April 2003

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Craig opened the meeting by announcing that there were technical problems with what was needed for the presentations and that we would start with Officers' reports and Announcements.

Reports

Toy Workshop-Harold Patterson reported that he hopes to hold a toy workshop in April. Stay tuned for the word.

Rebuilding Together-Bill Henzel reported that Sat. April 26 will be "Rebuilding Together," project. Our assigned location and the type of work we will do to be announced. He described Rebuilding Together as a worthwhile project where someone's home, a public meeting place, a church or whatever will be repaired and renovated all in one day by scores of woodworkers, painters, plumbers etc ants all working on top of each other. (No queen bee or ant though.) BAWA has been involved somewhere between 12 and 15 years. It is a fun experience for all skill levels and you get to work together with others. There were several "testimonials" by members as to how satisfying it really was. At the end of the day with the project totally finished, participants will be hosted to a barbeque and given t-shirts for their efforts. NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP! Contact Bill Henzel at 650/349-3062 or at wjh@gene.com.

Programs-Jay Perrine announced some up and coming programs: April, annual box contest and John Levine of Woodwork Magazine will be the presenter. July, Ron Hock will present at Japan Woodworker. August, may be at Woodcraft.

Webmaster-Craig showed some of the photos of members' work which is now in the electronic version of the newsletter/web site and he commended Jamie Buxton for expanding the club's web site.

Librarian-Mike Cooper announced that he has copies of the library contents and the library is open for business.

Announcements

  • Mark Rand reported that if you enter a phone number in the computer search engine, Google, it will show the owner of that number and by clicking on the map icon shows where that person lives. Handy if you are visiting a fellow BAWA member...Could this be some of John Ashcroft's doing?
  • Gene Wagg is back after a brief illness but his brother, Don is seriously ill. We wish him a prompt recovery.
  • Arnie Champagne announced that there is one opening left in his dovetail class for the 24-25 of March (now past) but has other openings in future classes. See his listings in the Classifieds.
  • Craig mentioned that Makita is recalling certain orbit sanders where the pad can break apart. They are model nos. B05000 and B05001. However if the letters PUR appear on the pad, they are not part of the recall. They were sold from April 1992 through last month. Take them to a factory Makita service center or call 800/462-5482 for a free repair. Nick Korens announced that Skill has recalled the drill/driver called "Warrior" due to a defect in the charger. Warriors? Chargers? Is this a gladiator contest?
  • Craig also mentioned that Michael Cullen our recent presenter is featured in the current issue of Woodworker West. He also mentioned that Roger Heitzman, another former presenter won the box contest recently in Seattle.

Tech Talk

Jeremy Ashley gave a knowledgible and thorough presentation on the work of Charles Rennie Macintosh. Jeremy, himself, had studied at the Glascow of Art, where Macintosh had been a student and then an architect of one of the main school buildings. For twenty years he worked as an artist and designer in the Glascow area even though he was better known outside Scotland.

Macintosh was an architect/designer rather than a furniture maker. His drawings were sketches rather than detailed construction drawings. Like Frank Lloyd Wright he not only designed buildings but everything that went into them, to the last detail. Aesthetics were of utmost importance. Sometimes what he designed was not usable; his chairs tended to be uncomfortable. Small squares and rectangles were common motifs. His work is now out of copyright so it can be copied.

Main Presentation

Ejler Hjorth-Westh, our main presenter, was born and raised in Denmark where he spent several years working for his older brother. He came to the U.S. on a 6 week vacation and never returned. So as not to forget Denmark his brother sent him a pair of bright blue inscribed overalls which Ejler wears to this day.

He began with a 9 month apprenticeship as a boat builder in Gualala. Married and starting a home, he dabbled in woodworking to build necessities around the house. In 1990-1992 he studied at the School of Fine Woodworking in Fort Bragg and has been a woodworker ever since near Elk, CA. He has recently been hired to fill Jim Krenov's "slot," not his "shoes" at the School of Fine Woodworking.

Eljer used the term "the joy of woodworking" repeatedly as his focus, a large part being the joy in the process of tuning and using hand tools. He feels an overemphasis on power tools can get in the way of this process. He talked about wood being a timeless resource that has spanned many ages.

He spoke of the "joy of woodworking" sometimes being the "agony of woodworking" and referred to his initial difficulty in finding a market and dealing successfully with clients. Ejler works in a guild of 10 woodworkers who help each other market their work. He emphasized the importance of quality photographs to represent your craft and to use as a reference for future clients. He unveiled what he considers his best piece, an arm chair out of a set of 8 arm chairs and 7 side chairs in Swiss Pear. (www.mendocinofurniture.com) Eljer described the process of starting with drawings to eliminate poor design features and explore joinery options. He then builds a full size mock up and makes samples of the joints which then provide him with jigs he will use for the actual chair joinery. When asked he said he averaged about 90 hours per chair including the design process. One chair alone with design would have taken about 300 hours!

He went on to show us slides of other pieces he has made. He commented that as he becomes more experienced he uses less tools, makes less noise and dust and enjoys the process more and more.

He finished by stating his goals. To make his career sustainable to the point of being able to turn down work, negotiate on an equal basis with confidence with the client, be booked two years in advance with no hard deadlines. His parting comment, "Old wood workers don't die, they just get better!" We wish him good fortune. An inspiring presentation!

Another great meeting ended with the winners of the Silent Auction items. Wenge from ? to Lloyd Ledyard. From Peter Wronsky: sanding belts to Don Naples and router to Arnie Champagne. From Richard Winslow: router table and belt sander to Larry Hoffman, 1700 rpm motor to Jay Perrine and Teak cut off pieces free to all. From Linda Salter: Cherry and Maple pieces free to all.