April 2005 | |||||||||||||
| Email Newsletter of The St. Tammany Woodworkers Guild | |||||||||||||
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NEXT MEETING7p Tues Apr 26
Jim Sanguinetti's Shop
Come early and socialize!
Directions:
From I-12 take exit 59; go 0.9 mile south to entrance to Tchefuncta Club Estates; 1.3 miles east on Pinecrest Drive to Country Club Park (just past tennis courts), turn right; first house on left. |
JOHN RONALD BLANCHARD SR. 1935-2005 "He was born with a smile on his face"
John Blanchard, a long time member of the St. Tammany Woodworkers Guild, and President of the Guild in 2004, passed away March 16, 2005 at Lakeshore Regional Medical Center following open heart surgery. He is survived by his wife June, a son, John Jr., three daughters, Nancy, Renee, and Lisa; fourteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Johnny will be remembered by fellow guild members for the contagious enthusiasm and energy he brought to his projects, and his delight in sharing those projects with us. Memorial services were conducted on May 18 at First Baptist Church of Covington. |
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Highlights of March Meeting
BUSINESS
Walter Babst presided over the meeting held at Dick Gahn's workshop March 22, 2005. Seventeen members were present.
A moment of silence was shared by the group in memory of Johnny Blanchard. Babst reported that flowers had been sent to Johnny's wife on behalf of the Guild, and he circulated a sympathy card for the members to sign. Several guild members attended the March 18 memorial service.
Harland Johnson reported that the March newsletter was sent out by email to 48 members, and to 6 by regular mail. Unless anyone has knowledge of the whereabouts of Rich Eckert he will be dropped from the membership list for the next newsletter.
Jim Sanguinetti went through a list of unpaid members so meeting attendees could give information on their likely continued participation in the Guild. He will try to contact delinquent members by phone.
Babst thanked Harland Johnson for his work on the newsletter.
Dick Gahn confirmed the May 14 date for the Cochon de Lait, and it was agreed that Babst would invite June Blanchard to the event. Gahn will also invite the Madisonville Maritime Museum officials who organize the Wooden Boat Festival.
Bob Christman reported a method for preventing checking or cracking in turned bowls: the wood can be presoaked in a solution of thinned down polyurethane. Another member mentioned that soaking in a polyethylene glycol solution was also useful for stability.
SHOW AND TELLThere were five entries in the boatbuilding contest that was begun at the February meeting:
DEMONSTRATION
Dick first showed a set of router bits designed especially for raised face panel construction, but then went on to demonstrate how to use a shaper with a multi-piece cutter head that can be re-stacked to provide profiles for the rails and stiles. He first cut the stile ends, and then re-stacked the cutter head to cut the insides of the rails and stiles.
All four sides of the panel workpiece were then cut with a different bit designed to cut the face profile.
He noted that the overall panel size should be a bit small to allow for expansion and contraction; the grooves can be filled with small rubber spacer balls to give the panel a tight but flexible fit.
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The President's CornerPreparations for the Wooden Boat Festival have already begun. The Festival Committee reports that Poole Lumber has donated the required lumber (see Henry Simon's request letter), and on April 9 several guild members met at Greg Arceneaux' shop to resaw and plane the material, which was then hauled to Dick Gahn's shop where blanks for hulls and pontoons were cut. The hull blanks will be available at a future meeting for members to cut into hull shapes.
Our thanks to Greg for letting us use his facilities, and to Wayne Thompson, Henry Simon, Ed Beshoner, Jim Sanguinetti, and Harland Johnson for the hard work. Apologies to Dick Gahn, who was out of town, for the sawdust mess left for him to clean up!
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Note from the Treasurer
This is a reminder that for those of you that have not paid their annual dues of $10.00, please do so in order that we may keep you on our mailing list for Tooth and Nail. You may pay at the next
meeting or by mailing a payment to the St. Tammany Woodworkers Guild at the following address:
If you are not planning to be a member of the Guild, it would be helpful to have your comments about your experience with the Guild in order that we may use your information to help us improve the Guild.
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Dick Gahn demonstrated methods for constructing raised face panel doors, which can be done with a router or a shaper. 
The panel can be the same thickness as the rails and stiles, or slightly smaller, with the face flush with the front of the rails. Looking Ahead |
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| DATE | HOST LOCATION | EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| April 26 | Jim Sanguinetti | Regular meeting -- demo of odd-sized mortises by Jim Sanguinetti |
| May 14 | Dick Gahn | Annual Cochon de Lait -- family event |
| May 24 | Gerald Gibson | Regular meeting with Jambalaya supper provided by Gerald -- demo to be announced |
| June 28 | Harland Johnson | Regular meeting -- band saw box demo by Don McLaren |
| July 26 | Dick Gahn | Regular meeting -- demo to be announced |
| August 23 | TBA | Regular meeting -- demo to be announced |
| September 27 | TBA | Regular meeting -- demo to be announced |
| October 15 and 16 | Madisonville | Wooden Boat Festival |
| October 25 | TBA | Regular meeting -- demo to be announced |
| November 22 | TBA | Regular meeting -- demo to be announced |
| December 8 (Thursday) | Tchefuncte Country Club | Christmas Banquet |
Buy/Sell/Trade
FOR SALE: |
Guild Contacts
President - Walter Babst - wmbabst@bellsouth.net |
