his knowledge and broadens his experience.
To that end, he designed a triangle table. He drew out the full table on
paper which made it possible for him to see the challenges that lay ahead,
make a materials list and also a cutting list. He also made a template for
the tenons from the drawings. George is a fast worker and finished this project
in about one month. The table 
was finished with varnish.
The second table he demo’d was a round one that was veneered. The top was
ebony veneer with a sunburst pattern. It had a decorative edge of oak darkened
with dark mission dye. (He tried vinegar and iron, but instead of getting
black, he got green.). He fabricated the skirt with a vacuum press. It consisted
of six one-half pieces of oak with veneer over it.
George said that the legs were a challenge. He used the taper jig to get
the right slant on them. He was not very well pleased with his effort on
epoxy inlay. In scraping off the excess epoxy, he almost scraped off the
veneer too. On the back legs, he used sliding dovetail joints; on the front
ones, he used the bridal joints.
Walt Hadcock finished off the evening with a ‘low-budget’ item. Walt prefers
elliptical handles on tool rather than round ones. It gives him more torque.
He fashioned the elliptical end and then was faced with the problem of how
he was going to make the other end round to accept the ferrule. He solved
this problem with a jig that held the handle near a router bit. As he turned
the handle, more of the wood was removed, and this was 
continued until the proper diameter of the rounded end was accomplished.
Raffle
Alan Clapp
Manny’s Woodworkers Place has donated the raffle prize for August. Manny
himself participated in the Milwaukee Woodworkers Show this year and donated
woodworking books, a Gladstone marking knife and a Forstner/drill bit extension
tool.
Manny’s web site offers a great woodworking book search
engine to help you easily locate and order books of interest to you.
Manny’s Woodworkers Place, 555 South Broadway, Lexington, KY 40508, 1-800-243-0713
www.mannyswoodbooks.com.
TOYS TOYS TOYS
Ron Hinderman
For the toy program we just acquired a lot of cut offs from a person who
retired from wood working. This includes 25 boxes of assorted kinds of very
nice wood. By all means, take some of these wonderful boxes of wood to make
toys, or other objects that you can make for your kids, spouse, etc. Please
see/call Mark Bronkalla or Ron Hinderman.
Classified
For Sale
Fine Woodworking back issues #1 - #128 selling as a complete package only.
$2.00 per issue delivered to you at the next meeting.
Bentley Clark
For Sale
Dust Collector, Small Cyclone Type, with 1 hp Dayton Model 4C108 Blower
with controls. $350 (new price)
Trailer, 6 X 10, 3500 lb. capacity, UT by Radens, aluminum, wood floor with
sides, $1,000
Wood: Rough, 4/4, 5 year dried, Aromatic Cedar, Oak and 50 bf Hickory. $1
bd ft.
Dale Lagerman