RCWA - October 2009 General Meeting

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

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

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RCWA - Sept 2009 General Meeting - Studio Tour

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.

or

When life gives you scraps, make quilts.

or

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

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

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

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RCWA - July 2009 General Meeting - SHOP TOUR

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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