The meat, rice dressing, and bread will be provided by the Woodworkers Guild and cooked by Dick and Julia.  Each person or couple is asked to bring a salad, veggies, or dessert.  Each year the food has been outstanding.

Each person or couple should also bring their own beverages and chairs.

In addition to eating and visiting, the festivities will include competitive events to be held after lunch.  Competitions will include horseshoes, belt sander and "jitterbug sander" races.  Bring your sanders and join the fun.

A head count would help Dick and June with their planning.  Their phone number is 985-893-7603.  Please call as soon as possible and say how many will be in your party and what dish you will be bringing.  If no one is home, leave a message on their answering machine.  Dick says "if at the last minute you find you can come but didn't call, come anyway."  There is always more than enough food.

SHOW AND TELL

Tony Saragusa unfolded a compartmented bag holding eighteen attractive pens that he passed around for inspection. He had turned them from a wide variety of rare and exotic woods, and even one from deer antler. Saragusa's job involves service calls to financial institutions, and he has received several special orders for pen sets from his customers, makng it a profitable sideline. He has tentatively agreed to give a demo of pen turning and assembly at an upcoming meeting.

Saragusa also showed an unfinished deer call he is making, and asked for suggestions on how to stain a light portion of the wood that contains wormholes. One member suggest using a filler made from sawdust from the same wood mixed with epoxy.

Harland Johnson showed a teak bar stool from a set that had been made for him about ten years ago in Trinidad, where a natural teak forest exists in the southern part of the country. The seat was made from two pieces of teak that have separated over time, and he asked for ideas on how to repair the gap. The many suggestions fell into three categories: various types of fillers, cutting off the top and refastening the two pieces together, or enlarging the gap with a router and inlaying the new gap (or adding more than one gap to create a pattern) with a contrasting wood.

Henry Simon tested the audience with a sample of a mystery wood, light colored but very dense. Guesses ranged from the sensible to pussy willow, but the answer was persimmon, also known as "white ebony."

Bob Christman showed a sample lucite "storm window" he had constructed to add inexpensive insulation to french doors. Chosen for its clarity, non-yellowing, heat and sound insulating properties, sheets of .008" thick lucite acrylic, 36" x 72", are available at Lowe's. Christman framed them with 1" x 3" white wood, ripped to 1-1/8". He used a table saw to make a 3/8" groove on the inside edges of the frames, and cemented the lucite in place with acrylic caulk. The finished frames were installed with wood screws to the existing wood-framed windows. Total cost about $35, versus $300-450 for custom double-glazed glass.

Christman also passed on a tip to make edge gluing more efficient: use slightly roughened surfaces rather than well sanded surfaces. The extra surface area fo the rough surface makes a stronger bond.

Christman also showed photos of an inexpensive 2' x 3' router table he constructed using material from a solid wooden door. Formica was applied to all surfaces to prevent warping from humidity. The top includes a slide groove track and blank phenolic router plate (both of which must be installed precisely), and the unit can be connected to a shop vac. The entire unit swings out of the way on strong hinges. Total cost about $30.

DEMONSTRATION

Dick Gahn demonstrated a woodturning technique for making elaborate candlesticks that have a turned spindle inside a "perforated cage" that is turned on both the interior and exterior surfaces. (Editors note: any errors in the following description are mine -- I didn't have time to get Dick to review it.)

The secret is that there are five pieces to the body of the candlestick, one of which is the internal spindle, and the other four which form the outer cage.

In Gahn's demo, all five began as matched pieces of squared off 1"x1"x 6" cypress. Four of them have the grain matched and are marked and temporarily fastened together with double-sided carpet tape to form a 2" x 2" assembly as shown in the diagram.

The edges that will form the inside of the candlestick are facing outwards, and each piece is numbered and marked so they can be ressembled later with the turned edges facing in. Ends of the blank assembly are wrapped with glass filament tape to prevent the pieces from flying apart.

Gahn then turned the assembly into the desired countour, but in the interests of time.did not sand and finish the contour, which would normally be done at this point.

Next, the workpiece was disassembled and reassembled with the turned surfaces inward, and the outer contour of the candlestick was turned.

It was then diassembled, and partially reassembled into 1" x 2" "halves" using glue for each half, but still using double sided tape to hold the two halves together.

Half-inch holes to act as receivers for the internal spindle were then drilled in the ends of the assembly, and it was then disassembled into the "halves" once again.

Next, the fifth piece of stock was mounted in the lathe with a 3/8" drive center in order to turn 1/2" tenons on each end. The rest of the spindle was turned to the desired contour, and normally would be sanded and finished. The outside "halves" were used as test profiles to ensure a good fit of the tenons.

Next, the spindle was glued into the two exterior halves, and the entire assembly was mounted in the lathe for final turning and finishing of the exterior countour of the candlestick.

The final steps would be to add a base and candle cup.

Once again, Gahn made an elegant product look like an effortless piece of work. Thanks, Dick!