Mark's Musings
Mark Bronkalla
Logfest
Logfest preparations are well under way. We have approximately two dozen
logs. Through the efforts of Bill Smeaton, Ron Hinderman and others, the logs
were found and transported (no easy task). Bill is a new member. It is great
to see someone new jump in and provide so much help as well as a high capacity
dump trailer. Logs and pre-sawn lumber are already at George Henderson’s
place. George is hosting the event. On September 7th we sawed up a number
of logs. It was brutally hot, but we got to participate in the milling and
selection process and marvel at the beautiful boards as they came off the
logs. Lots of 5/4 lumber was cut including some of the biggest clear ash
planks many of us will ever see. There is also 8/4 and 12/4 stock of some
species for bowls and spindles. Most of the slab wood went to the helpers,
whether it was for scroll saw projects (you need to see Bill’s walnut pheasant
scene), turning, cooking (hickory and cherry were in demand) or simply firewood.
Special thanks goes to Interstate Tree for donating a number of nice logs
and loading them into Bill’s trailer.
Help and volunteers:
We need more volunteers to help run the guild. There is a lot of work
that goes into getting the meetings together and providing the activities
that we all enjoy. Whether it is a regular occurrence (e.g. meeting set-up),
committee membership, or being on the “when you need extra help” lists to
help out just a few times a year, we need more volunteers.
Current needs include: (1) Meeting table and chair set-up (2) Meeting sound
system set-up and tear down (3) Program committee (General and Logfest) and
(4) Meeting and workshop (reporters) writers for the RIPSAW.
New Directors Needed:
Si Farmer will be retiring as Publications Director (Editor). He chairs
the Publications Committee. Don Berger will be retiring from his position
Exhibit Director. Each has given many years of service. Replacements for both
of them are needed. The committee chairs are the true “ring leaders” of the
guild. They are the ones that keep our group going and see that the work
gets done.
Quilt Stands:
The quilt stand project for the Gees Bend exhibit at the Milwaukee Art
Museum was a success. Over two dozen miniature quilt stands were made. There
was a great variety to the designs with virtually no two alike.
Veneering Workshop:
Bill Hull is returning for another veneering workshop. Bill is a great
instructor and his workshops are a lot of fun. The hall tables that you have
seen at some of the meetings (both the demi-lune and rectangular pieces) were
started at these workshops. This one will cover a radial matched burl piece
(suitable for a table top, jewelry box or small chest or ???) with a mariner’s
star / compass star in the middle. Bill is sending slides of examples, which
we will have at the October meeting. If you are wondering what a mariner’s
star looks like, see: http://premierinlays.com/wood_floor_medallions.htm
for some examples.
In the shop:
With business travel and vacation, I had little shop time this month.
At the last minute (Monday night) I remembered I had also promised to make
2 of the quilt stands. I was doing exactly what I tell my children not to
do - waiting until the last minute for a project. Given the tight schedule,
alcohol dyes and shellac would be used for the finish. With two nights to
make the finished stands, I was pushing things a bit. The first task was to
select the wood and turn the spindles. There was no time for glue-up of blanks.
Fortunately, I had some pieces of Ash, Cherry and Walnut thick enough for
spindles, but only enough for 2 of each species. No spares! There was also
no extra length to speak of. Given my modest turning skills I figured I would
tackle this part first and see if I would have to fall back to sawn uprights.
The plan was to make a pleasing spindle and then attempt to replicate
it. Rather than draw out an arbitrary pattern and try to replicate it twice,
this has lower risk. The Ash spindles turned out fine. A reasonably close
match was made and the pieces were finished on the lathe. I only ended up
with one vertical spatter line of shellac on me from applying it too freely.
The walnut was next. There was a small knot, which looked like it would
be in the waste area. As I turned it down, the knot grew larger, longer and
more crooked than it looked at first and actually went through the center
of the spindle (actually now two spindle pieces). With the walnut now being
firewood, I was down to the two pieces of cherry. I really love turning cherry.
The spindles where slimmer and more graceful than the ash (a mixture of practice
and finer grain structure). I went to bed that night thinking everything
would be fine. Two sets of finished spindles (the hard part I thought) out
of the way.
The next night I cut out the ovals for the bases. This was not a perfect
‘geometric oval’ but one drawn with the help of a large French Curve. They
were band sawn, and sanded smooth. Both pieces were dyed to match the spindles.
Red Mahogany for the Cherry and Golden Oak for the Ash. The cherry showed
a weird splotching. I then scraped off the top and refinished. The scraped
surface took the dye evenly. To save time, I decided to spray the shellac
on. As I sprayed on the second coat of shellac, it made this weird pattern,
of lumps - kind of the opposite of fish eyes. It did not flow out well at
all. Apparently there was some contamination of either the gun or the sanding
belt (I had not changed it to save even more time). In retrospect, the belt
is the likely suspect as it had been also used for some metal finishing and
there may have been some contamination. The gun was a possibility as well,
but the last thing I had sprayed was a 2-part polyurethane (Imron) and it
must be cleaned out perfectly or it becomes a permanent addition to the gun.
Shellac old or contaminated? Maybe. I threw it out and made a fresh batch.
Shaking the flakes makes them dissolve pretty quickly. I also had some left
in the squeeze bottle that was used on the spindles to use while the flakes
were dissolving.
The ruined finish meant I had to scrape off the finish on both pieces.
The cherry refused to dry very quickly so it had a quick and careful trip
to the microwave for heating. This caused some bleed back from the pores,
which also had to be scraped off. Both pieces were dyed again and this time
the shellac was padded on. To build the finish quickly, mineral oil was applied
to the pad as is done for French Polishing. The mineral oil (just a few drops
at a time) reduces the friction of the pad and minimizes pulling the finish
off of the piece. The finish built up quickly and was then sanded smooth (320,
400 grit) and buffed with maroon abrasive pads. A couple of coats of wax
to rebuild the luster was all that was needed after that.
Now I had spindles and bases that were not easily clamped. The spindles
had pointed ends. As you may have guessed, epoxy was used to glue in the
spindles, as it does not require any significant clamping pressure. In the
morning, everything still looked good for delivery at the meeting Wednesday
night and they joined the rest of the stands for the Milwaukee Art Museum
presentation.
Board Briefs
Jeffrey M. Nebel
President:
Mark Bronkalla circulated a list of videotapes to be reviewed for keeping
or disposal to make additional room in the library. He will make a renewed
plea for help as he sees the same faces getting overloaded with Guild duties.
Mark will bring keys for the new locks to the next board meeting.
Vice-president:
Dick Yezek reported only one sign-up for the Plane Restoration Workshop,
so Walt will hold the session at his house. There are also five sign-ups for
the bandsaw workshop.
Secretary:
Minutes of the August 14 board meeting were accepted as written. Jeff Nebel
reported that Rural Insurance has been contacted to change the records of
our meeting and property storage from Washington Park to the UCC church.
Treasurer:
Liz Rohde reported the treasury balance at $4,716.02 on 9/11/03. She will
investigate what the December rent will be since there is no meeting that
month. Also, she recently checked with Mykonos restaurant and everything
is still on track for the holiday party.
Programs/Workshops:
Ken Bahr reported the Milwaukee Art Museum will donate free admission slips
to Guild members donating quilt stands. He has also received feedback that
some ladies would like to purchase quilt stands of similar design. The costs
for Logfest now appear to be about $1K. Admission will be $5.00 per member.
An auctioneer has not yet been located. Some food will be available for purchase
on the grounds or members can bring their own. The basic fee for the Bill
Hull workshop was set at $225.00. There may be an additional charge for attendees
wishing to purchase more costly material.
Exhibits:
Don Berger reported he has not received a date for the next Milwaukee Woodworking
Show. He also reported he will not return as Exhibit Director for next year.
Publications:
Si Farmer reported the last issue of the R.I.P.S.A.W. had numerous errors
and omissions due to lack of communication and going to press too soon. Webmaster
Brian Halligan can set up the website to automatically send reminders if articles
are not submitted on time. New trifolds will be prepared to reflect the change
of meeting site. Si requested a videotape be made of the Bill Hull workshop
for sale to those who cannot attend. Mark said his son would be interested
in making the tape. Liz also reported Membership Chairman Mary Anderson will
include a membership form with the next newsletter. It will have a check
off box for members willing or wanting to receive the newsletter by email.
New Business:
he next board meeting will be Thursday, October 9th, at 7:00p.m. at the
same location.
Program
Ken Bahr
OCTOBER Speaker– MARK DUGINSKE
Mark is an accomplished woodworker. He is featured on the front cover of
the Workshop Book. He is the author of the band saw book. And he is well known
as the inventor of the “cool blocks” used on many band saws. But his interest
in creating tools for use in woodworking seems to be greater than his interest
in using the tools. One of his recent patents is behind the top-rated Woodhaven
miter gauge discussed in Fine Woodworking 165, page 74-79, October 2003 (the
current issue). He has an advanced sharpening system that creates a “back
bevel” resulting in the ability to plane Birdseye maple in multiple directions.
He is the inventor and founder of the company producing the Fast Track guides.
And he has several other patents.
Marks presentation will have two major parts. He will demonstrate several
of his newer devices. And he will describe how anyone can make money from
his or her own ideas and inventions. There will be time for questions and
answers.
November 23, 2003 (Sunday)
Bandsaw Box Workshop at Woodcraft 1725 S. 108th St. West Allis. Time is
from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Presenters are Ron Hinderman and Don Berger.
A glued up block that is square and true, 5-1/2”wide by 6”high by 11” long
is required to bring with you. It should be a quality piece of hardwood with
no defects.
Signup and additional details at the September meeting. A sample box will
be on display at the meeting. Any questions, talk to Ron or Don. $45.00 fee.
(For members only)
EVENTS
Milwaukee Art Museum – Saturday, October 4, 2003 at 2:00 p.m.
Michael S. Podmaniczky is senior furniture conservator at the Winterthur
Museum in Delaware and curator of The Incredible Elastic Chairs of Samuel
Gragg, an exhibition on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum through October 19.
Podmaniczky will speak in the Museums Lubar Auditorium about the life and
work of Samuel Graag, a chair-maker who received a patent from the U.S. Government
in 1808 for his “Elastic Chair” design. Gragg combined steam-bent wood and
unusual joinery techniques to create an innovative chair design that predated
widespread use of steam bending by nearly 50 years. Podmaniczky will demonstrate
Graggs chair-making techniques and give guided tours of the exhibition. This
event is free with general Museum admission.
LOG FEST
The Log Fest will be October 11, 2003 at George Henderson’s place in Union
Groove. See Ripsaw flyer for more details and directions.
LOCATION: George Hendersons house
3201 N. Briton Rd. Union Grove WI 262-514-3632
See attached maps.
COST: $5.00 per member (family) to defray costs.
CUTTING TIME: Starting at 8:00 a.m. AUCTION TIME: Starting at 2:00 p.m.
LUNCH DEALS: From 1:00 pm until 2:00 pm Restaurants are in the area, but
are about 20 minutes away (each direction) or bring your own lunch. Some refreshments
will be available at nominal cost provided by the guild.
WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING: Logs will be cut starting at 8:00. There are six
logs to be cut. This is for educational experience, showing how logs are cut
with a bandsaw mill, why and how different cuts are achieved, how the wood
cuts look different and why the value changes. Flat sawn and quarter sawn
will be demonstrated. Explanations will be made and questions answered during
(or between) cutting.
WHAT TYPE OF WOOD IS AVAILABLE: Both red and white oak, several ash, hickory,
elm (including one red elm) a soft maple, and a white cedar.
WHAT YOU CAN BUY: High quality lumber in widths and cuts that are not usually
available thru the local hardwood places. Several boards will be wider than
16 inches. Quarter sawn lumber will also be available in limited quantities.
WHAT TO DO WITH IT: Lots of information on drying is available thru many
resources. Some are the web (http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for55/for55.htm
is a good 8 page detailed explanation), the WWG library, and fellow guild
members that have experience.
CUSTOM CUTTING: Due to time constraints, any custom cutting cannot be done
on that Saturday. Cutting can be arranged at a different time by contacting
Ken Bahr.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS:
FROM MILWAUKEE: Head south to I-894 and take I-894 to HWY 36 (Loomis Rd.).
Take Hwy 36 SW about 8.7 mi. to Hwy 45. Take Hwy 45 S about 7.5 mi. to Bennett
Rd. Go W about 1 mi. to Britton Rd. (end of Bennett). Turn right to Georges
(about a block).
FROM WAUKESHA: Take Hwy 45 S (about 4.5 mi from I-94) to Hwy 36. Take Hwy
36 SW to Hwy 45. Take Hwy 45 S about 7.5 mi. to Bennett Rd. Go W about 1 mi.
to Britton Rd. (end of Bennett). Turn right to Georges (about a block).
FROM WEST (Delafield, etc.) Take Hwy 83 S about 21 mi S of I94 to Hwy 20.
Turn E on 20, go 8.5 mi to Britton Rd. Go N on Britton 1.2 Mi. to Georges.
OTHER DETAILS: Mapquest.com gives a good map and driving instructions.
BAND SAW BOX WORKSHOP
Sunday,November 23, 11:00 AM to 5 PM
This workshop for up to 12 members will be held at the Woodcraft Store,
1725 South 108th St. West Allis, WI. Three bandsaws will be available. The
cost is $45. per person. A block of laminated wood, 10 3/4" long, 6 1/8" high
and 4 3/8 to 4 7/8" thick will be required of each person. The thickness dimension
is not critical. This block will be used to make the box. The block can be
made of one kind of wood or a variety of woods.
Hardwood is recommended.The boards used should have smooth faces to
accomplish a tight fit when glued together. Ordinary white wood glue has been
used successfully. Prepare the block well in advance of the workshop date
to assure a fine well- built piece. Also bring a piece of contrasting color
hardwood,3/4"x3" wide by 6" long to make the drawer handles. Sandpaper will
be supplied.
This box-making technique is described in a book: BUILDING BEAUTIFUL
BOXES WITH YOUR BANDSAW by Lois Keener Ventura (Popular Woodworking Books)
Copywright 2000. Ron Hinderman and Don Berger will conduct the Workshop.
Reflections
Woods of the World
Dick Butula
The program for our Guild meeting in September provided a topic dear to
the heart of all woodworkers, the material we all use, WOOD. Tim Fenner
has been working for Boehm-Madisen Lumber Company for 24 years. They have
been primarily a wholesale firm and receive approximately $100,000 worth
of imported hardwoods each day. 
Before starting a project, there are two ways to approach it. You either
have a really nice looking piece of wood and you decide what to make with
it, or you have a given project and you need to decide what wood to use to
make it.
Just deciding the type of wood you want to use can lead to other decisions
because there are so many different textures and variety of colors within
a given species. In Red Oak alone, there are three different divisions and
each has a specific texture, color and pricing. The differences come from
where they are grown. It depends on the conditions in which they grow: the
altitude, available rain, mineral content of the soil, and length of the summer,
all play a part in the final material. Fenner passed around four samples
of quarter-sawn red oak to show some of these differences.
Cherry is another type of wood with different colors and textures. Cherry
from Wisconsin has more sap pockets than cherry from Pennsylvania. If a millwork
company needs to make 3,000 feet of crown molding, they do not want to have
any imperfections. They would want the Pennsylvania cherry. If a smaller
project needed shorter pieces, the Wisconsin cherry may be a less expensive
alternative.
When lumber only cost 80 cents per foot, you didn't worry about wasting
small pieces. But now if an eight-foot red oak board costs $40, we try to
use every last inch. Because of this, the numbers of short cutoffs of lumber
for woodworking projects are becoming less available. Due to the high cost
of wood, pieces of scrap that used to be two to three feet long now are only
several inches long.
Customers will ask for a load of birch. But they do not realize that there
are different varieties such as red, sap, white or yellow birch. The type
of birch selected should depend on the project. If the figuration of the
wood is important, one type should be selected. If length is important, another
type may work better.
If a project will involve a fair amount of gluing, the moisture content
is very important. When originally built a piece might have a moisture content
of 17%. When it air dries to the ambient level of say10% the piece may split,
twist or turn on you. Companies that do a lot of gluing will specify no more
than 10.5% moisture content in the wood they buy.
Lumber mills have been primarily family operations. In his travels Fenner
has found that this is the same all around the world. The way that the logs
are cut can produce different products. Logs may be cut by circular saws,
band saws or gang saws. It is all called quarter cut (1/4") lumber. It might
be 4/4", 5/4" etc. If a 5/4 board has been cut with a band saw, when it is
finished (planed) you will not get a 15/16" board. If that board had been
cut with a circular saw, the finished product would be 15/15".
When using alder as a less expensive alternative cherry, users should
realize that they do not work well together. Cherry turns darker as it ages
while alder becomes lighter. Not knowing this, one of Fanners customers
built a cabinet with the face frame out of alder and the doors out of cherry.
To their surprise, as the cabinet aged, the face frames were getting lighter
and the doors were getting darker.
Another example of color change in woods occurred when Fanners company supplied
some of the materials being used to build Scotty Pippins boat. The cabins
were being made out of Makore (African Cherry). They first called and said
that the wood was too light. He told them to put it out in the sun to let
it get darker. The next week they called and said the wood was too dark.
He told them to put out another batch and keep a tarp next to the wood and
when it turned to the right color to cover it with the tarp. It turned out
just the way they wanted it.
To show the effect of woods changing color, Fenner showed a piece of purple
heart that had one side that had been planed over a month previously, and
another side that was much older. The older side was much darker. To retain
the color of this or any other bright colored wood a UV protective coating
should be applied.
One of the questions asked was if there is any book that addresses the subject
of wood color changes. Fenner was not aware of any but suggested searching
the Internet.
Due to the high cost of domestic lumber, more lumber is being imported.
But with environmental concerns as they are world wide, many countries are
limiting the amount of specific types of trees that can be harvested. In
the United States there is more reforestation being done. Fenner said that
Wisconsin is probably the leader of the states in this progress. In Wisconsin
alone there is 70 percent more tree mass today than there was in 1950. Of
these trees there are 180 percent more quality wood trees than in 1950.
Someone asked about the rarest of woods. Fenner had a piece called Pink
Ivory. It is only harvested one tree at a time by the tribe that owns the
forest. This one tree is cut down when they get a new chief of the tribe.
(Now that's rare).
Although his company started out as a large quantity wholesale supplier,
they are now selling retail in smaller amounts. They have woods from South
America, Africa, and virtually from all over the world. The company also
stocks highly figured woods but does not publish a price list because of the
rapidly changing market. If you need the purchased wood to be finished, they
do have all the tools to finish to whatever you may need.
TOYS TOYS TOYS
Ron Hinderman
Come on, all you woodworking people! Come and get the nice free wood that’s
been given to the Guild for making toys for kids. In addition, I have a good
assortment of wheels, 3/4 - 2-1/2”, available. So, please drive over to my
home and pick up some nice wood and wheels. Let’s get started on these toy
projects. We have only three (3) months to finish them.
We are in need of many new dolls and new teddy bears. If you can’t donate
some, ask some of your friends to do so. We need them for the cradles that
are being built.
Thank you kindly
Ron Hinderman, Toy Chairman
Raffle Column
Alan Clapp
John Mueller, David Schramke, Walt Hadcock and Mark Bronkalla were all winners
in the August raffle. David also was the winner of the wood sample kit donated
by Tim Fenner our guest speaker from Boehm-Madisen last month.
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware has donated a router table fence for the
October 1 raffle. A 4 1/2" FastTrak bandsaw resaw guide, a CMT Blade-Loc
table saw blade-changing tool, a table saw basics video and a raised panel
video will also be awarded.
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware is located at
845 North Mayfair Road Milwaukee, WI 774-1882.
2003 Year-End Raffle Column
Alan Clapp
The year-end raffle prize is a Black & Decker 16” Variable Speed
Scroll Saw. This is the low vibration BT4000 complete with up-front power
and speed controls, a large cast iron table, and adjustable blower. This model
offers tool-less blade change of both pin and plain blades. A dozen blades
are included with the saw. Tickets are $5 each and will be available during
the October and November Guild meetings as well as the holiday party in December.
Access to Meeting Site
Update
One may now exit from Highway 41/45 at Capitol Drive. However, one cannot
get on to Capitol Drive going south as you approach from the east. 84th Street
has been rebuilt and is now accessible.
Guild Gift
The Guild had a couple of tablecloths from many, many years ago that were
showing some signs of aging. The Board asked Larry Jornt to find a nice home
for them inasmuch as we no longer had any use for them. They were donated
to Luther Haven, a Wisconsin Lutheran Retirement Community. We received an
appreciative thank-you note from them informing us that they would be used
for their deli lunch.
CLASSIFIED
For Sale
Dust Collector, Small Cyclone Type, with 1 hp Dayton Model 4C108 Blower
with controls. $350 (new price)
Dale Lagerman