Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA)

TOYS GIVEN TO YFS KIDS

2011-12-12T12:42:00.005-07:00

Toymakers met at the RCWA Shop this morning at 8:30 am and loaded 6 sleighs (cars and trucks) with boxes of toys for the kids at the Youth and Family Services in Rapid City. They caravaned down I-90 to the facility at 1920 N. Plaza Blvd in Rapid City, SD and brought them into the building's main conference room.

Kids from the morning classes of the YFS Headstart Program (ages 3 to 5) met us there and the toys were passed out.

Elves Rick and Grant did the honors.

YFS is always good at alerting the media - so KOTA TV (KOTA Territory News - Channel 3) and KNBN (News Center One - Channel 21) were there to record the festivities.

One story was shown on the KOTA Territory news at noon today. You can see the story written and filmed by reporter PJ Randhawa at the following link:

http://www.kotatv.com/story/16307100/woodworkers-distribute

Another story was covered by KBNB TV - Newcenter1 - written and filmed by Danielle Grossman. Here's the link to that story:

http://www.newscenter1.tv/stories/10443.aspx

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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Design Concept to Prototype to Product

2011-12-09T18:51:00.010-07:00

Working with toymakers to produce a new toy is a very rewarding project. This year we developed a new toy - a simple airplane with a fuselage, a wing, and two wheels. This project will use existing designs as a starting point. The product must be safe for kids, simple to produce, and yet leave lots of room for imagination by the end user, that is, of course, kids.

The existing design was a small wooden toy plane purchased at the Thrift Shop for the CLUB for BOYS, of all places. The wheels on the plane were considered to be too small to be safe for kids, as the industry standard for wheels for kids is 1 1/2 inches. Therefore, we increased the size of the design to accomodate the larger wheels. Then there were other considerations, such as thickness of the fuselage, the thickness of the wing, and the method for attaching the wheels. Other options including adding a propeller, tail stabilizer, or a window was discussed, but it was decided not to include them for this phase of the program. After these options were discussed, several prototypes were built to help visualize the design.

With a prototype selected, we made plans for an initial production run of 50. Parts would need to be made and qual tested for compliance with the prototype. Tooling would be needed to ensure easy and consistent assembly. After a few parts were made, the tooling would need to be tested to ensure that they would all fit together as planned. Discovery of any fit problems needed to be discovered early on, in case changes were required to parts that were already being built.

Just as we were seeking to find the right material for the airplane, we were introduced to Magnum Enterprises. They provided us with scrap material that was perfect for milling the fuselage and wing. So parts production was started. The decision to make/buy the wheels was an easy one.

The first tool needed was a fixture to hold the wing for drilling a hole for the attaching screw in the exact center of the wing. The second tool that was needed was a fixture to hold the fuselage at 90 degrees while the wing was attached. So work began on these fixtures.

The fixture to hold the wing was made using poplar and Plexiglas. A slot was needed to insert and remove the wing from the fixture.

The fixture for holding the fuselage at 90 degrees to the wing was made using the other half of the cutout from the fuselage.

After some testing of the tooling fixtures, and some minor mods, the assembly process could begin.

Then initial sanding, application of a sealer, final sanding, application of a finish, and final touch up with a white buffing pad.

Wheels are added after final spray lacquer is dry using same method as used for assembling wheels for toy cars.

Many of the operations used in the process of making a TOY AIRPLANE are similar to operations required to make many of the toys for the RCWA Toy Program. Only the fixtures are unique to this toy.

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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TOY DELIVERY TO "THE CLUB FOR BOYS"

2011-12-08T21:50:00.004-07:00

This year marks the fourth year that the Rapid City Woodworkers Association has delivered homemade wooden toys to the CLUB FOR BOYS in Rapid City. This year's delivery was made on Monday afternoon December 5th at 1 pm. RCWA members Rick Weisbeck and Kathie and Bob Buchanan made the drop-off. Our contact with the Club for Boys, Clay Quinton, was unable to meet us, as he had been called to a meeting during our pre-arranged drop off time. However, we left the ten boxes of over 300 toys in the lobby as suggested by the man working the front desk. (So far, we have not received acknowledgement of the delivery from Clay.) According to Clay's application for toys, the toys will be distributed to the boys during The Club for Boys Christmas Party on December 21st, 2011.

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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Toy Workshop and Toy Packaging Day - Dec 2, 2011

2011-12-02T18:35:00.008-07:00

After many toy program workshops during the month of November, the final workshop of the year was held on Dec 2, 2011 at the RCWA Shop in the basement of the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City.

The animal cutouts were put into handmade lined bags in preparation for distribution to children in various agencies in the Black Hills. Then the distribution line was setup and toy lists prepared. The Airmen and Family Readiness Center was having its Christmas party on Dec 3rd, so we packaged their toys first. Then we proceded down the list, filling boxes with toys, for the remaining 14 agencies. The agencies in the Black Hills included six separate programs under the Youth and Family Services Prenatal to Five Headstart Program serving youth from Spearfish to Edgement and all points in between, the Youth and Family Services Boys Health Advocacy Program, Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity, The Club for Boys, two groups of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Working Against Violence, Inc.(WAVI), Benji's House and Needs Free (Sioux Falls). A total of 1620 toys were packaged and readied for distribution.

The toys for the Airmen and Family Readiness Center were delivered to Ellsworth Air Force Base by Rick Weisbeck shortly after packing them. The toys for Needs Free were picked up by Gary Graves who will be delivering them to Sioux Falls next weekend. The toys for the Club for Boys will be delivered on Monday Dec 5th at 1 pm. The toys for the Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity will be delivered next week by Larry Diebert. The toys for the Youth and Family Services will be delivered by the TOYMAKERS en mass to the main center at 1920 N. Plaza Blvd in Rapid City on Monday Dec 12th around 9 am. The toys for CASA will be delivered by Julian Wigen and Darwin Buus next week. Finally, the toys for WAVI and Benji's House will be delivered next week by Rick Weisbeck.

The total number of toys distributed this year was 1,620. Hats off to all the toymakers who contributed to this effort during the entire year from January 2011 to Dec 2011. Year-around toymakers included Roger Bares, Gary Graves, Trish Graves, Harley Schmadeke, Grant Coffin, Mary Coffin, Lon Gose, Julian Wigen, Lauren Levin, Judy Levin, Kathie Buchanan, Rick Weisbeck, Darwin Buus, Bel Felix, and Bob Buchanan. Seasonal toymakers who helped out at crunch time included Steve Larson, Ron Dolin, Gary and Denise Kohama, and Larry and Linda Deibert. Many thanks also goes to our "suppliers" who include J & D Woodworking, Inc., Dakota Kraft, Wendy's, Magnum Enterprises, LLC, Rushmore Forest Products, Wilkinson Custom Cabinets, and numerous other generous Black Hills residents.

The standard line of toys for 2011 included small cars, crayon vans, tugboats, racers, sedans/PT Cruisers, Buses, Tractors, turtle banks, animal cutouts, cup and ball games, basketball games, puzzles, and rocking chairs.

In addition, some new toys were introduced in 2011. We developed and produced a line of helicopters, airplanes, locomotives, ring catch games, and big-wheel racers, based partially on feedback from receiving agencies.

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November 14, 2011 General Meeting

2011-11-17T00:21:00.000-07:00

The General Meeting of the RCWA was held on Nov 14th, 2011 at 7 pm at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City, SD. Topics for discussion included updates of the Toy Program and plans for the Dec. 3 packaging party in preparation of the toys during the first two weeks of December. The December Christmas Potluck and Gift Exchange was also planned with signups passed around.

For more pictures and a detailed discussion, click on the link below and open the file for the newsletter for December 2011 - The Cutting Edge.

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/rcwanewsletters/newsletters---2011

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:
https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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Toy Workshop - 22 Oct 2011

2011-10-23T23:18:00.005-06:00

Toy makers began final inventory - traced more critter cutouts - assembled a few cars. For lots of details and many pictures on the activities this month on the Toy Program, click on the link below and open the newsletter for November 2011 - The Cutting Edge.
https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/rcwanewsletters/newsletters---2011

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:
https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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Field Trip to Rubber Band Gun Factory - 21 Oct 2011

2011-10-23T23:17:00.003-06:00

This was one of the best yet!!! For lots of pictures and a detailed discussion, click on the link below and open the file for the newsletter for November 2011 - The Cutting Edge.

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/rcwanewsletters/newsletters---2011

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:
https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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General Meeting Oct 10, 2011

2011-10-23T23:16:00.004-06:00

Gattling Gun - show and tell and demo by Rick Weisbeck.

For more pictures and a detailed discussion, click on the link below and open the file for the newsletter for October 2011 - The Cutting Edge.

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/rcwanewsletters/newsletters---2011

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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BOOTH AT FALL FESTIVAL - Edgemont, SD

2011-10-09T00:15:00.001-06:00

9-24-2011 - Date line: Edgemont SD - Fall Festival

The RCWA was asked to participate in Edgemont's Fall Festival held near the Covered Bridge in the Edgemont City Park. So, on Sept 24, 2011, Bob and Kathie traveled to Edgemont to set up a booth in the city park by the covered bridge for the Fall Festival Quilt and Craft Show. The purpose of the booth was to let people know that there is a group in Rapid City for woodworkers and to show them some of the things we do.

A toy display was set up on one side of the booth and a scrollsaw on the other side. There was lots of interest in the toys. Small animals were cut from stock pine to give to kids who showed an interest in our activitites. Several kids stopped by and some decided they would like to help sand the toys. They took turns sanding and then began pumping the crowd to come and get their free animals!

Several people requested us to cut their names so we traced them out and cut several as well. At the end of the six hours – we had cut about 25 animals, 15 names and took orders for another 15. They liked the uniqueness of the gift and also liked the price of the donation!

People attending the festival came from all over the area including Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and SD. It looks like a potential activity for next year – I will certainly be more serious about asking for help next time!

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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Toy Workshops in September 2011

2011-10-08T23:45:00.003-06:00

Five Toy Workshops were held during September, two at Bob’s Shop and three at the RCWA Shop downstairs in the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. The workshops were held in preparation for the upcoming toy deliveries planned for early December.

The proper size for the new airplane is being tested and reviewed over and over - R& D prototypes.

A new product rolls off the line for 2011 – the toy helicopter. Many thanks to Burt Underwood of Tustin, CA for the toy patterns! Five helicopter designs were built and tested looking for the ones to keep and ones to retire.

For more pictures and a detailed discussion, click on the link below and open the file for the newsletter for October 2011 - The Cutting Edge.
https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/rcwanewsletters/newsletters---2011

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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Toy Workshop - Sept 17, 2011

2011-09-19T12:02:00.001-06:00

Very productive workshop - beginning the final push for the December deliveries.

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General Meeting - Sept 12, 2011

2011-09-19T12:01:00.001-06:00

First meeting since July - good attendance. More to follow.

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Toy Workshop - Sept 10, 2011

2011-09-10T23:02:00.003-06:00

A Toy Workshop was held at the RCWA Shop on Sept 10, 2011 from 9 am til noon. Seven toymakers worked on final sanding of helicopters and rotor blades, assembling helicopters, drilling holes in vans for crayons, and drilling windows in cars and cruisers.

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Toy Workshop - Sept 9, 2011

2011-09-10T22:57:00.004-06:00

A Toy Workshop was held at Bob’s Shop on Sept 9, 2011 from 9 am til noon. Four toymakers were in attendance with a mission to sand everything that had been cut to date. We started out with about 15 boxes of helicopters, race cars, old cars, bugs, tugboats, and cruisers. There are now about 5 boxes left to sand, so much was accomplished. We also shaped the tugboat cabins, cut cruisers, and routered the edges of all helicopters, and several race cars.

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RCWA FAMILY POTLUCK PICNIC - July 16, 2011

2011-07-19T23:35:00.007-06:00

Twenty two brave souls including family and friends of the RCWA came out in the 100+ degree SD weather to enjoy a family potluck picnic complete with BBQ burgers and dogs and home-made ice cream on Saturday July 16, 2011.

A new bean bag game (aka corn-hole game) was tested and used by several tried-and-true horse shoe throwers!

The homemade ice cream turned by hand by Grant Coffin was a big hit too!

To get to the HOME PAGE of the Rapid City Woodworking Association, click on the link below:

https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/home

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General Meeting - 11 July 2011

2011-07-13T10:31:00.003-06:00

The General Meeting of the RCWA was held on Monday July 11, 2011.

Plans were finalized for the Rapid City Woodworkers Association Family Potluck Picnic this Saturday:

Place: Bob and Kathie Buchanan's
2361 Lindsey Drive
Rapid City, SD

Date/Time: Saturday July 16th from 3 pm to 9 pm (we plan to eat around 5 pm)

Details:
Burger/Hot Dogs/Silverware/Plates/Drinks/BBQ will be provided

Bring either CHIPS, SALAD, or a Dessert (to go with Home-made Ice Cream), and maybe your lawn chairs

Games: Bocce Ball and Bean Bag Toss

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Toymaking Workshop - July 8, 2011

2011-07-10T23:09:00.003-06:00

A Toy Workshop was held at the RCWA Shop on July 8, 2011 from 9 am til noon. Seven toymakers were in attendance. Animal Cutouts were traced on 1” material, and PT Cruisers, and small bugs were traced on 2” material. Grant returned a boxful of rough cut helicopters. Roger Bares turned in about 6 boxes of finished toys including banks, and toy trains.

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Field Trip - Rushmore Products Tour - Hill City

2011-06-16T23:28:00.007-06:00

On Wednesday June 15th, seven hardy lumber butchers made their way through the Rushmore Products sawmill in Hill City - excellent tour - excellent guide - supervisor Matt - good time had by all!

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General Meeting for June 2011 - June 13, 2011

2011-06-13T10:25:00.002-06:00

Our June 2011 General Meeting was held on June 13, 2011 at 7 pm in Our Redeemer Lutheran Church fireside meeting room. The meeting included a review of the 3rd annual woodworkers show, and discussions of the upcoming events - including the June 15th tour of the sawmill in Hill City.

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Toy Workshop - June 11, 2011

2011-06-13T10:21:00.002-06:00

A Toy Workshop was held at the RCWA Shop on June 11, 2011 from 9 am til noon.

Eight toymakers were in attendance. With a new supply of 2x4s from Dakota Kraft in house, we traced out cars, and cars, and more cars.

We also nailed the cabin assemblies together for the tugboats.

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Photos from the WW SHOW - May 14, 2011

2011-05-18T23:44:00.003-06:00

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WOODWORKING SHOW 2011 - A SMASHING SUCCESS!

2011-05-15T20:11:00.004-06:00

Thank you to all those who made the third annual woodworking show of the RCWA a smashing success!

Plans Nearly Complete for 3rd Annual Woodworking Show

2011-05-10T22:49:00.004-06:00

You’re invited to the 3rd Annual
Rapid City Woodworkers Association
Woodworking Show

Saturday, May 14, 2011
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s free!
Knecht Home Center
320 West Boulevard, Rapid City

See Displays of Woodworking Projects
Demonstrations of Woodworking,
Scroll Sawing, and Toy Making

Free Drawings for wooden items
Raffle of wood products to benefit the RCWA Toy Making Program for Underpriviledged Kids

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Toy Workshop - April 30, 2011

2011-05-01T23:58:00.005-06:00

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Toymaking Workshop - April 16th, 2011

2011-04-18T12:04:00.003-06:00

Progress - drilled holes for 50 helicopters, traced out another 35 helicopters, drilled windows in the remainder of the 95 busses, started working on windows for the crayon vans. Brought home about 5 boxes of toys ready to be bandsawed to shape. Toymakers: Julian, Grant, Harley (he's back!), Gary G, and Bob

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April 11,2011 General Meeting

2011-04-18T12:03:00.002-06:00

Large number of members in attendance. Plans were made for the 3rd Annual Woodworking Show to be held at Knecht's Home Center on May 14th, 2011 from 9 am to 4 pm. Mary Coffin - will be doing the publicity for the show - flyers, tv, radio, and newspaper coverage. Harley is back!

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Toy Workshop - March 26th, 2011

2011-03-27T21:31:00.006-06:00

Toymakers were greeted by 3" of wet icy snow on Saturday morning, just when we thought spring had sprung, but that didn't stop us from making sawdust.

Grant C, Gary G, Gary K, Lauren L, and Bob B got together to drill out pivot holes in 120 helicopter rotors, drill out 4 passenger windows (3/4 " diameter) in each of 100 busses, and drivers windows (1" diameter) in the same 100 busses. The next task was tracing out about 50 crayon vans. Then we spent some time cleaning and fixing up our shop-vac, so we could clean up all the sawdust! All in all - it was a pretty productive day!

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Kids are the reason we make toys. They do grow fast - this is the cradle delivered to CA last summer - the little guy is 8 months old and he's already pushing out the top and bottom of his cradle! Young parents - take time with them while they are little, they won't stay that way long!

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Toy Workshop - March 12, 2011

2011-03-22T00:25:00.004-06:00

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SS SIG - March 21, 2011

2011-03-22T00:17:00.005-06:00

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General Meeting - March 14, 2011

2011-03-19T01:04:00.004-06:00

The March meeting of the RCWA was held at 7 pm at 910 Wood in Rapid City, SD.

There was lots of show and tell and some target practice too. Plans for the spring Woodworking Show were discussed, as well as plans for tours and presentations for the rest of 2011.

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General Meeting - Feb 14, 2011

2011-03-06T21:48:00.001-07:00

A small group met at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church on Feb 14, 2011 at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City.

General Meeting Jan 17th, 2011

2011-01-17T22:46:00.004-07:00

The January 2011 General Meeting of the RCWA was held on Monday Jan 17, 2011 at 7 pm at Roger Bares Shop. We held a short business meeting, since we didn't meet last week, and then Roger demonstrated how to make a hanging basket from a single solid piece of wood.

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Press Release - Toy Program Summary 2010

2010-12-13T22:57:00.002-07:00

Press Release for the RCWA Toy Deliveries – Dec 13, 2010

NOTE: This is a follow-up to a story published in the Rapid City Journal on Page D7 on October 14, 2009 titled Group offers workshops in woodworking.

The Toymakers in the Rapid City Woodworking Association (RCWA) completed a series of workshops this past weekend - Dec 4, 2010. The group of ten toymakers finished over 1400 handcrafted wooden toys which are being delivered this week (Dec 5 - 13, 2010). The individuals working on the Toy Program make handmade holiday gifts and wooden toys to give to charitable organizations in the local area. Members have been working year around in their own garages as well as in monthly Saturday Toy Workshops to produce these quality wooden toys.

The toys are ready in time for Christmas giving. The toys are being distributed (at no cost) to various organizations in the area. In 2008, we made and distributed over 300 toys for the Club for Boys, WAVI, and Benji’s House. In 2009, we made and distributed more than 1,200 toys to children in The Club for Boys, Benji’s House, Working Against Violence Inc (WAVI), Youth and Family Services, Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity, Ellsworth AFB Airmen and Family Readiness Center, and Needs Free in the Sioux Falls area. This year, 2010, we made and distributed 1430 toys to The Club for Boys, Benji’s House, Working Against Violence (WAVI), Youth and Family Services, Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity, Court Appointed Special Advocates Association (CASA), and Needs Free in the Sioux Falls area. More than 730 children are involved in the Youth and Family Services in the Black Hills from as far north as Spearfish and as far south as Edgemont. We have received very positive feedback from all organizations that have received the toys, and they are very excited that they have been included in our toy program.

Saturday morning workshops were held in the RCWA Shop in the basement at 910 Wood Ave. You can get answers to any questions by calling Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or Roger Bares at 484-3498.

If anyone would like to help build and assemble toys for the 2011 Toy Program, we can always use an extra hand. Members donate their time and equipment, but we can use donations of surplus wood or monetary donations for operating expenses. Call Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or check our website http://www.sdwoodworker.org/ for more information: Monetary donations can be mailed to our RCWA Treasurer, Roger Bares at 834 Farlow in Rapid City, SD, 57701 or dropped off at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church office at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City.

The mission of the RCWA is to promote woodworking safety, skills and knowledge, for the amateur, professional and student craftsperson. The RCWA was formed to meet the needs of the woodworkers in the Rapid City area. We meet on the 2nd Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City. We cordially invite men and women of all ages who have an interest in woodworking to attend our meetings. No experience is necessary for membership. Membership dues are $18 a year. Please come and share the experience, ideas, techniques and the mutual enjoyment of creating with wood.

The RCWA is a local chapter of the South Dakota Woodworkers Guild. The RCWA exists for two main reasons: (1) To exchange information that will enhance the enjoyment and skills of woodworking; and (2) To promote woodworking as a hobby, as a profession, or anywhere in between. This includes promoting woodworking safety, teaching and helping other members, enhancing the quality of life for underprivileged children of the Black Hills by making and distributing Wooden Toys to charitable organizations in the local area, and supporting community service organizations thru volunteer woodworking activities.

For more information, contact Bob Buchanan at (605) 348-2865 or Roger Bares at (605) 484-3498. Or go to our website at http://www.sdwoodworker.org/.

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December 2010 - Christmas Potluck Dinner

2010-12-13T22:54:00.004-07:00

The RCWA held their Christmas Potluck Dinner tonight at 6 pm at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City with about 20 people in attendance.

Toy Distribution at YFS - Dec 13, 2010

2010-12-13T22:52:00.003-07:00

Seven members of the RCWA delivered toys to the Youth and Family Services in Rapid City on Monday December 13th at 9 am.

Local TV Spots about the Toy Program:

RC Woodworkers Make Wooden Toys for YFS Kids
LINK: http://www.blackhillsfox.com/2010/12/13/RC-Woodworkers-makes-wooden-toys-for-YFS-kids

RC Woodworkers Bring Holiday Cheer
LINK: http://www.newscenter1.tv/stories/7248.aspx

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TOY PACKING DAY - Dec 4, 2010

2010-12-04T20:49:00.014-07:00

During the past week, Rick Weisbeck and Roger Bares put the final finish on the tractors, bringing the year 2010 of toymaking to a close. So with all toys completed, it was time to pack them in boxes for delivery to 12 organizations in the Black Hills and Sioux Falls area.

Members on hand to pack toys included:

Back Row: Harley Schmadeke, Larry Deibert, Julian Wigen, and Ron Dolin

Front Row: Rick Weisbeck, Kathie Buchanan, Grant Coffin, Lauren Levin, and Bob Buchanan

Others (not pictured) who assisted in toy making during 2010 included:

Gary and Trish Graves, Lon Gose, Roger and Joan Bares, Gary and Denise Kohama, Judy Levin, Mary Coffin, Linda Deibert, Jim Tolley, and Tom Parsons.

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Toy Workshop - November 27, 2010

2010-12-04T20:47:00.005-07:00

On the Wednesday prior to the Saturday Nov 27 workshop, a group of toymakers (Lauren, Bob and Kathie) applied sanding sealer to the flat cup and ball games, the turned cup and ball games, and all the basketball games in Bob's Shop. Then on Friday, another group (Lauren, Gary, Bob and Kathie) traveled to Black Hawk to use the spray booth in Wilkinson Custom Cabinets so generously offered by owner Chuck, to put on the final finish of lacquer on the games.

The two main goals for the toy workshop held on Saturday Nov 27 at 9 am at the RCWA Shop at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City was (1) to install the ball and string assemblies on about 100 basketball games, about 40 flat ball and cup games, about 30 turned cup and ball games, and (2) to fill over 160 handsewn cloth bags with 4 each scrollsawn critters.

Toymakers attending today's workshop included: Harley, Julian, Grant, Gary, Lauren, Kathie, Judy, Denise, Larry, Gary Graves and Bob.

Every basketball game was subjected to a full functional test.

The handsewn cloth bags have been under construction since January 2010. Designed by Kathie, she was assisted in production by Trish Graves, Judy Levin, and Mary Coffin. Judy and Denise Kohama assisted Kathie with the bag filling effort today at the workshop.

This was the final workshop for the year... with only a few toys left to finish.

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Toy Workshop - November 20, 2010

2010-12-04T20:46:00.002-07:00

Getting closer...

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Toy Workshop - Nov 13th, 2010

2010-11-16T00:22:00.007-07:00

The weekly toy workshop held on Nov 13th concentrated on car/crayon van wheel assemblying, sanding, attaching crayons to crayon vans, cutting strings for the games, and preparing wooden balls to be attached to the strings for installing on the ball and cup games and to the basketball games.

Julian drilled the dual holes in over 200 1 inch wooden balls. Lauren cut over 200 strings for the ball and string assemblies needed for the cup and ball and basketball games. He also cut over 160 strings to put in the handsewn cloth bags for the animal cutouts.

Harley finished up several boxes of wheeled vehicles including small cars and the crayon vans.

The very popular mouse sander was used by Kathie to finish off lots of animal cutouts and puzzles.

During the week following the workshop, there was a lot of activity in toymaker's shops and kitchens preparing more parts for toys to be assembled the following weekend.

Activities included installing strings in wooden balls, drilling holes in basketball parts, and sanding parts.

Larry and Linda spent the morning gluing strings in over 200 wooden balls for the ball and cup games and the basketball games.

Lauren drilled holes in the launchers for the screw that attaches them to the basketball game base.

Lauren drilled dual holes in the bases of the basketball games to accept the string and ball assemblies. Bob drilled 1/2 inch holes in the backboards and bases to accept the 1/2 inch posts.

Bob installed launchers and post adapters to the bases of the basketball games, and cut dowels to length for the 1/2 inch posts.

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November 2010 General Meeting of the RCWA

2010-11-09T22:43:00.003-07:00

Greetings to the woodworkers of the Black Hills! This month has been all about toys – as the Toymakers prepare for deliveries in mid-December.

November's general meeting was held on Monday November 8th at 910 Wood Ave at 7 pm. This was fireside at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City, SD.

The November 8th meeting included a short business meeting followed by chocolate chip - pumpkin cookies, and the Show and Tell.

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Toy Workshops - October 30 and Nov 6, 2010

2010-11-07T00:15:00.004-06:00

Gary Graves has been busy in his shop making a very attractive line of small vehicles for small kids. He has been recycling some clear pine from a "long time ago window factory" in Sturgis. At the toy workshops held at the RCWA Shop in Rapid City on Saturdays Oct 30 and Nov 6, toymakers installed wheels on these vehicles.

Puzzles and animal cutouts were sanded in the beautiful sunshine outside the shop.

Julian drilled the three different sized holes in the flat cup and ball games using Forstner bits.

The basketball hoops were made on a CNC router machine by J&D Woodworks Inc in Black Hawk, SD.

More puzzles and animal cutouts were sanded in the beautiful sunshine outside the shop.

Bases for the basketball games were prepared from recycled hardwood window trimmings donated by Black Hills residents Dean and Betty Larson of Silver City.

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Toymaking Workparty Oct 23, 2010

2010-10-23T23:20:00.007-06:00

Toymakers: Just a quick reminder that we are having our weekly Toymaking Workshop - Sat Oct 23rd from 9 am to noon, at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City. We will be working on toy cars, tugboats, crayon vans, and dino cutouts. See you then.
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Toymakers and Toy Workshop attendess have included Kathie, Julian, Lon, Harley, Grant, Ron, Rick, Lauren, Roger, Gary, Tom, and Bob. We appreciate getting additional help from several other individuals including Gary’s wife, Trish Graves, who has been helping sew up bags for the animal cutouts. Judy Levine, Linda Deibert, and Mary Coffin have also volunteered to help with the bags. Jim from J&D Woodworks, Inc came through with another plywood sheetful of 120 basketball hoops this week to help us get closer to finishing the basketball games. And we continue to receive sanding supplies from Jeff and Celi Albrecht. Many thanks to you all!

Check out the November newsletter - THE CUTTING EDGE - for a few shots from recent workshops. Here's a link: https://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/rcwanewsletters

Here are a few captions from the newsletter:

A beautiful October day in SD
Julian attached the cabins to the hulls of the Little Toot tugboats, a new addition this year.
Julian and Kathie are sanding puzzles and animal cutouts.
Harley is putting wheels on oldie cars.
Rick (aka WILSON) is putting axle holes in busses.
Ron (also aka WILSON) is sanding the cabins for the Little Toot tugboats.
Kathie and Ron are sanding animal puzzles.
Harley assembled busses, while Julian is preparing to drill holes for tie downs on Little Toot tugboats.
Grant is getting ready for basketball game assembly by counting available basketball game parts.
Lauren is starting on Crayon Vans by tracing them from a masonite pattern onto our recently donated redwood.
Kathie is sanding scroll sawn animal puzzles again.
Harley is drilling car windows.
Julian is cutting the holes for the new style cup and ball games.
Cup and Ball Games – Parts.

Here are some of the projects being completed this month.

Introducing a new addition to the toy line this year: LITTLE TOOT
Little Toot “stacks” prepared from 1” dowels drilled with 5/8 inch holes.
Little Toots getting final lacquer spray.
Fantastic November weather!
Basketball Hoops straight from the CNC sheet.
Basketball Game launchers rough cut
Oldie Cars getting the final lacquer spray finish.
Oldies packed and ready to go.
Animals include dinosaurs, elephants and giraffes.
The ubiquitous school busses are ready to go as well.
LITTLE TOOT tugboats ready to tug.
Crayon vans ready for crayons.
120 Basketball Hoops made on the CNC Router at J&D Woodworks, Inc. on a single sheet of ¾ inch plywood.
The hoops are removed from the sheet and ready for some minor cleanup.
Crayon Van pattern is first traced onto redwood.
Hole Marker Jig is used to locate the Crayon holes in vans.
Sanding sealer being applied to the crayon vans.
8 holes x 48 vans = 384 holes
The prototype Crayon Van was put through extensive crayon holding tests.
Crayon Vans sanded, sealed, sanded, and ready for wheels.
Crayon Vans packed and ready.
Using a mouse sander to sand the mouse puzzles.

Check out our website for numerous photos documenting this special program: http://sdguild-rcwa.blogspot.com/.

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Toymaking Workparty - Oct 16, 2010 - Fall Marathon Begins

2010-10-23T23:09:00.004-06:00

We started the fall marathon of toymaking today.

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FYI - Check out page D7 of the 10-14-2010 Rapid City Journal - we made the WEATHER page again!

10-14-2010
Group offers workshops in woodworking

RAPID CITY — The Rapid City Woodworking Association will hold a series of workshops from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays beginning Oct. 16 through the middle of December to build and finish wood toys for delivery to area underprivileged children at Christmas. Call Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or Roger Bares at 484-3498 for location or for more information.

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Press Release for the RCWA Toymaking Workshops – Oct – Dec 2010

The toymakers in the Rapid City Woodworking Association (RCWA) are gearing up for a series of workshops during October and November. This will be the final push to build and finish wood toys for delivery at Christmas. One of the purposes of the Rapid City Woodworking Association (RCWA) is to enhance the quality of life for underprivileged children of the Black Hills. This is the purpose of this special year around Toy Program for making and distributing handmade holiday gifts and toys to charitable organizations in the local area. Members work year around in their own garages as well as in monthly Saturday Toy Workshops to produce quality wood toys. Before Christmas, the toys are distributed to various organizations in the area.

Workshops will be held Saturdays in the RCWA Shop in the basement at 910 Wood Ave starting Oct 16, 2009 and continuing each Saturday thru the middle of December from 9 am to noon. Call Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or Roger Bares at 484-3498 for questions.

This year we are planning to build and give approximately 1200 toys to The Club for Boys, Benji’s House, Women Against Violence (WAVI), Youth and Family Services, Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity, all in Rapid City, and Needs Free from the Sioux Falls area.

If you want to help build and assemble toys for the Toy Program, we can always use an extra hand. If you have the skills for running a scroll saw, we can use your help as well. If you can help between now and Christmas, call Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or check our website http://www.sdwoodworker.org/ for more information: If you want to help with donations, we are currently in need of wheels and axles to make toy vehicles. Monetary donations can be mailed to our RCWA Treasurer, Roger Bares at 834 Farlow in Rapid City, SD, 57701 or dropped off at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church office at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City.

The mission of the RCWA is to promote woodworking safety, skills and knowledge, for the amateur, professional and student craftsperson. The RCWA was formed to meet the needs of the woodworkers in the Rapid City area. We meet on the 2nd Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City. We cordially invite men and women of all ages who have an interest in woodworking to attend our meetings. No experience is necessary for membership. Membership dues are $18 a year. Please come and share the experience, ideas, techniques and the mutual enjoyment of creating with wood.

The RCWA is a local chapter of the South Dakota Woodworkers Guild. The RCWA exists for two main reasons: (1) To exchange information that will enhance the enjoyment and skills of woodworking; and (2) To promote woodworking as a hobby, as a profession, or anywhere in between. This includes promoting woodworking safety, teaching and helping other members, enhancing the quality of life for underprivileged children of the Black Hills by making and distributing Wooden Toys to charitable organizations in the local area, and supporting community service organizations thru volunteer woodworking activities.

For more information, contact Bob Buchanan at (605) 348-2865 or Roger Bares at (605) 484-3498. Or go to our website at http://www.sdwoodworker.org/.

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October 2010 General Meeting of the RCWA

2010-10-23T23:05:00.004-06:00

The presentation was an overview of a trip taken to Orange County, California, and covered an overview of the activities of the Orange County Woodworker's Association at the Orange County Fair, a summary of the daylong Orange County Scroll Saw Associaton (OCSSA) picture framing workshop, a report on the presentation at the OC Woodturner’s meeting, and a trip to see a live and in person viewing of a SAWSTOP demonstration at Denver’s Rockler. The presentation was by the RCWA president Bob Buchanan.

Also presented were new toymaking ideas including a pattern for the waddling dino, a train locomotive made from stair railing, a new version of a cup and ball game, new ideas for improving the basketball game, a mirror for young girls that can be turned on the lathe, some ideas for making a biplane, tops turned on the lathe, and new methods for assembling wheeled vehicles using a bolt chucked in a drill press. Books on toymaking (mainly old style toys) will be shared at the next woodworking monthly meeting.

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SS SIG - Sept 20, 2010

2010-10-01T23:57:00.002-06:00

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September 2010 General Meeting

2010-10-01T23:42:00.002-06:00

The September 2010 general meeting of the RCWA was held on Monday September 13th at 910 Wood Ave at 7 pm - fireside at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City, SD. This meeting consisted of a short business meeting followed by discussions selected by Rick Weisbeck. After the discussion, we took a break, ate some snacks, and did the Show and Tell.

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SS SIG Meeting on August 16, 2010

2010-08-20T16:40:00.003-06:00

Second SS SIG was held this week at Roger Bare's Shop.

Aug 9, 2010 RCWA General Meeting

2010-08-13T23:59:00.003-06:00

The August 2010 general meeting of the RCWA was held on Monday August 9th at 910 Wood Ave at 7 pm - fireside at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City, SD.

This meeting consisted of a short business meeting followed by discussions selected by Rick Weisbeck.

Items for the RCWA display case were brought to the meeting on Monday. We will be bringing it to First Interstate Bank soon.

After the discussion, we took a break, ate some snacks, and did the Show and Tell.

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SS SIG July 19th, 2010

2010-08-06T12:17:00.003-06:00

The second special interest group (SIG) focusing on Scroll Sawing was held at Roger Bares' Shop on a Monday night July 19th at 7 pm.

Roger’s Report: “We had a scrollers meeting on the 19th of July. We had 4 members and 2 visitors present. We covered the basics of preparing wood for scrolling. Taping and gluing the patterns on. I gave each one of them a board and pattern for the rocking chair and some 2/0 blades so they could take it home and practice working with small blades. There was a lot of discussion on many subjects that have to do with scrolling and fretwork. I gave a short demonstration on some of my techniques with small blades and then let those that wanted to try it themselves. Our next meeting will be in my shop on the 16th of August and our main subject will be resawing wood on the bandsaw. I will set up my saw and give a demonstration on resawing. I am still open to doing 1 on 1 if anybody is interested. Just let me know and we will set up a date and time. The meetings have been going very good.”

Roger volunteered to do "One-on-One" sessions with anyone interested. Just call Roger at 1-605 484-3498 to set up an appointment. NOTE: The next SS SIG meeting will be held at Roger Bares’ Shop on Aug 16th at 7 pm and will cover the Resawing on the Bandsaw, as related to preparing the wood used for scroll sawing.

T___

H____

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RCWA General Meeting -- July 12th, 2010

2010-07-18T18:20:00.008-06:00

The general meeting of the RCWA was held on July 12th, 2010 at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City.

Presentatation: General woodworking discussions

Show and Tell:

Baby Cradle for new grandson...

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Toymaking Workshop - July 10th, 2010

2010-07-18T18:03:00.008-06:00

It was a very productive day for the RCWA Toy Workshop held on July 10th, 2010 at the RCWA Shop in the basement at 910 WOOD AVE in Rapid City, SD.

Attendees included Harley, Rick, Kathie, Bob, Lon and Gary.

Kathie did the final sanding on a run of 97 cars. So with a recent gift of lots of WHEELS and AXLES, Lon, Harley, and Rick were able to assemble about 125 cars, now ready for final finishing. Gary organized the toys in our current inventory, showing that we have completed 187 cars and trucks.

Bob handled the flow of materials and finished products, as well as the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), ensuring that all cars had all their axle holes drilled and that the wheels on assembled units were still turning.

Six boxes of animal cutouts, animal puzzles, turtle banks, and various other toys that were prepared and cut from stock by Roger were passed out to be sanded and then will be returned to the next workshop.

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Sidenote - don't forget to check out Hosie Main's Marquetry Display next time you visit the gift shop at Mount Rushmore.

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Link to Scrollsawing Video

2010-06-30T11:42:00.005-06:00

Here's a video of a project made by a mentor of mine in California. His name is Jerry Poole. This video was posted on YouTube by a relative of one of his young admirers.

http://scrollsawvideo.com/videos/

(loads very slowly, be patient)

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Scrollsaw SIG - June 21st, 2010

2010-06-26T21:16:00.002-06:00

The first special interest group (SIG) focusing on Scroll Sawing was held at Roger Bares' Shop on Monday night at 7 pm. The group decided to concentrate on BASICS of scrollsawing for this SIG. Meeting dates will be announced. Roger also volunteered to do "One-on-One" sessions with anyone interested. Just call Roger at 1-605 484-3498 to set up an appointment.

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Toy Workshop - June 17th, 2010

2010-06-26T21:13:00.003-06:00

A toy workshop was held on June 17th at the RCWA Shop at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City. Cars were sanded and then assembled with wheels and axles. Attendees included Lon, Harley, Rick, Grant, and Bob. It was sort of like a tailgate party!

Harley on the car assembly line. Grant on sanding duty.

The tailgate party...

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RCWA General Meeting - June 14th, 2010

2010-06-26T21:10:00.004-06:00

June marked the second anniversary of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association as an organization in Rapid City. At the monthly general meeting held on June 14, 2010, at 7 pm at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City, SD, the members celebrated with cake for all!

Show and Tell by Roger Bares

Lon's new toy - a dovetail jig.

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RCWA General Meeting - May 10, 2010

2010-05-25T22:42:00.005-06:00

The May meeting of the RCWA was held on May 10, 2010 at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City from 7 to 9 pm. The featured presentation of the evening was a 3 D Scrollsawing Demonstration by member Tom Parson.

Show and Tell

New members sharing their projects included Frank Dallago with several of his scroll sawn items and Willis Howard with his highly detailed backhoe on tracks.

Presentation - 3D Scrollsawing Demonstration by Tom Parsons

Woodworking Show Prize Winners
John and Fran

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2nd Annual WOODWORKING SHOW - April 24, 2010

2010-04-25T17:32:00.007-06:00

RCWA Woodworking Show 4-24-2010

The Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA) hosted its second annual Woodworking Show on Saturday April 24th, 2010, from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 WOOD AVE in Rapid City. It featured displays of fine woodworking projects, woodturning, member toy projects, demonstrations of scroll sawing, Toy Program toy displays, instructional videos, and a raffle for four woodworking items including doll cradles, and scrollsaw art clocks. The woodworking artists were also available to discuss their projects. The event was free to the public.

Here are a few quick shots from yesterday's show.

Tom's Rocking Horse and Compound Scrolling

The RCWA Display Case
Instructional Videos and Photos from RCWA events

Harley's Grandfather Clock
Rollie's Crafts
Roger's Scrollsaw Artwork

Grant's Carvings and Furniture Designs

Rick's Toy Creations and Lon's Turnings

Bob's Contributions

RCWA Toy Program Display

Roger demonstrating FRETWORK Scrolling

Bob Cutting Kids Names on Scrollsaw

Dave's Turnings

Black Hills School of Woodworking - John English

(tbd)

Rex's Display

(tbd)

Wes's Pens and Bowls

(tbd)

The woodturning demonstration, scheduled to be done on the patio, was cancelled due to inclement weather.

The purpose of the show was to exchange information that would enhance the enjoyment and skills of woodworking; and to promote woodworking as a hobby, as a profession, or anywhere in between. It was a great opportunity to meet fellow woodworkers, share ideas, and seek advice.

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RCWA General Meeting - April 12th, 2010

2010-04-25T16:52:00.002-06:00

April Meeting - planning the Woodworking Show coming up on April 24, 2010.

PRESS RELEASE for the RCWA Woodworking Show – April 24, 2010

The Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA), a not-for-profit group of hobby and professional woodworkers, has scheduled its second annual Woodworking Show on April 24, 2010, at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City, SD, from 9:30 am to 4 pm. The show will be held in the lobby of the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City (near the intersection of Haines and Van Buren). It will feature displays of fine woodworking projects completed by individual members, Wooden Toys made as a collective effort by all members, and live demonstrations. The demonstrations will include woodturning, scroll sawing, wood carving, and hand tools use. The woodworking artists will be available to discuss their projects as well. The event is free to the public.

The purpose of the show is to promote woodworking interests in the community, to exchange information that will enhance the enjoyment and skills of woodworking; and to promote woodworking as a hobby, or as a profession, or anywhere in between. It’s a great opportunity to meet fellow woodworkers, share ideas, or seek advice. We cordially invite men and women, boys and girls of all ages who have any interest in woodworking, both hobby and professional, to attend the show.Woodturning demonstrations may include bowl turning, pen turning, and lidded boxes. The techniques for making a fretwork clock will be demonstrated on the scrollsaw. Interested kids can have their names cut from wood by members using scroll saws. Carving techniques will be demonstrated by members of the Hay Creek Carvers. All attendees can sign up for a free hourly drawing for donated items and a free monthly newsletter. A raffle to support the Toymaking Program will be held for selected woodworking items.

The RCWA is a local chapter of the South Dakota Woodworkers Guild. The RCWA exists for two main reasons: (1) To exchange information that will enhance the enjoyment and skills of woodworking; and (2) To promote woodworking as a hobby, as a profession, or anywhere in between. This includes promoting woodworking safety, teaching and helping other members, enhancing the quality of life for underprivileged children of the Black Hills by making and distributing Wooden Toys to charitable organizations in the local area, and supporting community service organizations thru volunteer woodworking activities. We cordially invite anyone who has an interest in woodworking to attend this Show.

For more information, contact Bob Buchanan at (605) 348-2865 or Roger Bares at (605) 484-3498 or Rick Weisbeck at (605) 431-7375. Or go to our website at: http://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/ or www.sdwoodworker.org.

RCWA General Meeting - March 8, 2010

2010-03-10T21:38:00.001-07:00

More info to be added later - the general meeting of the Rapid City WOodworkers Association was held on Monday night March 8, 2010 at 7 pm fireside at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Feb 2009 - General Meeting of the RCWA

2010-02-09T00:40:00.005-07:00

The RCWA held its monthly meeting on Monday Feb 8th, 2010, fireside at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 WOOD AVE starting at 7 pm.

We ate brownies, reviewed Thank You Notes from excited toy recipients, did a little Show and Tell, then held a short business meeting. Then we headed downstairs for a live demonstation/presentation on Spindle Turning by Grant Coffin. Grant introduced us to all the cuts that are made on spindles, then demonstrated some techniques for spindle turning on our Shop Fox Mini-lathe

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Toy WORKSHOP - Jan 23, 2010

2010-02-05T22:28:00.004-07:00

We trekked through the snowbank again for our second workshop of the year. We brought in 2" stock for cars and trucks, and 1" stock for animal cutouts. We traced cars and got started on our Dinosaur run for the animal cutouts for the 2010 Christmas gifts.

Gary Graves brought in some new designs for cars, plus some modified designs that will fit better on 2 x 4 stock. Grant Coffin has started building small cradles which will hold small dolls and can be turned over to use as a stool for kids.

Ron Dolin took home a box of 2 x 4 cutoffs from a recent framing job to trace out small sized cars and a few buses. Lon Gose and Rick Weisbeck took home boxes of rough cut cars to sand, cut windows, and round over the edges.

Roger Bares was working in his shop making turtle banks, tractor bodies, animal cutouts and puzzles. He is in need of some 3" x 3" x 2" stock to start the Heart Boxes.

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Saturday Jan 16, 2020 Toy Workshop

2010-01-18T10:39:00.007-07:00

We shoveled a path thru a two foot snowdrift to the basement door, and then we kicked off our first official RCWA Toy Workshop for 2010 at 9 am at the RCWA Shop - downstairs at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City. The first job of the day was to unload Grant's pickup - he had collected wood donated from Wilkinson Cabinets in Black Hawk.

Then we tried to determine what toys we need to build for 2010 by looking at what we made in 2009. Here's a snapshot of that effort:

http://sites.google.com/site/sdguildrcwa2/toyprogram/toy-stats---2009

Then we started with animal cutouts, basketball game parts construction, toy car pattern tracing, toy car wood distribution, and other wood distribution to Roger Bares.

Our current plan is to hold two official workshops each month, with the next worksh0p to be held on Saturday, Jan 23, 2010 at 9 am.

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General Meeting - January 2010

2010-01-18T10:35:00.003-07:00

The first meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association in 2010 was held fireside at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City on January 11, 2010 at 7 pm. There was a short business meeting, and then we took a break, ate lots of snacks, and settled down for a presentation by Bob Buchanan of everyone’s favorite tool kit, the Rockler 4-in-1 Screwdriver Turning Kit, designed by Alan Lacer. Then we did the Show and Tell.

Presentation: 4 in 1 Screwdriver Handle Kit

Show and Tell

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December 2009 - RCWA General Meeting - FAMILY POTLUCK DINNER

2009-12-22T18:31:00.007-07:00

The December 2009 meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association was a FAMILY POTLUCK held fireside at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City, SD. Lots of food and lots of chatting - a very enjoyable event! Merry Christmas! See you in the New Year!

Smoked Turkey - by Grant Coffin
A slide show set to music was ready to be played at the POTLUCK, but due to technical difficulties with our DVD player, it could not be shown. However, the slide show is shown here: The RCWA - Year in Review - 2009. Enjoy!

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Toy Delivery to Youth and Family Services 12-9-09

2009-12-09T23:05:00.005-07:00

In sub-zero temperatures, the toymakers from the Rapid City Woodworkers Association made their last delivery of 630 toys to the Youth and Family Services in Rapid City, SD.

Local Media was on location to record the event!

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TOY DISTRIBUTION DAY - Dec 5, 2009

2009-12-05T22:37:00.011-07:00

Toys were boxed up and are now ready for delivery to organizations in the Rapid City area with plenty of time for personnel in red Santa hats to pack up and prepare them for Christmas giving! Toys were delivered to the Black Hills Habitat for Humanity on Saturday. Toys were delivered to the Sioux Falls area Needs Free organization on Saturday morning as well. Toys will be delivered to the Airmen Readiness Center, The Club for Boys, WAVI, and Benji's House on Monday. The remaining toys will be delivered to Youth and Family Services on Wednesday. These toys will go to over 600 children in the YFS program from ages newborn to 5 years old in Black Hills locations as far north as Spearfish and as far south as Edgemont.

Many thanks to all who worked so diligently over the past year and especially over the last six weeks to complete over 1200 toys to give to underpriviledged children in South Dakota.

Click here http://www.sdwoodworker.org/ to learn more about the Rapid City Woodworkers Assocation.

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Toy Distribution Preparations

2009-12-03T18:00:00.008-07:00

This past week we have been preparing for the big event on Saturday - the day we distribute all the toys we have been building since January 2009. Because the temperature dropped into the teens on Wednesday, we relocated the spraying efforts from the backyard "green house" to Wilkinson Custom Cabinets in Black Hawk spray booth to finish the last items. We then set up the RCWA Shop with a line of toys to be ready to easily pack up the Christmas boxes with the appropriate toys for the appropriate receivers. Thursday afternoon we contacted each organization to set up a delivery time on Monday Dec 7, 2009.

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Toymaking Workshop - Nov 28, 2009

2009-11-28T20:44:00.009-07:00

In preparation for this weekend's toy workshop, all animal cutouts were checked over for the last time, any squawks found were corrected, they were sanded for the last time, eyes painted on turtles and rocking horses, and all animals sorted and counted. On Saturday morning, Nov. 28th, 2009, the animals were packed into cotton bags, four to a bag in preparation for toy distribution on Dec 5th. At the end of the morning, over 100 bags were completed and ready for kids.

Today's workshop was the last workshop for 2009 - the end of the year-long toy making efforts by the toymakers of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association. The goal for today was to complete the basketball games for the toy distribution to happen next Saturday, Dec 5th, 2009. Our local WENDY's generously donated a case of spoons to be used as basketball launchers, and all the parts were completed before this workshop. We started the day with a team of two working to assemble the hoops to the backboards, another team assembling the launcher pads to the bases, and a third team working with the final assembly jigs. The setup included two nail guns, one for the 5/8 inch nails for the backboard to post, and one for the 1 " nails for the base to post. As parts rolled off the end of the line, a new team was formed to install the string/ball assembly to the completed game assembly. At the end of the afternoon, we had completed 96 basketball games. With only a few minor technical problems, the event was a major success!

Weather permitting next week, we will put a finish coat of laquer on the basketball games, in time for toy distribution on Saturday morning, Dec 5th, 2009.

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Toy Workshop Nov 21, 2009

2009-11-21T19:06:00.006-07:00

The toymakers in the Rapid City Woodworkers Association Toy Program held another Toy Workshop this morning Saturday Nov 21, 2009 at the RCWA Shop at 910 Wood Ave in the basement of the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City, SD.

Today we were preparing the parts for the Basketball Games. The basic parts of the game have been prepared over the past few weeks. Today we drilled holes in the backboards and hoops to attach the hoops to the backboards. String holes were drilled in the base to attach the string assemblies prepared last Tuesday evening. Launcher holes were drilled in the base to attach the launchers which were prepared over the last two weeks.

Bases stack up with string holes, launcher holes and post holes. Grant drilled holes in the bases.

Hoops were pre-drilled to prepare for assembling the hoops to the backboards.

Launchers with slots for Wendy's spoons were pre-drilled to prepare for assembling launcher to bases.

Lon pre-drilled post holes in the backboards a few weeks ago.

Kathie and Willis sanded the launchers to be ready to attach to the bases next week.

Rick drilled string holes in the bases for gluing the string assemblies with the 1 inch wooden balls.

Harley set up a jig and drilled the holes in the backboard and hoops.

Jigs were built in 2008 to repeat the operations of drilling holes for attaching the hoops to the backboard (LEFT PHOTO), and for attaching the launcher to the base (RIGHT PHOTO).

Grant turned bowls (small) and Bob attached them to Shaker Pegs to make a cup and ball game.

We have now finished enough parts to complete 120 basketball games. Next week we will begin assembling the basketball games, using a FINAL ASSEMBLY Jig, some Titebond glue, and a pneumatic nailer. Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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Preparation for Saturday Nov 21, 2009 Workshop

2009-11-21T19:02:00.003-07:00

This week the launchers were prepared from re-cycled packing crates. The rough boards were jointed on two sides, then planed to a usable thickness. Then a 5 degree slot using a special .087" kerf table saw blade was cut into the boards. Before cutting the individual launchers, two edges were round-over routed.

The basketball hoops were generated on a CNC machine by Jim and Dick of J&D Woodworking, Inc. in Black Hawk, SD. A quick sanding of the hoop edges on a 12"disc sander was required, followed by a 1/4 inch roundover bit on the router table. The only way to go!

Here are the launchers ready for pre-drilling to accept screws to hold them to the base.

String assemblies consist of a 17 inch long nylon string and a 1 inch wooden ball. The balls were pre-drilled at the previous Saturday toy workshop. The string assemblies were built on Tuesday evening by Bob and Kathie and Becky using a hot knife to cut the nylon string and Titebond glue to secure the string in the wooden ball.

So at the end of this week, we have completed launchers, hoops, string assemblies, bases, and backboards to build 120 basketball games all in place. This is just in time for the next Saturday workshop in which we will drill holes in the bases to accept the string assemblies and the launchers, and drill holes in the backboards and hoops to prepare the backboard/hoop assemblies.

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Making the Parts for the Basketball Games

2009-11-14T17:00:00.008-07:00

Parts List

Base

Backboard

Hoop

Launcher

Post

String

Wooden Ball

We have been working on making the parts for the basketball games for several weeks.

1. The base and backboard were cut from oak and cherry wood donated by our friends in Silver City, SD. Sizes: base: 3" by 10" by 3/4"; backboard: 3" by 4" x 3/4".

2. The most labor intensive part of the BB game is the hoop. This year we were assisted in making the hoop by our friends at J&D Woodworking, Inc. Jim and Dick put their heads together and decided their CNC Router would be a great tool to use to cut the hoops. This was a huge help to us and saved us countless hours of time. They cut the hoops from a piece of 3/4"birch plywood. The parts then were popped from the mother piece, requiring only a quick touchup on the router table with a flush cutting bit. Thanks Jim and Dick!

3. Launchers were made from recycled packing material reclaimed by Grant. The launchers are 2"wide by 1 5/8" deep by 1 1/8" thick. A slot 3/4" deep and cut at a 5 degree angle was cut to hold the launching spoon.

4. The post was cut from 1/2" dowels. It is 9 3/8 " long.

5. The string used for the BB game to retain the launched wooden ball is nylon and cut to a length of 17 inches using a thermal wire cutter. This leaves a clean cut with no frayed edges.

6. The basketball is a 1 inch diameter wooden ball, which is drilled to accept the string. Two holes are drilled, one small hole all the way through, and a large hole to hold the knot in the string.

Jigs were assembled last fall which allows us to repeat several essential operations in the assembly process. We will begin that assembly process this week.

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Toymaking Workshop - Saturday Nov 14, 2009

2009-11-14T16:25:00.007-07:00

A group of 175 car bodies were prepared for assembly on Thursday and Friday. They were sealed with a coat of sanding sealer and then sanded with 320 grit sandpaper in preparation for installing wheels and axles at the Saturday workshop on November 14th, 2009 at the RCWA Shop at 910 Wood in Rapid City, SD.

Thanks to several donations of materials and money, we have axles and wheels in place for installing on the completed car bodies. So, beginning at 9 am at the RCWA Shop, the toymakers began putting axles and wheels on the car bodies. By noon, the entire set was done, and ready for the final coat of laquer. As soon as it warms up in the backyard green house/spray booth, they will be sprayed with a coat of DEFT laquer spray. They they will be sorted and placed in boxes in preparation for our TOY DISTRIBUTION exercise on Dec 5, 2009.

Harley, Willis, Kathie, Ron and Gary pulled wheel and axle install duty today.

Here, Grant is drilling holes in 1" wooden balls. So next Saturday, we will be assembling Basketball games...

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RCWA Nov 9th, 2009 General Meeting

2009-11-09T23:03:00.006-07:00

The November 2009 General meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association was held on Nov 9, 2009 at 7 pm at 910 Wood Ave. A short business meeting was conducted by President Bob Buchanan, followed by show and tell. We want to extend a welcome to new members Andy Wilson, and Howard Willis. Plans were made for a Christmas Potluck to be held at our next general meeting.

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Toy Workshop - Nov 7, 2009

2009-11-07T19:43:00.006-07:00

A Toy Workshop was held on Saturday Nov 7, 2009 at the RCWA Shop at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City from 9 am til 1 pm. The workshop served as a wood/parts exchange. Members in attendance: Lon, Grant, Harley, Ron, Kathy, Bob.

Kathie and Ron put wheels on sanded car bodies.

Bob and Grant hooked up a drill press donated by Grant; Grant hooked up a Ryobi table saw donated by Grant.

Bob brought in 200 animal cutouts. Animal cutouts were passed out to Harley, Lon, and Grant for sanding and edge easing. Bob returned finished cars with windows ready for sanding, passed to Lon for sanding.

Lon used Jig SK001 (jig for drilling holes for the dowel in the base and backboard) to drill 1/2 " holes to accept basketball pole (dowel). Checked fit of dowels in backboard and base. Found a discrepancy in depth of some holes, so we will re-drill some holes and use final assembly jig to check for proper hole depth. Basketball game parts count: 100 bases, 96 backboards, 60 dowels. Grant brought in material for launchers. Bob will cut the stock and add the .087" slot to accept Wendys spoons. Will need 3 more boards at 5' each to make 100 launchers. J&D Woodworking is making the basketball hoops using their CNC router. Bob and Kathie will begin making the ball/string sets.

Grant brought in ten cup and ball game prototypes. Bob will install strings and balls when 3/4 inch balls ordered by Roger are received from Casey's.

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Toy Workshop - Oct 31, 2009

2009-11-04T12:21:00.008-07:00

A toy workshop was held on Saturday Oct 31st, 2009 at the RCWA Shop at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City from 9 am til 11 am. The workshop served as a wood/parts exchange.

Toy car blanks and animal cutouts were passed out to Harley, Lon, Grant, and Gary for sanding, routing, and axle hole drilling. Basketball game parts (bases and backboards) were received from Harley and passed on to Lon. The jig for drilling holes for the dowel in the base and backboard (SK001) was passed to Lon. Axle pegs were received from Gary. Cars needing window cutouts were passed to Bob.

Cup and ball games being made by Grant were evaluated - need to order some 3/4 inch balls to fit the current wood supply and current available tool sizes. Order was passsed on to Roger.

Wheel count was estimated for completing 125 cars currently in work - requested 500 as a minimum. Order was passsed on to Roger.

Donations for wheels was given to Roger ($100) to deposit.

The owner of Curves in Rapid City graciously offered to let us do a quilt raffle to raise money for Wheels for Toys for our Toy program in her place of business. The two donated quilts to be raffled off in December are located in the Curves on Sheridan Lake Road. The quilts are presented next to a display of some of the toys we have made (shown above), and some brochures about the toy program and the RCWA. Tell anyone who likes quilts and wants to support the toy program to go to Curves and check out the raffle.

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Oct 24, 2009 TOY Workshop

2009-10-25T10:17:00.007-06:00

The toymakers in the Rapid City Woodworking Association (RCWA) began a series of workshops this weekend, as the final push to build and finish wood toys for delivery at Christmas. One of the purposes of the Rapid City Woodworking Association (RCWA) is to enhance the quality of life for underprivileged children of the Black Hills. This is accomplished through this special year around Toy Program for making and distributing handmade holiday gifts and toys to charitable organizations in the local area. Members work year around in their own garages as well as in monthly Saturday Toy Workshops to produce quality wood toys. Before Christmas, the toys are distributed to various organizations in the area.

The workshop was held Saturday October 24th, 2009, in the RCWA Shop in the basement of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave from 9 am to noon. Call Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or Roger Bares at 484-3498 for any questions.

If you want to help build and assemble toys for the Toy Program, we can always use an extra hand. If you have the skills for running a scroll saw, we can use your help as well. If you can help between now and Christmas, call Bob Buchanan at 348-2865 or check our website http://www.sdwoodworker.org/ for more information.

If you want to help with donations, we are currently in need of wheels and axles to make toy vehicles. Monetary donations can be mailed to our RCWA Treasurer, Roger Bares at 834 Farlow in Rapid City, SD, 57701 or dropped off at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church office at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City.

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RCWA - October 2009 General Meeting

2009-10-20T19:08:00.004-06:00

Tonight's agenda was a short business meeting followed by the presentation.

Presentation for the evening: "Bring in one or more of your favorite "old tools"."

The toymakers prepare for a busy October and November as they finish cars and basketball games.

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RCWA - Toymaking Workshop - Sept 19, 2009

2009-09-20T09:13:00.004-06:00

A picture is worth a thousand words... so here's about 5000 words!

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RCWA - Sept 2009 General Meeting - Studio Tour

2009-09-16T09:08:00.006-06:00

The September 14, 2009 meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association was a field trip to the shop of Will Bellucci and Rachel Sheffel in Rapid City.

Grant, Rick, Kathie, Bob, Harley and Rex watching Will's demonstration.

Will explained how he cuts the tree to approximate size in the field, coats both ends with anchorseal, then lets it cure for six months to a year. To prepare the wood for turning, he knocks off the corners on the bandsaw. Then he took this chunk of tree and began shaping the outside of the bowl. Will explained his choice of tools and his preferred shapes for the grind.

Will and Rachel explained the technique for the vessel top edge treatment using templates to perfectly space the carvings.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life gives you scraps, make quilts.

When the bowl splits, make a jack-o-lantern!

Many thanks to Will and Rachel for their hospitality and for a very educational and entertaining evening of woodturning.

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Toy Workshop - Aug 15th, 2009

2009-08-16T22:19:00.007-06:00

A Toy Workshop was held on Saturday morning August 15th, 2009, from 9 am til 12:45 pm at the RCWA Shop at 910 Wood Avenue in Rapid City, SD.

Six members participated in the workshop, working on heart boxes and toy cars. Over 75 toy cars were completed by installing the wheels and spraying on the final laquer finish coat. Almost 40 heart box tops were cut as well.

Participating members included Harley, Gary, Grant, Kathie, Bob and Roger. The first set of blocks cut out, sanded and edge routed by Harley, sealed by Kathie and finished by Bob was packaged in preparation for delivery. Grant finished three rattles the evening before the workshop, and brought them in for review at the workshop. Samples of the cup and ball games were located in the RCWA Shop and discussed as potential project toys for the program.

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RCWA - August 2009 General Meeting

2009-08-10T23:49:00.009-06:00

The monthly General meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association was held on August 10, 2009 at 7 pm at 910 Wood Ave. A short business meeting was conducted by President Bob Buchanan, followed by safety stories, show and tell, and a rattle challenge. We want to extend a welcome to guest Julian Wigen.

Topics Discussed during the Business Meeting:

Central States Fair - plan to attend and visit the Woodcarving exhibits - Bob and interested members will plan to meet with Fair coordinator Kadee Hande after the 2009 Fair to explore the requirements of having a Fine Woodworking exhibit for 2010.

The NHWG will be presenting a demonstration on making duck calls at their next meeting held the last Thursday of August at Druce and Larry Kellogg's home on Maitland Road - RCWA is invited to attend.

Our next Toy Workshop will be held at the RCWA Shop in the basement at 910 Wood St on Saturday, August 15th, starting at 9 am. We will be assembling cars.

Our new librarian is ready for your requests. He will be preparing lists of available DVDs, and books. Send an email to Wes Murphy to request info on any subject and he will research his resources and send a response.

The RCWA would like to visit Will and Rachel's studio soon. Bob will contact them and set up a time for the group to visit.

A weekend jig workshop was proposed. Members were asked to think about what they would like to build and propose a time and place in the next few months.

Safety Stories

Many members told their tales of "what not" or "what to do" to keep all your fingers. Seems that there is an abundant number of these stories to be told!

Show and Tell

Rollie showed us a set of breadboards he made for an upcoming wedding, including his method of identifying who made, when made, and where the item was made.

Lon has been experimenting with his new lathe and showed us his latest productions:

Wes, as our new librarian, discussed his plans for dispursing information from our ever expanding lending library.

Grant brought in several turned items he has made recently.

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Toy Workshop - July 18, 2009

2009-07-20T21:46:00.003-06:00

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RCWA - July 2009 General Meeting - SHOP TOUR

2009-07-13T23:08:00.006-06:00

The General Meeting of the RCWA for July 2009 was held at Dave Dittmer's shop off Deadwood Avenue in Rapid City, SD. A short business meeting was conducted and then Dave demonstrated how to turn a bowl and and how to make a jam chuck to use to finish the bottom of the bowl.

The RCWA turns one year old this month, so election of officers was held. New officers included Vice President - Rick Weisbeck, and Secretary -Harley Schmadeke. Bob Buchanan will continue as president, and Roger Bares will continue as Treasurer. Wes Murphy will take the job of Librarian. Congratulations to all CHARTER Members for surviving the first year of the RCWA!

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RCWA - June 2009 General Meeting - SHOP TOUR

2009-06-08T23:07:00.005-06:00

The general meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association for June 2009 was a field trip to a local shop. We were invited to come for a shop tour of J & D Woodworks, Inc. at 5207 Ash
St. in Black Hawk, SD.

J&D Woodworks offers many custom services including; cabinets, furniture, built-ins, home offices, libraries, gun cabinets, entertainment centers, mantles, wainscoting, molding, flooring, and many other aspects of woodworking. They especially like to show off their CNC machine and EPILOG laser etcher.

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May 2009 - RCWA TOY WORKSHOP

2009-05-23T13:40:00.008-06:00

The Rapid City Woodworkers Association hosted a Toy Workshop at Bob's Buchanan's workshop on Saturday morning May 23, 2009, from 9 am until noon, with lunch served by Mrs. Buchanan. Four toymakers braved the damp air on a holiday weekend to make the trek to the workshop. We were also joined by two guests from the Northern Hills Woodworkers in Spearfish, SD.

We picked up where we left off at our March toy workshop, taking scrap lumber and turning it into toy cars. We traced out about 100 various cars/busses on 2 x stock and drilled axle holes in the 125 cars already in process.

We showed our guests, NHWG president Corky, and member Richard the progress made on current projects, including basketball games, tractors, and numerous car projects. Corky let us know of some of the future presentations he is planning, and invited us to attend their meeting next Thursday evening in Spearfish.

A good time was had by all, and we all enjoyed a good lunch served by Mrs. Buchanan after the workshop.

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RCWA - May 2009 General Meeting

2009-05-11T22:25:00.009-06:00

The May meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA) was held on May 11, 2009 at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 WOOD AVE in Rapid City, SD.

Harley Schmadeke presented a turned beaded handle Gavel and matching sound block to the RCWA on May 11, 2009. Nice job and Thanks Harley!

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A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle and often struck against a sound block to enhance its sounding qualities. It is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the capacity of a chair or presiding officer[1]. It is used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations. It is customarily struck to indicate the opening (call to order) and closing (adjournment) of proceedings, giving rise to the phrase gavel-to-gavel to describe the entirety of a meeting or session, and to indicate that an item has been sold in an auction. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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The meeting was called to order by Bob Buchanan using the official Gavel. The meeting consisted of a Business Meeting and a Presentation of Favorite Jigs.

The Business Meeting covered the following:
Evaluation/Discussion of the April 18th Woodworking Show
Announcement of a Toy Making Workshop - May 23rd at 2361 Lindsey Drive starting at 9 am

SHOW and TELL

Roger Bares - motorcycle oval plaque

Harley - Walnut Lamp, and Gavel and sound board for meetings

Bob - project 4 shot.

Favorite Jigs

Bob - safety push sticks, bench hook

[photo unavailable]

Lon - shim maker

Rollie - jig for making basket, and a jig for adding diagonals to picture frame corners.

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RCWA WOODWORKING SHOW - APRIL 18, 2009

2009-05-07T07:15:00.006-06:00

The Rapid City Woodworkers Association's first ever Woodworking Show was in the planning stages for three months. A press release to the Rapid City Journal resulted in a very well written and informative article written by Cindy Card Buchholz that was published on Wednesday, April 15th, three days prior to the event. At 10 am on Saturday April 18th, RCWA members began arriving to setup for the show. What a super display of team effort, as the tables were arranged, covered with cloth, and the woodworking displays arranged. By noon, the stage was set and the Show began.

THE SHOW

For those of you who were unable to attend the Woodworking Show on Saturday April 18th, you missed a good one. The weather threatened to spoil the day with a little cold rain, but no snow, so we were overjoyed. The show featured woodworking projects made by members, demonstrations of woodturning and scroll sawing, and concluded with a family potluck.

Displays of a large variety of turned bowls, hollow vessels, platters, segmented bowls, turned pens, and other exquisite items made on wood lathes covered more than ten tables. Members Dave Dittman, Wes Murphy, Rick Wolke, Rex Briggs, and Roger Bares displayed their completed projects. Rick Weisbeck brought in a few examples of fine furniture to display including a dining room table and an end table. Bob Buchanan brought in some shop accessories including a shaving horse for building Windsor chairs and a saw bench, which was required equipment for carpenters not too many years ago. Bob also brought his display of six wild Rocking Horses with Bears ranging in size from 1 inch tall to 12 inches tall.

Roger Bares filled a table with his very impressive collection of scroll sawn clocks, and scrolled text messages including John 3:16 and the 23rd Psalm. Rick Wolke provided a display of samples of exotic woods from all over the world, as well as several of his exotic wood projects. Rollie Lynde presented his woodworking interests and accomplishments via a photo album, while Harley Schmadeke illustrated his hot tub-gazebo building saga on poster board on the wall.
A scroll sawing booth was set up featuring Roger Bares cutting fretwork patterns and Bob Buchanan cutting names for kids. This production line was a real team effort with one person taking names, another drawing the names on the wood, another cutting the names, and another sanding the finished product. Everybody helped in meeting show-goers and telling them about the group. Rick Weisbeck, Gary Graves, Harley Schmadeke, Bob Buchanan and Ron Golin assisted on the name cutting production line, and setting up and tearing down the booth. Nineteen names were cut for kids who came by the booth.

Several woodturning demonstrations were presented on the patio outside the Woodworking Show displays. Rex Briggs, Dave Dittmer and Rick Wolke provided live entertainment throughout the afternoon with chips flying, while answering questions and providing brief explanations of basic turning.

The toymakers filled two tables with samples of the toys built last year and the ones in production this year. The most popular action toy was the dual basketball game, built especially for the show, to give young and old alike a taste of real basketball competition, probably even better than Wii. Kathie Buchanan, Andy Claiborne, and Joan Bares greeted show seekers as they came in the door and helped with the free drawings, and the raffle. Seventy two people signed up ffor the free drawings, and prizes were given away every fifteen minutes during the show. Memories of the day were recorded by member photographer Lon Gose.

It was a very successful event with an estimated 200 Black Hills residents in attendance. I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church for letting us host the show in their facility, and to all RCWA members for their hard work and dedication to make the show a big success.

SETTING UP FOR THE RCWA WOODWORKING SHOW

2009-04-18T23:23:00.010-06:00

The Woodworking Show was in the planning stages for three months. A press release to the Rapid City Journal resulted in a very well written and informative article written by Cindy Card Buchholz that was published on Wednesday, April 15th, three days prior to the event. At 10 am on Saturday April 18th, RCWA members began arriving to setup for the show. What a super display of team effort, as the tables were arranged, covered with cloth, and the woodworking displays arranged. By noon, the stage was set and the Show began.

RCWA Woodworking Show and Demo – April 18, 2009 We want to extend sincere thanks to the Rapid City Journal for their super story on Wednesday April 15th highlighting our first ever Woodworking Show and Demonstration. The article written by Cindy Card Buchholtz was very well written and very enjoyable. The show on Saturday was very well attended and deemed a major success by all members participating in the event. Thanks again to the RC Journal for your story in advance of our event!

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RCWA - April 2009 General Meeting

2009-04-13T22:24:00.003-06:00

The monthly meeting of the RCWA was held on April 13, 2009 at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City.

Press Release for the RCWA Woodworking Show and Demo – April 18, 2009

The Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA), a not-for-profit group of hobby and
professional woodworkers, has scheduled its first annual Woodworking Show on April
18, 2009, at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City, SD, from 12 noon to 4 pm. The show will be
held in the lobby of the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City
(near the intersection of Haines and Van Buren). The show is intended to promote
interest in woodworking among both hobbyists and professionals in the Black Hills area.
The Show will feature displays of woodworking projects completed by individual
members, Wooden Toys made as a collective effort by all members, and live
demonstrations. Woodturning demonstrations will run all afternoon including bowl
turning, pen turning, and lidded boxes. Interested kids can have their names cut from
wood by members using Scroll Saws. Special projects suited for scroll saws such as
fretwork clocks will also be demonstrated. All attendees can sign up for a free drawing
for selected woodworking projects and a monthly newsletter. A raffle will be held with
hourly drawings for Wooden Toys.

The RCWA is a local chapter of the South Dakota Woodworkers Guild. The RCWA
exists for two main reasons: (1) To exchange information that will enhance the
enjoyment and skills of woodworking; and (2) To promote woodworking as a hobby, as a
profession, or anywhere in between. This includes promoting woodworking safety,
teaching and helping other members, enhancing the quality of life for underprivileged
children of the Black Hills by making and distributing Wooden Toys to charitable
organizations in the local area, and supporting community service organizations thru
volunteer woodworking activities.

We cordially invite anyone who has an interest in woodworking to attend this Show. For
more information, contact Bob Buchanan at (605) 348-2865 or Roger Bares at (605) 484-
3498. Or go to our website at www.sdwoodworker.org.

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Toy Workshop at the RCWA SHOP - March 14, 2009

2009-03-31T23:03:00.002-06:00

Six toymakers showed up to kick off the season of toymaking in our new RCWA SHOP in the basement of the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.

First on the agenda was hanging pegboard to hold the handtools and clamps donated by Rick and Andy. Then we set up two teams - one to trace out cars on the wood donated by the Spearfish sawmill, and one to sand the fenders for the next gen set of BARES' car line.

Then we caravanned to SPLinter's to pick up workbenches for the SHOP. We disassembled and reassembled three workbenches and arranged them in the SHOP.

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RCWA - March 2009 General Meeting

2009-03-16T22:38:00.007-06:00

A winter storm blew in the afternoon of the Monday of our regular meeting, so the meeting was postponed for one week.

Exceptional weather returned to the Black Hills by the weekend, so the March Monthly meeting of the RCWA was held on March 16th, 2009, at 7 pm at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City.

Roger Bares shared his completed clock projects made from walnut, cherry, maple, and ash.

Wes Murphey showed us some of his latest turnings, including his bacote shaver and brush, a bowl made from poplar and walnut, and a display case of walnut and ? .

Details of the upcoming first annual RCWA Woodworking Show were discussed at tonight's meeting. Members volunteered for setting up, working, and tear down of the Turning Demonstrations and the Scrollsawing Demonstrations. We finalized plans for displaying member's projects and asked members to bring them to the church by 11 am. The Show will be open to the public from noon til 4 pm. After the show, members and their families will chow down at a potluck supper.

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RCWA - February 2009 General Meeting

2009-02-09T23:16:00.006-07:00

The February 2009 General Meeting of the Rapid City Woodworkers Association was held at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church from 7 to 9 pm.

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Tour of Dave Lang's Guitar Making Shop - Kairos

2009-01-12T23:42:00.012-07:00

Tour of Dave Lang's Shop

Dave Lang's Shop Tour was narrated by none-other-than Dave Lang on Monday night, January 12th, 2009.

Over 31 people (a sell-out crowd) enjoyed the presentation, as RCWA members were joined by members of the Northern Hills Woodworkers Guild from Spearfish, SD and members of the Hay Camp Wood Carvers of Rapid City, SD.

All in attendance were treated to a fine presentation of the intricacies of guitar making, including material selection and preparation, jigs required and how they are used, and all the detailed processes involved in making a superior product.

At the end of the tour, the group was treated to a surprise presentation of classical guitar music by Christopher Johnson and Pete Hendrickson, accomplished classical guitarists who had been invited by Dave to make his guitars come to life.

Overall, a very impressive field trip! Thanks Dave for your hospitality and for a fine presentation!

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Basketball Game Planning Instructions

2008-12-13T09:34:00.004-07:00

Jigs for Building the Basketball Game

The following jigs are essential to the production of the Basketball Game for the Toy Making Program of the RCWA.

Part Number SK001
Dowel Holes/Launcher Jig
Drill dowel holes in base and back board
Drill/assemble launcher to base

SK002
Hoop and Backboard Jig
Drill/assemble hoop to back board

SK003
Launcher Slot Jig
Jig for cutting 5 degree slot in launcher using band saw

SK004
String Cutter Jig
Cut string to length

SK005
Hoop Hole Jig
Drill hole in hoop

SK006
Final Assembly Jig
Assemble/align the backboard/dowel/base

SK007
Basketball Hole Jig
Drill holes in basketball

SK008
Hoop Routing Jig

Route the outside edges of the hoop

SK009

Basketball String Glue-up Holding Fixture

Used to glue string in basketball

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Toy Distribution - Dec 9, 2008

2008-12-09T15:29:00.004-07:00

Many thanks to all the elves who helped build toys for the RCWA toy program this year!

200 Toys were presented to the Club for Boys on Tuesday, Dec 9, 2008.

ELVES representing the RCWA: Lon, Bob, Roger and Rick

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RCWA - December 2008 General Meeting

2008-12-08T22:18:00.006-07:00

The sixth regular meeting of the RCWA was held at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Rapid City on a cold blustery Monday night Dec 8, 2008.

PRESENTATION BY RICK - PROJECTS FROM THE LATHE

SHOW AND TELL

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Preparation for Toy Distribution - Dec 5, 2008

2008-12-06T20:33:00.004-07:00

On December 5, 2008, several members of the RCWA met at SPLinters to sort toys into boxes for distribution to recipients.

This year's recipients include the CLUB for BOYS, Benji's House, and WAVI. A total of 275 handmade wooden toys will be distributed.

The toys will be delivered on Tuesday Dec 9, 2008.

Toy Workshop - Nov 29, 2008

2008-11-30T09:20:00.005-07:00

The seventh RCWA toy workshop of 2008 was held at SPLinters at 9 am on Saturday Nov 29th, 2008.

Jig for cutting 2" hole in basketball hoop.

Basketball games recently sanded with 400 grit and now ready for final spray laquer finish.

Harley - putting 3/16" roundover edge on basketball games bases.

Race cars - final spray laquer finish has been applied - cars are ready for kids.

Kathie - brushing sanding sealer on basketball games.

Potential FUTURE product line.

Next toy workshop will be in January 2009. Watch for details.

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Toy Workshop - Nov 22, 2008

2008-11-22T21:50:00.007-07:00

The 6th RCWA Toy Workshop of 2008 was held at SPLinters on Nov 22, 2008 from 9 am to noon. We are winding down the major part of our toymaking for this year. The projects we started six weeks ago are nearing completion. Several members are now starting to build and test toys for next year.

This workshop brought the completion of the car line for this year. The last seven cars were sanded in prep for sanding sealer. Thirty race cars were assembled and ready for the final finish coat of spray laquer.

Parts for basketball games were final sanded in preparation for setting up the initial low rate production line run. Twenty three basketball games were assembled by a team of five woodworkers in less than two hours. Due to some parts shortages, we were unable to complete the remaining ten games. This project was very beneficial in learning the challenges of a real production line. Everyone contributed to this project.

Plans for documenting the details of our production processes for each toy type are in the works. This blog will be the media used to record the information.

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Toy Workshop - 15 Nov 2008

2008-11-15T22:42:00.011-07:00

The fifth toy workshop of the RCWA was held on Saturday Nov 15th, 2008 at the SPLinters Woodshop. The tractors are all completed, several heart boxes are done, more than 2/3 of the cars are done, and all the basketball game parts are cut out and ready for assembly.

Today, we completed the assembly of 52 cars, completed sanding of 35 racers, and prepared the remainder of the parts for the baskeball game. Six jigs were required to build the basketball game. The last jig was being tested today, in preparation for assembly of the first basketball games later this week.

Ron drilled holes in basketball backboards . . . . Dan routed roundovers on basketball bases.

Rick assembled the last jig (SK106) for basketball game assembly.

Dan edge sanded the basketball bases . . . . . . . Ron and Kathie put wheels on cars.

Gary ( aka SuperSander) does hand sanding on race cars . . . . . . . Ron put wheels on cars.

Kathie prepared cars for final finish . . . . . Dan put roundovers on basketball game parts.

The next toy workshop will be held at Splinters on Nov 22, 2008 from 9 am til done.

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