Shed Notesissue 297 — January 2013
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Shed NotesIssue 297 — January 2013 Issue 297 January 2013 NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 30 January 2013, 1930 - 2130 Venue: The SHED, Lions Youth Haven, Kambah Pool Road, KAMBAH ACT 2902 Furnishing the Future Our speaker at the January monthly meeting is furniture-maker Niklavs Rubenis, who introduces himself as follows: I was born in Leeton NSW. I’m 31, married, grow veggies, have two cats, chickens, and live in a half-renovated 1920s cottage in Queanbeyan. I did it in reverse — furniture at the ANU School of Art first, trade in cabinet-making second. For the past decade, I have been professionally employed across many aspects of the furniture and design sectors. This has included high-scale manufacture; computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM); commercial cabinetry; production and fine furniture-making; shop and museum fitout; exhibition design; project and design management; public art; urban design, and musical instrument-making. I am now in a very fortunate position to be able to combine my own furniture studio practice with teaching. In 2012 I was awarded an Australian National University Scholarship to undertake a PhD, beginning in 2013. My talk will be about learning, skills, thinking, and how furniture can tell a story. Contents Please note that the opinions expressed in articles in this Newsletter are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, or positions, of Presidential Palaver....................... 2~3 the Woodcraft Guild of the ACT as an organization. Editorial Effluvia .............................. 3 Coming Events.................................. 4 Executive Committee of the Guild: SIG Reports................................... 4~6 President: Fred Buckley [email protected] Feature Article: ............................ 7~8 Vice Pres: Dan Steiner [email protected] A Box in the Making Secretary: Satnam Singh [email protected] Off-Cuts ...................................... 9~15 Treasurer: David Weisser [email protected] Timber .................................... 9 New Carving SIG Tradition.. 10 Newsletter Editor: Rod Tier [email protected] SNP Report..................... 10~11 Snakes Alive!........................ 12 Correspondence: The Secretary, PO Box 1411, WODEN ACT 2606 Windsor Chair-making ... 12~15 Website: http://www.woodcraftguild.org.au Ads.................................................. 16 ABN 79 748 587 157 Woodcraft Guild ACT Inc – Newsletter January 2013 Page 2 Presidential Palaver The New Year is only a few weeks old, and after a relatively quiet few weeks over the Christmas New Year period the Guild has already swung into action. New Equipment The new Powermatic spiral-head jointer, which was delivered before the New Year and which had been resting in its crate while decisions were made as to where it should be located, is now installed and operational. A purpose-made cover to secure and protect it from the elements was made by Mathew Klein, and with the assistance of Dan Steiner, Dave Callan and Mathew’s son, the machine was installed and secured to the front apron. The old machine has been moved temporarily to the back apron while the committee decides what to do with it. Special thanks to Mathew and the guys who helped with the installation on what was a very hot day. Timber A clean-up of the timber recovery area has also been undertaken over the new year period, with Bill Hodgetts and a team of helpers milling the large sections of logs that had been awaiting processing for some time. The result is that the Guild now has no more available space in the drying shed for any more large logs for the foreseeable future! The elm and pin-oak boards sawn in November 2011 are almost dry. Some of the boards were used for the recent Windsor Chair making workshop, but there are still ample supplies. The elm, if sawn into smaller sections, could be used now for projects if anyone is interested. It is a fine timber, very suitable for both furniture and turning. The oak is still at about twenty percent moisture content when measured in November, but given the recent hot dry weather I am confident that many of the pin-oak boards are now suitable for use. Thanks to Bill and those who helped with the sawing of the logs. Insurance The insurance company underwriting the Guild’s public liability cover has advised that, to be eligible for insurance, all Council of Woodworking Clubs affiliated clubs now must have sound Occupational Health and Safety Policies and procedures in place. With the assistance of material provided by the CWC, the Guild Committee will be putting in place the necessary policy guidelines and procedures to ensure that we continue to have adequate insurance cover for all members. The policy and guidelines will be made available to members once they are in place. Fire Safety As recently advised in an explanatory notice emailed to all members, the Guild’s Fire Safety plan requires that the Shed must be closed on any days of EXTREME fire danger, as declared by the ACT Government. Fire danger warnings can be checked on the ACT Emergency Services Authority’s web site at http://esa.act.gov.au. The declaration of EXTREME fire danger should not be confused with days on which Total Fire Bans are declared. If in any doubt as to whether or not you should go to the Shed, please check the ESA website. Introductory Turning Courses The Guild’s very own “Turnfest” commenced on 18-19 January with the running of an introductory course for woodturners by Dan Steiner, Robin Cromer, Dave Callan, Rod Tier, Peter Bloomfield and myself. The course proved so popular that two additional courses had to be scheduled to cater for the overwhelming response from members seeking training and accreditation in the fundamentals of turning wood. The first Woodcraft Guild ACT Inc – Newsletter January 2013 Page 3 course followed much preparatory work by Dan and his team, including the sharpening of ten sets of essential tools for each student, the cutting of sufficient turning blanks, and the procurement of sufficient lathes and ancillary equipment for ten students. From all accounts, the first course proved to be a great success [despite ending up with eleven students! Ed.] The second and third courses will be conducted over the next few weeks. Centenary of Canberra In addition to the Guild’s usual annual calendar of events, there is a likelihood that in this, Canberra’s centenary year, we may be approached to participate in a number of community events associated with the centenary celebrations. The first possibility in this regard an exhibition, called “Glorious Days — Australia 1913”, is planned by the National Museum of Australia for Saturday, 13 April. To coincide with the exhibition, the Museum is planning a 1913 Country Fair in which they hope to replicate elements of an old-style country fair in their Garden of Australian Dreams. They are seeking groups to demonstrate some of the crafts, such as woodwork, that would have been practised in 1913. The fair will also provide an opportunity for sales. Participation in such events will impose some additional effort by the Guild this year, but at the same time they offer us the opportunity to do something a little different and extend our reach. I have indicated to the Museum that the Guild would be interested in participating in this event. Fred Buckley, President 6288 6586 [email protected] Editorial Effluvia My apologies to the small band of dedicated readers who may have noticed that this edition of Shed Notes is running somewhat later than usual — I won’t bore you with a litany of excuses, suffice to say that a combination of two Introduction to Woodturning courses in short order, plus the introduction of new publishing software, made a mockery of the normal publishing schedule. Apropos that new publishing software — I’m still learning to use it, so some strange aberrations (more than usual, that is) may appear from time to time, until I get a grip on it. I want to record my appreciation of the great help given me in this regard by Guild Elder Robin Cromer, who set up the front page for me using graphics designed by his daughter, in a style which complements our revamped website. I am pleased to report that I have had an encouraging response to pleas for contributions to the Newsletter, so much so that I may not have enough room to fit them all in this issue. So please don’t be miffed if your efforts don’t appear in the following pages — the February issue is almost upon us! Editor All our Own Work — Graduates of the first Introduction to Woodturning Course for 2013 proudly display their handiwork Woodcraft Guild ACT Inc – Newsletter January 2013 Page 4 COMING EVENTS Internal Next Monthly Guild Meeting: Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 1930, at the Shed. Presentation: TBA. External Next Triton Club Meeting: Wednesday, 07 February 2013 – (For further information, contact Burn Alting on 6281 0432, or visit the club’s website http://www.tocact.org.au) Royal (?) Canberra Show: 22 ~ 24 February 2013 at EPIC – Another opportunity for Guild members to display their skills and wares (NB: Entries – forms and payment – close 16 December 2012.) Anyone who would like to help out with the running of the Guild’s involvement, please get in touch with Dan Steiner on 0415 133 606, or at [email protected]. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) REPORTS (SIG Coordinators: please note the deadline for newsletter input: 2nd Friday of each month.) Pyrography SIG: Happy New Year! Hope the holidays were a well-deserved break, and everyone got to put their feet up for a little while. Unfortunately, I lost my dog to a sudden heart attack on Bungendore’s catastrophic fire day, but I will continue to take the pyrograph of her that some of you may have seen to demonstrating events.