May 2003 Newsletter
May Meeting
When: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: 5610 Crawfordsville Rd., Suite 15, Speedway
(see Map on Page 6 of Newsletter)
Environmental Management Institute, Inc, Training Room.
Programs: Decorative Boxes by Band and Scroll Saw with Richard Ellis.
Project Focus 2003 - Member woodworking competition.
Business: Election of 2003 - 2004 officers.
Dick Ellis made is first box, a toy box,
for his eldest daughter 43 years ago. He used a hand saw, hammer, nails,
and a file in the construction. The toy box is currently being used by one
of his three daughters as a blanket chest. This simple beginning led to Dick's
passion for making small decorative boxes. He has made hundreds of boxes
over the years.
Band/scroll saw boxes are one of his favorites to make primarily because of the unlimited possibilities. Dick will discuss and demonstrate the techniques he uses in making various boxes from simple to more involved.
Project Focus 2003 - - Our annual club competition for member-made projects. Prizes are awarded in six categories: Inlayed Item (intarsia or marquetry), Furniture, Scroll Saw Projects, Toys, Turnings and Misc.
Preview of June Meeting
Our June meeting is June 18, 2003 at 7:00. It is time for the annual HCF membership picnic at Camp Belzer. Be sure to sign up at the May meeting.
HCF Project Focus 2003
What is Project Focus? It is our annual club competition for member-made projects. Judging will be at our May meeting. Prizes are awarded in six categories:
- Inlayed Item (intarsia or marquetry)
- Furniture
- Scroll Saw Projects
- Toys
- Turnings
- Misc.
Rules are: Members may enter as many categories as they wish. Projects must be built after June 1, 2002. Builder must be a member of the club.
Winners are asked to display their winning projects at the club picnic in June and at the club booth at the Christmas Gift and Hobby Show in November.
- Club Picnic in June -
We are planning our annual picnic for June 18, 2003 at Camp Belzer located on Boy Scout Road in Indianapolis. Please check your calendar for that day. Last chance to sign up at the May meeting. Spouses and significant others are invited. Catering will be by Jugs Catering - - plenty of deep fried biscuits with apple butter and fried chicken.
- New Members -
Welcome to Rallie Murphy and Ed Kelly. We hope you enjoy your time with us.
- Club Election of Officers at MAY meeting -
The Nominating Committee will give their report at the May meeting and voting will follow. Take part in shaping your club's future.
- HCF Visit to the Door Store in Shirley, IN
On April 26, twenty-two HCF members attend and enjoyed learning about the many types and sizes of doors they have in stock. Several members took advantage of the 10% discount offered on purchases made that day. The owners, Steve and Tami Brown, were very helpful and also provided lunch for all attending at the near by restaurant. (A very good meal.) The store does have other materials available for purchase but their main focus is doors. All who attended felt it was a worthwhile trip. To learn more about The Door Store, please visit their website http://www.thedoorstore.net/index.html or visit them in person on Tuesdays from 4:00 - 7:00 each week. The Door Store is located in downtown Shirley, Indiana.
Write up Submitted by Don Melloy
- Video Tape Library -
The videotape library is available at all meetings. This is a free service to members. You are encouraged to make use of this valuable service but please return any tapes you have borrowed. All borrowed tapes are to be returned at the next month's meeting. This will allow others to enjoy this service too.
A complete list of videotape titles is available on our website. A printed catalogue is available for review at each meeting.
Do you have videos that would be useful for the library? . . . . . Let us know.
If you have questions about the video library, contact Bob at 253-8771 or at rbeckerich@iquest.net.
- The Club's -Special Thanks to You-
Steve and Tami Brown of The Door Store - for opening their store especially for us on a Saturday, providing lunch for members in attendance, and for offering to facilitate purchase of parts and supplies for our Christmas Toy Project at their cost.
- Looking for Member Input -
The club is looking to acquire a sound system for use at our meetings. If you are knowledgeable about such equipment, please contact Don Melloy. Thank you
- Christmas Toy Project - BOX PROJECTS sign up-
There are two aspects of toy production for HCF's Christmas Toy Project. One is the group toy shops where members get together once a week and work on toys. The toy shops have been hard at work since January. The other aspect is the individual efforts done in your own workshop - whatever space that may be. For some this is a garage corner or the basement or even a converted closet. In this areas, members work on wooden toys that they have signed up to complete for the club. These individual toy efforts are referred to as the Box Projects. Why Box Projects - because the club gives you all the materials for building the toys except fasteners and finish in a box and you return that box to the club in November with it filled with completed toys.
The Box Project Sign Up was at the April meeting. Approximately 11 members signed up to do toy projects. If you missed signing up at the April meeting, please contact Darrell or Bob to make arrangements for working on a Christmas Toy project.
Toy Committee members: Darrell McConnell, and Bob Shaw.
- Looking ahead -
Saturday Hands-On Experience - Opportunities for more in-depth learning than the 2 hours of our Wednesday night meetings. The fall sessin will be at American Sycamore Woodworkers Retreat in October. The topic will be routers.
- Seeing Easier in the Shop -
A number of us took advantage of the Saturday workshop at Marc Adams' school last March. For me, it was a great learning experience. I also learned something that wasn't on Mark's lesson plan. Sharp tools need sharp eyes and my bifocals aren't quite strong enough anymore. I was interested in the new clip-on lenses that Woodcraft's catalog advertises for about $16, but their Indianapolis franchise is gone; there isn't an easy way to try them without purchasing them.
I turned up some alternatives with a little research: Clip-on lenses may be new to woodworkers but not to cross-stitchers, needle pointers, and fly-fishermen. JoAnn Fabric and Michael's Crafts carry a version similar to Woodcraft's for about $10. Magnifying lenses cover a pair of regular glasses and use a sunglass-like clip to hold them. Fly fishermen can buy a smaller clip-on, sold by Fisherman Eyewear, called Flip & Focus. Flip & Focus lenses cover only the lower half of prescription glasses, so they act more like bifocals. They sell three strengths and I've found them at Bluelight.com, Kmart's internet catalog site, selling for under $10. I have not been able to find any sold locally. What appears to be the same product sells in the needlework trade with five magnification strengths for about $15 retail. The brand name is Magna-Clips. Needle Fever, near Keystone Crossing carries all five strengths and, the clerk said, they sell lots of them. I showed a pair to the owner of Hickory Stitchery Dock in Lawrence and she is ordering a couple to see how they sell in her shop.
There's an inverse link between magnification and depth of field. Buying the weakest strength that meets the need works best. When I clip a pair over my bifocals they give my prescription lenses a boost. I can see to do detail work again. The Woodcraft magnifiers have to be flipped up every time you need your distance vision and that's inconvenient in a shop. It isn't necessary with the Magna-Clips. The half lenses are easy to get used to for anyone already wearing bifocals. And they make a good inexpensive alternative to bifocals for someone just beginning to have difficulty with close work but not ready for new glasses yet.
Submitted by Bill Jones
- Program Committee -
No minutes available.
- Executive Committee Meeting -
The Executive Committee met on April 23, 2003 at Tom Meeker's house.
The next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on May 28, 2003. Location to be determined.
Summary of April 16, 2003 Forum meeting
Members in Attendance: 58
Visitors: 3
Announcements: Bob Taylor, club secretary, continues in poor health. Nan Schulte will be assuming the duties of Secretary during Bob's absence. We wish Bob a speedy recovery.
A Women's Woodworking Guild has been established in Indianapolis. If you want information, contact Nan Schulte as she holds membership in both organizations.
We have received two nominations so far for club special recognition awards. Nominations can be made to the president.
Extra copies of Tom Meeker's hand out on finishing concepts are available.
If you have tools you would like to donate to a worthy cause and get a tax deduction, see Nan Schulte. Indiana Kids in Need program to teach woodworking in Bloomington.
Program: Jigs and Methods of Work
Members of HCF brought in some of their jigs to share. Paper plans were available for some items. Tom Meeker facilitated the presentation.
Lew Lundberg - chair making jig
Tom Meeker - converting an old hand plane to a scrub plane. A circle cutter.
Dick Harold - shop made push stick with a good handle.
Norm Terando - louvered door jig
Clet Meyers - Spool cushion, rotary cutter ruler filing board, wedge cutter
Bob Beckerich - circle cutter for cutting wheels on a band saw.
Roger Muller - Sliding saw table and micro router fence
Tim Hanson and Joe Miller - router jig to plane a twisted board - submitted and published in Fine Woodworking.
Joe Miller - Tenoning jig and reading manufacturer's date on wood glue bottles
Tim Hanson - 4 jawed chuck ans screw chuck - Submitted by Tim to American Woodworker and published in their magazine.
Dick Brown - Shim design for use on table saw blade to create a wobble to cut a slot wider than the saw blade
Dick Ellis - beveling dowels
Bill Dickinson - Tenoning jig for use on table saw, mortising table for a router, tapered leg jig for a planer.
Harold Matthews - Triangle peg game drilling jig and jig for cutting slats for swing back and arms.
(Apologies to anyone that was missed in this list.)
Thank you to all members for sharing excellent ideas and experiences.
