John's Jaunt

John Johnson

Greetings!
So what do ice boats, pens and popsicle sticks have in common? They were all projects that I was involved with this past month. A few weeks ago, I got a call from a friend of mine who I sail with on Lake Geneva. He also likes to follow the happenings of an ice boating organization and heard about an upcoming gluing party. How many people can you possibly need for gluing? Well, in this case, the more the merrier. We were gluing the sides onto a 60 foot hull for a stern steerer iceboat. Roughly 40 people and 600 clamps later and it was done.
As I mentioned last month I picked up a mini lathe. After a week getting it fixed, I was in business and have successfully turned my first two pens. It is fun for me to be able to complete a project in a short amount of time like this.
So at this point you are probably wondering how the popsicle sticks fit into this. If you may recall, my daughters are in grade school and middle school which means school projects. My oldest, needs to build a building that will be shaken on an earthquake table, but the pieces need to be no longer than two inches. So I made a jig and am now churning out short popsicle sticks! Such fun and she is very appreciative!
The holidays are approaching and I wish all of you the best. I look forward to seeing you at the holiday party!

Happy woodworking!

John

Program

Holiday Party
Wednesday, December 6, 2006,
Meyers Resturant and Bar
4200 S 76th Street
Greenfield, WI

Social hour 5:30 to 6:30 PM
Dinner to follow

Upcoming Events

Januarys’ meeting will be divided into two parts, John Johnson, our president, will speak on the guilds financial status for the past year and where we are headed in 2007. The second portion of the meeting will be conducted by Jerry Tackes, our Secretary, on shop built tools, fixtures and assembly aids.
On Saturday January 20 10:00AM we will tour the Pabst Mansion. Our guide will provide us with the standard tour and will be in a position to allow access to behind the scene areas and even a close-up look at furniture. He is also planning to have available the furniture restorer on site and available to us. This is a guild member only event with no charge to members. Parking is very limited so plan to car pool. Advance signup at the January meeting is required so that the Pabst Mansion can staff can plan to handle our group.
Liz Rohde, our treasurer, will present the February meeting on log homes and their restoration. Liz lives in such a home and has been hard at work restoring it, so there should be plenty of good first hand in information.
The July meeting is our annual show and tell meeting while the December holiday party replaces the meeting. This leaves eight meeting nights for 2007 not covered. No one has stepped forward as program chairman to plan these meetings. As shown above three of your board members have committed themselves for the first two months of next year. If you have a meeting idea or know of a speaker please come forward and sponsor ONE meeting. Surely in a guild of 150 members there are eight members who each could sponsor ONE meeting. Remember this is OUR guild, so let’s share our knowledge.

Board Briefs
Jerry Tackes

Attendees: John Johnson, Dick Yezek, Liz Rohde, Jim Fenske, Jay Pilling, and Jerry Tackes
Treasury: $12,736.87.
There was a discussion on topics and presenters for future guild meetings. Several board members are to contact past speakers to determine availability and interest.
There will be another sharpening workshop in spring. Planning will commence toward a picture matting and framing workshop.
Liz is to invite the current insurance agent to a Jan/Feb board meeting to explain our present coverage and discuss future insurance needs.
The board members agreed to invite as guests the manager/owner and spouses of Rockler and Woodcraft to the holiday party. Our librarian will also be invited as a guild guest.
Respectfully submitted,
Jerry Tackes

Reflections

By

We were pleased to have Will and Viv Schueler of WS Woodmaster in Hartland, WI as our speakers. They provided a slide show of the fine furniture Will made in their workshop. Walt Hadcock had learned of them through the Fine Furniture Show held in Milwaukee this last September at the Midwest Express Center.
Will has been doing woodworking for 40 years, but has only had his Woodworking business for the last 14 years. The table in the picture is one he made and showed at the Fine Furniture Show. The table is composed of at least 600 pieces. Will does commission work. He consults with the person on what they want in a piece of furniture and then he builds it. As you can see in the photos his work is spectacular.
Will does inlay, not veneer, on his pieces. He uses solid wood to do the inlay. The thinnest inlay is 1/8th inch thick, but most solid inlays are 3/8th inch thick. He prides himself on his curved pieces. He uses plywood as a substrate, as he does not feel that MDF is a stable a material. He uses Titebond glue, interior/exterior grade to glue his pieces together. He uses a 24 in drum sander to sand the surface and finishes the work with lacquer. He said that his pieces could get marred and then sanded again and resealed and still retain its original beauty.
The next Fine Furniture show will be held again in Milwaukee on September 29th and 30th, 2007 at the Midwest Express Center. Will and Viv will again have a booth. We thank Will and Viv for their interesting and informative program and welcome them as new members to our guild.

Know Your Fellow Woodworker Featuring Jerry Claussen

Jerry Tackes

Meet Jerry Claussen, a busy retiree, and active woodworker. Jerry has been married to Betty for 49 years and they have four children and 7 grandchildren. Cathy, the oldest daughter lives in San Francisco, Ellen lives in Bellingham Washington and is the recipient of Jerry’s latest grandfather clock creation. Carol lives in Waukesha and David, the youngest, lives in Shorewood. Jerry was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa. After a two year stint in the Navy, Jerry received his Bachelors degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami. Jerry then worked for J. I. Case for 11 years, and moved on to Electro Coating, Inc. where he spent 6 years. Jerry was then sent to run the Milwaukee plant. Now, thoroughly knowing the plating business, he saw the opportunity to start his own business, and with a partner, Hydro-Platters, Inc. was born in 1970. Jerry was the do-it-all manager until he finally retired in 1993.
While Jerry pursues woodworking, fishing, and frequent mall walks, Betty enjoys gardening, home making, and frequent trips to water aerobics at a local pool. Jerry’s woodworking started in middle school with a stool with a woven top---its still around. Shortly after marrying he borrowed a table saw from an uncle to make kitchen cabinets. It just was retired a short time ago----Careful what you loan Jerry! A tour of their home is a testament to Jerry’s furniture making skill. A beautiful grandfather clock is in the living room. A complete office with all build-in cabinets fills one room, and an entire suite is located on the lower level. Their children are also recipients of Jerry’s fine furniture making skills.
The shop is a two car garage, and yet he parks two cars there. This shop is a masterpiece of organization with all major machines on wheels and stored to the sides.
There are two large workbenches located in front of his cars. All, and I mean all, the walls are covered with tools, cabinets, and storage space. The walls and ceiling are insulated. A gas furnace and many lights hang from the ceiling, and in about ten minutes, even on the coldest days, the shop is ready for the next creation.
Jerry especially loves clock making---they are all over their home. Future projects include cherry night stands to go with the bed and dresser he has made for their son and his wife. More clocks are sure to be forthcoming.
On a personal note, I was struck by Jerry’s ingenious approach to solving problems, from the clever use of his garage to the design of furniture and built-ins throughout their home. Fellow members, we have a great resource among us.

Raffle Column

by Alan Clapp