I’d like to Thank our demonstrator and class instructor from last month, Cory White of White House Woodworks. He did a great job for us. Although the classes were only half of capacity those who invested in this class came away with some new embellishment skills. I expect we shall see a bit more wow factor in their work. Years ago, I passed on an opportunity to take a class from Jean Francois Escoulen, one of the great turners in the world. I didn’t think I was skilled enough to get much from his class. To this day, I regret not taking advantage of that opportunity. Turning is a limitless pursuit. The more you learn from different turners the better you become. As a club we want to help turners along on the wood turning journey.
At the May meeting, we will have a round robin of three turners doing short 15-20 minute demos. Sorry to say this will not be available via Zoom due to technical considerations. Glen Boudreaux will demo how he does his fancy pens! Master turner Brian Evans will be demonstrating one of his special projects and I will be teaching about Chain Saw safety and maintenance. Many turners get their wood straight from the tree. Step one, many times, involves the use of the most dangerous handheld tool ever devised. Learn some tips that will help you use this tool safely!
Open shop should be a lot of fun! We’ll have some hot dogs grillin’, wood chips flyin’ and tools for sale or trade. If you have unwanted or underused tools bring them. Sales or trades will be directly between members. DAW has inherited a lot of high-quality tools and equipment. These will be offered at incredibly deep discounts. Many of these tools are in near new condition. We can accept cash or check, but no cards. Circle your calendars and plan on stopping by! The Round Robin Club meeting Thursday evening May 18 and the Open shop & tool sale Saturday May 20 from 10 am till 4 pm.
Our webmaster, Ron Giordano has come up with a new feature on the web site. The Members Gallery returns! Members may submit up to 8 photos of their work to be posted in the Members Gallery. See here for details. These can be photos of works for sale or just to show off. Check out the web site as it continues to get better and better.
We survive and thrive as a club based on member participation. Come to meetings by Zoom or better yet in person to interact with other turners to meet and share our passion for the art and craft of turning. If you have suggestions on programs, classes or other input which would be an improvement, make your voice heard. We are always in need of your help. Many hands make the load lighter. We need more hands on deck! A club photographer would be great, Mark Montgomery could use an assistant librarian to learn the library system. Anyone with IT or AV skills is needed to help Larry and Ken on the AV system. Newsletter input is always helpful. Write an article, share a shop tip or offer to do a demonstration. Our combined skills are an enormous untapped resource. Our club is what we make of it. With your help we can make it even better! I especially enjoy the fruit of our ever-improving skills in the form of the great work I see every month during our Show and Tell portion of the monthly meeting. We can not take for granted that the people who perform vital work for DAW will always be here. New energy, new ideas and new people must get more involved. Time is something we all are challenged with, and it is relentless. Just a little commitment goes a long way and most of these tasks do not require a huge time requirement. Our communication lanes are always open, and I want and need your input. Likes – Dislikes, praise or criticism your voice is important. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Kevin Bassett