Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA): December 2015

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

RCWA Family Christmas Potluck - Dec 14, 2015

12-11-2015

Just a reminder that we will be having our RCWA Christmas Family Potluck Dinner on Dec 14th at 6 pm at 910 Wood Ave in Rapid City, SD. The church will be open at 5:30 pm for those wanting to bring food to be heated. Hope to see you there!

ALSO - The CUTTING EDGE FOR December 2015 (newsletter of the RCWA) is available at the following link for your review:

https://sites.google.com/site/rcwa004/newsletter-archives/newsletters---2015

Thanks. Bob B

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12-14-2015 - 6 pm

We got off to a little bit of a shaky start, due to a doublebooking/scheduling conflict at 910 Wood Ave, but the event went off without a hitch, due to the generosity of Mark Kline at the Club for Boys who opened the kitchen area of the former Thrift Store for us to use for our Potluck with only a few minutes notice.

Attendees:

Rick Weisbeck, Mary Jo Anderson, Judy and Lauren Levin, Grant and Mary Coffin, Harley and Sue Schmadeke, Julian and Lois Wigen, Darwin and Lauree Buus, Ed and Kimber Pike, Norma and Rollie Lynde, Joan Bares, Richard and Margaret Rasmussen, Bob and Kathie Buchanan, Lon and Vicki Gose.

The potluck was held at the former Thrift Store at the current Club for Boys location across the street from the Journey Museum. Julian Wigen led us in an opening prayer. We were all treated to a fantastic meal including smoked turkey, meatballs, rice, salads, and desserts. A sample of each of the toys made for the 2015 Toy Program was on a table for all to see. Items for show and tell were also displayed. Table settings included a toy (made by the Toymakers), a birch log candle and berry arrangement (made by the Coffins), and relief cut Evergreen Trees (made by the Weisbecks).

As dinner was winding down, Bob Buchanan lead a discussion about the activities leading up to the delivery of the toys for 2015 - BEHIND THE SCENES. Here are a few cryptic notes from the discussion:

ACTIVITIES BEHIND THE SCENES

SUPPLIERS

Cloth Buyers

Community Donors:

Dakota Craft

J and D Woodworking

Wendy’s

Others - Donations of wood and wood parts

Paper Box Suppliers

Commercial Businesses: Wheels/Axles

PATTERNS / DOCUMENTATION

System For Building More Than One Of Each

PLANNING

Tracing/Workshop Planning/Packing/Distribution

PARTS FABRICATION

Wood Prep – Planing/Cnc Milling/Wheels/Axles

Parts For Rockers, Cradles, Helicopters

Parts From Plexiglass

Cutting – Scrollsawing, Bandsawing, Turning

Sanding – Rough, Intermediate, Final

Parts Finishing – Sealing, Sanding, Finishing

ON-SITE ASSEMBLY (AKA TOY WORKSHOP)

Meeting Place

Tools

Cookies/Coffee

Many subassemblies completed

Final Assembly of wheeled vehicles/other toys

OFF-SITE ASSEMBLY

Bagmakers

Quilters

Chalkbd Makers

Box Makers

Tractor Makers

Paddle Game Makers

Ring Toss Makers

SUPPORT

Maintenance/Troubleshooting

Tools

Glue Applicators

Jigs

Patterns

Photos

Wood Storage

Toy Inventory Storage

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

New Ideas: New Toys -- New Processes/Techniques

Show and Tell

Ed Pike's Wooden Poinsettas

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Once again, I would like to thank all the members of the Rapid City Woodworkers for their sacrifices of time and resources through out the past year. The team work has been amazing, and it really shows up as we accomplish our goal of sharing our talents and providing a little joy to those around us. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Bob B

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Click on the link below to learn more about the Rapid City Woodworkers Association activities on the main page of the website:

sdguildrcwa2



				sdguildrcwa2 Main website of the Rapid City W

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Monday, December 7, 2015

Toy Deliveries to YFS - Plaza Drive - Rapid City - Dec 7, 2015

Toy Delivery to YFS - Monday - December 7th, 2015 - meet at the Shop at the Club for Boys at 8:30 to load toys. Arrive at YFS Plaza location at 9 am for Toy Delivery.

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Click on the link below to learn more about the Rapid City Woodworkers Association activities on the main page of the website:

sdguildrcwa2



				sdguildrcwa2 Main website of the Rapid City W

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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Line Up of Toys 2015

Toy Line 2015

The Toymakers in the Rapid City Woodworking Association (RCWA) worked all year to finish toys in time for Christmas giving. This year, there were 21 official toy workshops held in the shop at the Club for Boys and dozens and dozens of unofficial toy workshops held at individual member's shops.
This small group of 20+ Toymakers finished over 2,500 handcrafted wooden toys, all of which will be delivered next week to local charitable organizations who work with children in South Dakota. The toys that were made this year fall into the following categories:

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Click on the link below to learn more about the Rapid City Woodworkers Association activities on the main page of the website:

sdguildrcwa2



				sdguildrcwa2 Main website of the Rapid City W

the end

Press Release for Toy Deliveries -2015

Press Release for Toy Deliveries - 2015

Press Release for the RCWA Toy Deliveries – Dec 7, 2015

For the 8th year in a row, the Rapid City Woodworkers Association will be donating handmade wooden toys to the following organizations in South Dakota. The following organizations are on the list this year:

Rapid City:

Youth & Family Services - Prenatal to Five Headstart Programs (13 locations)

The Club for Boys

Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity

Working Against Violence Inc (2 deliveries)

Ellsworth Air Force Base - Airmen and Family Readiness Center (2 deliveries)

South Dakota National Guards - SD Family Assistance Center – 155^th En Co

The HOPE Center

LOVE Inc.

Cheyenne River Youth Project – Eagle Butte, SD

Needs Free - Sioux Falls, SD

The Toymakers in the Rapid City Woodworking Association (RCWA) have been working all year to finish the toys in time for Christmas giving. This year, this small group of 20 Toymakers finished over 2,500 handcrafted wooden toys, all of which will be delivered next week to local charitable organizations who work with children in South Dakota.

The toys made this year will be packed for delivery this Saturday morning Dec 7, 2015, in the shop at the Club for Boys and then delivered (at no cost) to 21 organizations in South Dakota. Most of the toys will be delivered that same day. The last group of toys will be delivered on Monday, Dec 7, 2015, at 9 am to the Youth and Family Services office on Plaza Drive in Rapid City. We will also have an opportunity to pass out the toys to the children at the facility.

In 2008, the group made and gave over 400 toys to the Club for Boys, WAVI, and Benji’s House. The number of toys produced since then has increased each year. For those interested in numbers, a summary of the toy making progress is shown below:

Year	Toys
2008	400
2009	1260
2010	1430
2011	1620
2012	2001
2013	2271
2014	2519
2015	2769
	14,315

The organization receiving a large portion of the toys is the Youth and Family Services in the Black Hills. Almost 750 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. The woodworkers have received very positive feedback from all organizations that have received the toys; they are excited that they have been included in our toy program. Another group receiving a large number of the toys will be delivered to an organization called Needs Free in Sioux Falls. This organization works with many of child-oriented programs, including several working with people coming off homelessness. Again this year, we are giving another group of toys to the Cheyenne River Youth Project in Eagle Butte who are conducting a Christmas Toy Drive to fill Santa’s lists for close to 1,500 kids in their area.

If anyone would like to help build and assemble toys for the 2016 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. We moved our Toymaking shop to the Club for Boys at 320 N 4th Street St in Rapid City, SD in 2013. This gives us additional opportunities to work directly with kids on woodworking projects. 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, Julian Wigen at 3010 Morningview Drive in Rapid City, SD, 57702.

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 $25 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 Rick Weisbeck at (605) 431-7375. Or go to our website at www.sdwoodworker.org.

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Click on the link below to learn more about the Rapid City Woodworkers Association activities on the main page of the website:

sdguildrcwa2



				sdguildrcwa2 Main website of the Rapid City W

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TOY PACKING DAY - DEC 5, 2015

The toys made this year were packed for delivery on Saturday morning Dec 5, 2015, in the shop at the Club for Boys and then delivered (at no cost) to 26 organizations in South Dakota. Most of the toys were delivered that same day. The last group of toys will be delivered on Monday, Dec 7, 2015, at 9 am to the Youth and Family Services office on Plaza Drive in Rapid City. We will also have an opportunity to pass out the toys to the children at the facility.

Attendees (22):
Truck Drivers: Rick Weisbeck, Larry Deibert, Frank DiCesare, Grant Coffin, Ed Pike, Danny and Marry Green, Lon Gose, Rollie Lynde, Bob and Kathie Buchanan

Club for Boys:
All of the above plus: Steve Larson, Bel Felix, Lauren Levin, Gary and Denise Kohama, Richard Rasmussen, Harley Schmadeke, Al Oines, Darwin and Lauree Buus, and Gary Graves.

Here are photos from the event: