Most members arrived early to survey and begin tasting the desserts brought in by the members for this festive occasion. Soon there was a crowd around the food table. There was a strong suspicion that some people were hoarding treats is hidden paper bags, although this action was never confirmed. Fred Reicher brought a special treat -- wontons of abalone, all legal of course. He claimed to have the supporting paper work. Other delectable foods included a rum cake, a cherry pie, two varieties of chocolate covered cookies/brownies, various cookies, pate, a variety of cheese, shrimp, and more that I cannot remember. Suffice it to say that by the time the meeting began, several members had lapsed into theirs naps.

President Frank Ramsey began the meeting shortly after 6:30pm. Steve Rosenblum introduced himself as a guest at the meeting. By the end of the meeting he was a member since we told him that the snacks were like that at every meeting.

The first order of business was to call for additional nominations to the slate of candidates for the election of club officers. There were none and the motion was made and seconded to elect the proposed officers. The slate of candidates was elected unanimously. The elected officers are as follows:

President: Frank Ramsay

Vice President: Jay Perrine

Secretary: John Blackmore

Treasurer: Mark Rand

Newsletter: Dan Goodman

Program Director: Per Madsen

Membership Director: Neal White

The non elected officers of the club are:

Library: Dan Goodman

Refreshments: Vacant

Toy Workshops: Harold Patterson

Door and Raffle Prizes: Stan Booker

Web Master: Jamie Buxton

Several new officers offered some comments. Neal White, Program Director, suggested the club implement a "bring a friend" program to introduce new people to the club. Mark Rand, the Treasurer, said that annual dues for 2009 are due at the next meeting. An individual membership is $30, a family membership is $35, the same as last year. He loathes slackers, so the best advice is to pay up promptly. Several members indicated they would be interested in paying by PayPal if that opportunity existed. Mark will investigate.

Per Madsen, the Program Director needs help this year filling the program slots. The first four months are filled.

Jan: Kaiser Permanente Cabinet Shop

Feb: Laney College, Wood Technology Dept

Mar Arnie's Bench at Colma Historical Association

Apr: 3-Dimensional Puzzles by George Bosworth

May: Open

June: Visit to Rockler Woodworking in Pleasant Hill

July: Open

Aug: Open

Sep: Organizing Your Woodshop with Jay Perrine

Oct: Hand Planes and Sharpening with Neal White

Nov: Annual Jigs & Fixtures, Box Contest

Dec: Xmas Ornament Contest, Just Desserts

The club will investigate having supplemental programs again this year. The SketchUp class was a hit and Tim Killen will be contact to see if he can hold another. Jay Perrine will check with Rebuilding Together Peninsula to see if we can help them with some of their projects. John Blackmore will investigate the possibility of the club sponsoring its own fine woodworking show, an exhibit of pieces produced by club members. The Tuolumne Rivers Woodworkers have an annual exhibit and John will ask them for their ideas and guidance. We may also try to put together an article for the SF Chronicle.

The next order of business was the Christmas Ornament Contest. We proceeded to tour the entries:

1. Frank Ramsey --- A cherry bird cage constructed using the Yeung Chan jig on a table saw.

2. Mark Rand --- An ornament made of lyptus containing a maple Christmas tree.

3. Dan Goodman --- A replica of the Sutro Tower made of extruded plastic grids and lighted with LEDs.

4. Mark Jones --- A square myrtle burl ornament turned on square lathe.

5. Claude Godcharles --- A turned redwood burl entwined with a copper wire, a mistake that became a feature.

6. Scott Abate --- A wooden box with LED lights powered by a solar cell.

7. Claude Godcharles --- Froe that had the blade tuned up, and a new handle.

A call had to be made to the Woodworkers Supreme Court in Sea Shell Florida regarding the admissibility of the Adze as a ornament. The ruling was that it was not an ornament. It was moved to the Show and Tell section.

After the tour Mark Rand distributed the ballots and we voted by number for our favorite ornament. Mark Rand collected the ballots and went to a secure location to tally the votes.

While waiting for Mark to return, Fred Reicher announced that Thaine Anderson will be holding a web based auction to sell the tools, machinery, supplies and lumber of Frank Sainsbury an old club member who passed away several years ago. The web site to visit is: www.paltielrealestate.com/tools.aspx. It will be up by December 19, 2008.

After an inordinate amount of time, Mark Rand returned to announce the Ornament Contest winner: A tie between #2 and #6. We would have to vote again. Yes, Rand and Abate. We debated having a recount, but finally agreed that an impartial judge would conduct the count. Mark took the vow of the straight-grained woodworker and agreed to be fair. The votes were cast, collected and counted. The winner was Scott Abate. There were no hanging chads. Congratulations Scott.

Asking the Experts:

Bill Henzel asked to consult the experts on a question confronting him. What is the best way to build kitchen cabinets? Particle or ply, pre-finished, face frame or flush? What is the best joinery: Biscuits, dowels, Kreg screws, Festool Domino, or graduated pegs. Arched panels? The discussion was vigorous and now Bill is more confused than ever.

Frank Ramsay wanted to know how to best remove glue before applying the finish on a project. The recommendation --- finish the pieces before gluing. In a mortise and tenon joint, the strength is in the tenon, not on the shoulder of the joint.

Harold Patterson asked for thoughts on joining the sides of a carcase. What to use: Dowels, spines or a sliding dovetail? All will be good, but the easiest is probably the spline joint.

The final event of the evening, before adjourning to devour the remaining treats was the drawing for door prizes. It was a good thing Stan Booker was absent. Instead of the usual three prizes, we had a manic ticket drawer who extracted nine winning tickets. Nothing left for next month.