Vice President's Message
Fifty Year Member of BAWA? Could that be coming?
With the events of our July Meeting, or rather events surrounding our July meeting I got thinking about BAWA the Club and what it means to various members.
First our President had an unusual bicycle accident that got him into a hospital and some surgery and then much-needed physical therapy and should be Chairing meetings soon. His non-scheduled mishap brings out the issue of short term reasons folks cannot attend our regular meetings. That and vacations and family events do happen. Luckily for Frank he did NOT loose any fingers which means he has a good chance of revitalizing his woodworking activities when his condition improves enough for him to return to his shop.
Then Jim Voos a long-time member was scheduled to attend his last meeting with BAWA, but he texted at the last minute that there was a death in the family and he couldn't make it. The reason it would be his last meeting with us is that he is MOVING too far away (near Paso Robles) to make meetings (he said he might pay a visit now and then). This happens - people move for all sorts of reasons. Such things also bring new members and many have shown up lately as they are just retiring and either wanting to be active in their shop or setting one up again after some years of being hectic at work and not (not knot) having time. Statistics show Americans move a lot. I recall one member John Schmidt who was a very loyal member and he moved East of Stockton and he was so passionate about woodworking he couldn't find a club there so he started one (Tuolumne Woodworkers) and continued to attend BAWA semi-regularly with Craig Mineweaser (a 4-term former President of BAWA). Maybe Jim Voos, like John, will find another club or start one in his new area mid-coast.
Then former regular-attender and Show-N-Tell presenter Paul Reif showed up at the July meeting to make a pitch for buying his tools. He is having health issues but definitely continuing his lathe turning but he has decided to give up many of his major tools (table saw, jointer, planer, multi-router, sander, etc). This is good for the buyers to be able to buy lightly used tools before they become aged, rusty and out of date. So Paul would be an example of someone for whom the Club met some needs for 15 years or so.
I can't think of any examples but I suspect that membership in the club extends over more than one spouse for some members! In the case of Peter Wronsky the Club was actually listed in his obituary as a place to donate in lieu of flowers and as some of you remember we held a Memorial Lecture using contributed memorial funds - that lecture was just over a year ago. We had the recent passing of Bob Berryman who was a very long time member who basically passed away with his membership 'active'. He had won one of the awards at the BAWA Show. Bob was also active with Peninsula Woodworkers so for him the woodworking clubs were important to him for I suspect the last half of his life - well BAWA is approaching 35 years in existence so I am stretching a few years to say half of his 80 plus years.
Somewhat related to Club membership is College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Program in Ft. Bragg. I finally was able to take a Summer class there this past May from Yeung Chan (graduate of that Program and now a Summer School instructor) and what amazed me was that all kinds of former students JUST WALK IN during class. I calculated that only about 500 people have graduated from that program (plus Summer School students who exceed that number) and that makes all graduates a rare commodity - like a club or fraternity of people with a focused interest in woodworking. The first two days of class I kept thinking these visitors must have made arrangements to visit; but when it continued every day I finally realized this is how it goes!
So, not sure how long it will be before we have our first 50 year member of BAWA but it is proving to be a great Club which offers something to people into woodworking for various periods of time as I have illustrated with stories of folks I have met though my tenure with BAWA. With out new relationship with Face Book's shop hopefully we can have some meaningful seminars in that setting to help let the club morph as we move from 35 years and head toward half a century. Don't forget to welcome Frank back with the August or September meeting.
Frank update:
I had got to the age where I was expecting that I would start slowing down due to the normal process of aging. Instead I fall off my bike and break my neck - the kind of injury you associate with a teenager or 20 year old. However I am pleased to let you know that in spite of breaking two of my neck bones and having a steel plate tying my top four vertebra to my skull I am progressing remarkably well. I am walking 2-3 miles a day; my right arm is getting close to normal strength and functionality, my left arm is still lacking a bit of strength but seems to be rapidly catching up with the right. I am not able to drive, or ride a bike, until my neck brace comes off, hopefully in October, but a few days ago I was able to go to the workshop for the first time and do some light sanding, shellacing, drilling and edge gluing some veneer panels together.
When I first asked the surgeon about my injury while I was still out of it he told me that most people who break the first 2 vertebra are usually dead by that time. So I am remarkable lucky - focused on getting back to my woodwork and enjoying life.
Thanks for all your good wishes.
Frank
The meeting was called to order by Vice President Jay Perrine at 7:05 PM in the absence of President Frank Ramsay who is recuperating from an injury and could not attend. There was a short discussion of Frank's present situation and all offered good wishes for a speedy recovery.
Announcements:
Stan Booker is out of town and so there will be no raffle or door prizes.
Paul Reif announced that he has tools for sale including a Powermatic table saw, an 8 inch Delta jointer, a 15 inch Makita planer, a 16 inch Performax sander, a router table, and a multirouter. The equipment is in Kensington.
Mike Cooper announced that a friend wants to have a doghouse built as a commission. If anyone is interested, contact Mike for further info.
Arnie Champagne announced that he wants to sell his power tools and will list them on our website soon.
Visitors:
Ben Kimes from San Carlos attended. He has done woodworking since he was 8 years old.
Dan from Brisbane attended and is a new woodworker.
Shop essential Jigs and fixtures
John Blackmore
John Blackmore started the formal presentation on jigs and fixtures by going through a bibliography he has written describing the best jigs and fixtures that have appeared in Fine Woodworking Magazine. The document can be found at: BibliographyJigs&Fixtures
In summary, the items are divided into 8 categories: Table saw jigs, Drill press jigs, Band saw jigs, Planer jigs, Handheld router jigs, Router table jigs, Hand tool jigs, and Bending jigs. Under each heading John showed the way each jig is built and how to employ it. Please refer to the bibliography and the original references therein for further details.
Annual members Jigs & Fixtures demonstrations
The first presentation was of the model sailboat "Friendship" by a member who is a member of the San Francisco Model Boat Club whose name I missed. If you would kindly identify yourself to me, we will correct these minutes. The construction took him 3 months working about 3 hours per day. The hull is made of planks 3/16 inch thick, which were bent to shape after being soaked in boiling water and bent over a form. The hull is Philippine mahogany and the bulkheads are plywood. The keel consists of 2 sheets of 1/4 inch thick copper. The boat is glued with epoxy purchased from TAP Plastics.
Tom Gaston showed a marquetry end table with a beautiful fish on it that he made for a friend. It had a shiny varnish finish because the friends are careless with their drinks.
Following this, several members presented examples of jigs they have built:
Bruce Powell- 10 special purpose jigs to construct triangular shaped occasional tables;
John Blackmore-a drill press auxiliary table, a table saw tenoning jig that runs along the rip fence, and a table saw crosscut jig;
Claude Godcharles-a router jig for trimming edge banding with a trim router based on Yeung Chan's design;
Frank Taylor-a tapering jig for a planer which is used to bevel the tops of deck handrails and a table saw jig for cutting wedges that are to be used to hold concrete forms in place.
Yeung Chan-Yeung gave a presentation of some the jigs described in his book, "Classic Joints with Power Tools", which has a chapter dedicated to jigs and fixtures. He first described a circle-cutting jig for the router, which must be made of good quality, stable material. He then described a straight edge jig for the router that would be used to cut grooves and dadoes. He then showed an unusual jig for turning straight or tapered cylindrical pieces using a router rather than a lathe. The piece is held in place by metal pins and turned by a small drill motor while the router slides back and forth on a carriage above. Finally, he showed a fixture for cutting leg tenons on Ming Dynasty style tables. These legs are set at a 2-degree compound angle to the top so both router and leg need to be held in the correct relationship during the cut.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm
Stephen Rosenblums Newsletter Editor steve@rosenblums.us