In Memoriam

We received some very sad news yesterday. Long time member, Peter Wronsky has passed away after an extended battle with lymphoma, a particularly nasty disease. Peter had retired just a couple years ago from teaching woodshop, and he spent his spare time in his basement shop making a variety of things, including cabinetry, etc. for others. I first got to know Peter when I attended one of the Toy Making Workshops there. Peter was a soft spoken, well-mannered, very likable fellow. He was very knowledgeable about woodworking and he willingly shared his good ideas with all of us at BAWA. A couple years ago Peter organized a group of us to remove and harvest the wood from the pews of a church in his area. It became known within the club as "Holy Oak", and we used it to make many things. In addition to holding Toy Workshops at his shop, in 2003 he served as our Secretary, and this past year as our Vice President. Peter never complained about his illness! In August he went to Washington to have a bone marrow transplant and we were rooting for his recovery, but it just wasn't to be. All of us are deeply saddened by his passing. Peter, we will miss you, but we know your spirit is still with us!

It's a New Year

Now that you've made all your holiday gifts and given them away, and you've gotten a bunch of new tools as gifts, you need to put them into your workshop somewhere. So it's the beginning of a New Year and time for a fresh start! This is a good time to step back and take a long hard look at where you are at in your pursuit of woodworking. Do you want to make some changes in the woodworking you do or how you do it? Well, first evaluate your woodworking skills. Maybe it's time to sign up for a class to learn how to turn, or to really learn how to sharpen, or.... Check out places we've listed on our website and elsewhere in this issue. You can now get instruction in just about any aspect of woodworking -- and often from members of our own club.

Next, check out your tools. Take an inventory, and see if you need to add some specialized tools to help you work better. While you're examining them, take the time to clean the pitch off and sharpen the cutting edges. Remove all the rust, then coat the metal surfaces with Camellia Oil (avail. at Japan Woodworker --- see resources section of our Website) or other preservative to prevent rust.

Now is also a good time to tune up your power tools. Do preventative maintenance on your stationary power tools, and check the brushes on the motors of all tools. Clean out all the old packed-in sawdust and adjust belts, check alignments, etc. A good book that covers the basics of this for your stationary tools is Care and Repair of Shop Machines by John White (Taunton Press, '02.)

Take a hard look at your workspace. Is it as efficient as you want? Do you need to rearrange some equipment? Is it time to put some on wheels? Is it an enjoyable space to work in? Do you need a window or a skylight? Build a cardboard mockup of the window and position it so you can imagine where the light would come in and what view you'd have. Also, if you haven't done it yet, now is a good time to add a dust collection system to keep things cleaner and protect your lungs! While you're at it, check your other safety equipment too, and replace worn out pieces. Maybe you need to make some new, customized push sticks or hold-downs. Or maybe it's time to build a sharpening center where your grinding wheels, sharpening stones, tool holding jigs, etc. are all in one place. There are many plans in the woodworking magazines for these kinds of things.

Finally, how about making or buying new storage cabinets, boxes or devices so you can put things away and cut down on the clutter? If you build custom storage places for your hand tools inside these new cabinets, those newly sharpened edges will stay sharp longer!

If you're a new member to BAWA, welcome -- you'll find out a lot of new information about woodworking from us in the coming year. If you're an old hand here, don't forget to renew your membership -- and to share with us your thoughts on woodworking in ?05.

Happy New Year!