Bill Henzel started our August meeting with a call for comments on the revised By-Laws. Tony Fanning asked why the fiscal year had been changed from January to April. Mark Rand explained that since January was the month when members renew their membership, the financial picture is in a state of flux with some members dropping out and others not renewing until February or later. By April, the membership had been stabilized and most dues have been received. No other comments were received. Bill called for a vote. There was a unanimous vote to approve the revised By-Laws.

Next were Announcements with our Raffle and Door Prize Meister, Stan Booker described our door prize goodies which were Gorilla Glue, Bungee cords and drivers for various types of screws. He also had some free books, safety goggles and 2 cans of gel stain donated by Japan Woodworker. He also mentioned that the Spalted Birch and Walnut Burl boards were still short and more raffle tickets have to be sold.

Many tools were brought for Stan to take to Africa. He said that shipping to Africa is extremely expensive so he and his family are hauling them in their baggage. If you have HAND tools to donate contact Stan at sbooker07@alamedanet.net or at 510-522-7879. HE LEAVES ON 9/8.

Arnie Champagne said he is down to 3 classes and many things to sell. See the Classifieds for details.

Robbie Fanning talked about the September 21st Annual BAWA Dinner and Show and Tell at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center in Redwood City. The cost is $20 and she has to know by 9/8 if members and their guests plan to come.

Per Madsen, our Program Director gave a list of meetings planned for the rest of the year. The list can be found under Events.

Stan Booker and Arnie Champagne have things for sale. See the Classifieds. Neal also described the Silent Auction items which were a laminate trimmer donated by Jamie Buxton, 4 pieces of glass donated by Arnie Champagne and a humongous 2-foot long dovetail saw (actually a saw that could cut your house in half easily) donated by Glenn Krueg. See Arnie's last ever classes in the Classifieds.

Bruce Woods talked about the 10/6 to 10/7 from 9 AM-7 PM Woodcraft-San Carlos Open House. There will be 15 or so vendors and we will have a booth with a tent! Some have volunteered to staff the booth but more are needed. Sign up at the September meeting or contact Bruce at 925-443-9052 or mojowoods@comcast.net.

Craig Mineweaser showed a copy of the October 6th Woodwork Magazine (www.woodwork-mag.com). The issue contains much about people we know. The cover story is on Brian Condran's Shop Built Scroll Saw (foot powered). Brian spoke to us last June at the Sawdust Shop, and will be speaking at the September meeting of the Tuolumne River Woodworkers Association. There's also an article by local furniture maker Michael Cullen on "Building a Tool Chest." Michael spoke to us in December, 2003, showing us his furniture and boxes with sculpted surfaces. There is also an interview with BAWA member Yeung Chan, in which he talks about his chairs and table that he's making for the show at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem Mass, starting Oct 28. It's called Inspired by China: Contemporary Furnituremakers Explore Chinese Traditions, and will display "approximately 30 examples of historic Chinese furniture and new works designed by 21 furniture makers from around the world." Yeung showed us these pieces in his talk to BAWA this past May. There will be several west coast makers familiar to BAWA. More about this very special exhibit can be found at http://www.pem.org/homepage/ including information about "Yin Yu Tang," a Quing dynasty merchant's house, originally located in southeastern China that has been painstakingly re-erected at the Museum board-by-board. Also, you can tour this very interesting house at the Museum's website. Also, a well known SF furniture maker, John Grew Sheridan also has an article titled "A Better Sanding Block."

John Schmidt announced that the Tuolumne River Woodworkers Association will have their 14th Annual Woodworkers Exhibit of their members' work between 9/23 and 10/8 12 Noon-4PM daily, closed Mondays, held at the McHenry Museum 1402 I St., Modesto. There will be demonstrations every Sunday. John said that they have had 104 pieces in the past.

Tony Fanning has had trouble using his 14" Powermatic bandsaw. He would welcome any advice. Contact him at tonyfanning@mac.com or 650-323-1183.

A Tech Talk by Bruce Woods on CAD for Woodworkers was next. Bruce is an engineer at Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory who uses Solidworks, a 2D/3D CAD program, every day in his job. He has found it to be very useful in his woodworking pursuits. In fact, he has used this program to design a living room end table for his home. This piece will be his next project.

What is CAD? It is computer aided design. The software enables the user to design and draw in real size, either in two or three dimensions. In three dimensions, the user can construct a full component model and visualize it from different perspectives. In simplest terms, painting is connected colored dots; drawing is the creation of figures such as squares, circles or polygons. CAD on the other hand introduces real world measurement and movement to the diagram.

CAD programs come in a variety of configurations -- 2D or 3D, for Mac or PC, inexpensive to very expensive. Each program has its own unique design philosophy and should be tried before purchased. Most companies offer free trial downloads.

How do I get started? Begin with a 2D sketch to learn the sketch tools in the program. Keep it simple. Design to scale and make use of the layers feature in the program. Layers will enable you to create and visualize the superimposed levels in a structure. For example, imagine a backyard deck. The first layer is the foundation, the second the deck framing, the third the deck itself and the fourth, the built-in benches. 2D tools include routines for making lines, circles and splines. All can be modified, moved, even rotated. Moving to 3D drawing is similar to levels, only you begin by creating components. Components are united to form the whole. Using Solidworks in a PowerPoint presentation, Bruce demonstrated how to construct a table leg and skirt. It sure looked easy. Solidworks can cost upward of $4000, but DesignCAD 3D Max, v. 16 can be purchased for under $200. Asking for a show of hands, Bruce asked how many BAWA members now use CAD software in their woodworking. Roughly 30% seem to use some type of CAD program. Bruce passed out a handout delineating many of the CAD programs available. Bruce prepared a very good outline which is available in our library.

After a refreshing break, we had our featured speaker Bill Palumbo who spoke on Shopbot CNC Machines. Bill introduced himself as a woodworker who started by making wooden boats. Now he is a spokesman for Shopbot. He conducts "Camp Shopbot", an education and workshop demonstration program to show woodworkers how to bring CNC into their workshops. Shopbot's PRT (personal robotic tools) CNC routers start at $6,000 and can go as high as $35,000 depending on size and options chosen. The Shopbot vacuum table uses two Fein vacuum cleaners to create the vacuum. By way of comparison, large commercial CNC installations can cost upwards of $300,000 plus another $35,000 for software. Bill was pleased to hear Bruce Woods talk about CAD. It is the necessary first step in using CNC -- computer numerical controlled machining. CAD creates the computer file that drives the CNC machine. It tells the router where to go. The computer file is the jig to CNC manufacturing. Shopbot was the brain child of a professor at Duke University. He created a basic CNC system for woodworking that has since been upgraded with more than 4000 units sold. Shopbot CNC systems can be found at the Department of Defense, Boeing and Camp David. It is used to manufacture in wood, foam and metal; to make prototypes and finished parts. The machine enables the user to work within tolerances of .002". And, with CNC you don't have to worry about Workman's Compensation issues. Bill showed us many slides in a PowerPoint presentation of products machined on the Shopbot system. Sign makers find the system to be very well adapted to their needs. Another person uses Shopbot to cut the inlays for large rosette inlayed tables. A Minnesota man carves rustic wooden screen doors for vacation cabins from Home Depot plywood sheeting. He sells them for $600 each. A digitizing probe can be mounted on the system to create CAD computer files from photographs. The CNC machine is then used to carve the photographic image into 3D. The image can be magnified without losing detail. The smallest bit available for use with the system is .01". Bill uses the Shopbot to make scarf joints in plywood sheets so that he can create a continuous 13' sheet for boats from shorter 8' sheets. The scarf joint steps are set at .7" wide and .1" deep. One user has even used the Shopbot to carve in the round, creating a replica of the Tower of Pisa. The parts are machined in layers. The parts are superimposed to create the round finished tower. Another uses the machine to carve little foam figures of dolphins, seahorses, and lobsters. The foam figures are coated with epoxy and metallic water based finish called Sculptnouveau. The finished parts appear to be cast in metal. Information can be obtained from Debbi at www.sculptnouveau.com. Bill passed out Shopbot literature to the audience and offered to let interested people visit local Shopbot installations. Information about Bill and Shopbot can find be found on www.baycraftdesigns.com and http://www.shopbottools.com/products.htm

The meeting ended with the Silent Auction results. The laminate trimmer went to Ron Gerrard for $40. The glass went to John Blackmore, Richard Haukom, Mike Roth and Tony Fanning for a measly $1 each. What a bargain! The humongous dovetail saw will probably wind up at the Smithsonian.

As members filed to their vehicles, they were wondering how to break the news at home that the living room is going and a Shopbot system installed.