WNYWT-Website Credits

The May demonstration should be of special interest to those members who do not have a computer. Kurt Hertzog, our Webmaster, will take us on tour of our website and some will be given an opportunity to try it for themselves. Also if you have items you want photographed and put in the gallery bring them along. Kurt is very knowledgeable, so even the Internet veterans should find the presentation very worthwhile.

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We need volunteers and turned donations for the Southtowns Carvers’ Show. The show is being held April 27 & 28. Please help us out. If you can’t attend, how about a couple examples of your work that we can sell for our favorite charity. Our Club has always been generous at times like these. Let’s keep that tradition alive.

Contact Jed Donahue at: jedbuildings@aol.com phone 592-7507 or Jake Debski: jdebski@msn.com, or phone 937-7644. If you can’t drop your donations off perhaps we can arrange to pick them up. Please remember, as always, we cannot reimburse you for labor and material. It is a charitable donation.

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Maybe it was the warm weather or daylight saving time or both, but Thursday’s crowd was happy and unusually boisterous. There was a considerable amount of good-natured camaraderie in evidence when President Ron Hudson gaveled the meeting to order. Once again forty plus members were in attendance.

Treasurer’s Report

Paul Mazuchowski stated that the treasury currently contained one thousand, two hundred and seventeen dollars. The current paid membership stands at seventy-three with a cap of eighty-five.

Sunshine Report: Barb Berger reported Jim Hilburger must have been feeling better since he was at the meeting. Jim was given a round of applause and he thanked everyone for the cards and e-mails he received.

Old Business

Jed Donahue reported that Sam Ciccia had secured a 20 X 30 tent with heaters for the upcoming Carvers’ Show. That should ease the worries of those who were afraid the weather maybe less than enjoyable on that April weekend.

Barb Berger and others praised Richard “Bud” Sarama’s pen turning workshop held at “The Barn” last month. Richard presented an informed and relaxed program that was both enlightening and enjoyable (except for his hat.) Hat was way too gaudy.

A new Jet Mini-Lathe was presented to the Club. The lathe was a gift from the Rockler Corporation. Ed Jolls, manager of the local Rockler Store, arranged for the donation. Rockler, in general, and Ed Jolls, in particular, have a strong commitment to the support of the woodworking clubs and guilds in our area. For the rare individual who may not know where the Rockler Store is located, it can be found on Transit Rd. between Sheridan and Maple in Clarence.

Richard Mialki, one of our new members, informed the Club that The Aurora Paint Pot located at 132 Grey St. in East Aurora will give club members a 20% discount on any item purchased at that store. All that is required is that you show your Club membership card. The store carries Benjamin Moore paints, Minwax products as well as sandpaper, brushes, etc. Remember you need your membership card. Thanks Richard for bringing that to our attention.

Yours truly was gratified by the compliments about the quality of the newsletter. It means a lot and encourages me to keep trying to do a good job. Thank you all.

Sam Ciccia suggested that members who attend and volunteer to help at the Carvers’ show be allowed to display and sell individual examples of their work. There were no objections as long as it did not interfere with the donating of pieces and the sale of these products for the benefit of our charity. As in the past, anything made by a demonstrator at the show will be sold for charity. Since selling of non-donated items requires a sales tax I.D. number, Sam volunteered to let the members use his personal tax number. This is a trial and if all goes well, perhaps we will attempt to do this again at a future event(s). Please get your donated products to us and polish up that special piece you didn’t want to give to the in-laws anyway and let’s see if it can be sold!

In other matters, a motion was made by Barb Berger and seconded by Jed Donahue that the Club purchase, through Rockler, a Tallon chuck for the donated lathe. It was decided we would buy a Tallon chuck and a drill chuck from Rockler. The motion for the drill chuck was made by Paul Mazuchowski and seconded by John O’Neil. Both motions were carried without objection.

Show and tell was led off this month by Ron Mostel. Ron brought two pieces; one made of coco bolo and the other of walnut. The first, made of coco bolo, was a small turned lidded box made to hold one of the new silver dollars. Ron’s second example was a narrow but tall vase like piece. It had slotted sides and a completely finished interior. Ron read an article in a magazine explaining how to create this piece and decided to give it a try. From the look of things he is on his way toward mastering the method. Though relatively new to the club, Ron is quickly showing himself to be one willing to push the envelope and try new things.

Kurt Hertzog was next. Kurt explained the method he uses to successfully glue Corian together and keep it together. Using the methods learned while attending a Frank Stanko (from Club 1) demo at ASI in Lancaster, Kurt is able to glue, drill, then turn the Corian thin enough for pen barrels. Kurt is another member constantly looking to expand his knowledge as it relates to his hobby.

Jed Donahue explained how he designed, built, and uses a bowl blank fixture on his bandsaw. The heart of the fixture is the ability to adjust the wander out of the blade while cutting. Although built for his large saw, a smaller version could be made for the more common fourteen-inch bandsaws. A super idea and application, Jed.

50/50 Drawing Well, I guess it wasn’t Gary Sargent’s game after all, because Pepper Weinheimer walked off with the twenty- two dollar 50/50 prize. As they say …”hey ya never know.”

Paul Mazuchowski treated us to an excellent hollow vessel demonstration. Using a series of store bought and homemade or modified tools, Paul explained the techniques he uses to attain his desired results. He used a partially hollowed vessel that he cut in half to explain the importance of the attention given wall thickness and how to measure that thickness. He also showed us a tool he made. It looked like it should be used to harpoon whales rather than hollow a vase. But darn if it didn’t work just as he said it would. Another point that Paul said he could not stress enough was the importance of keeping the vessel clear of chips. The chips tended to bunch up, hold heat, and prevent accurate tool movement. Excellent job, Paul; very informative.

Elmer thinks the world is made up of two kinds of people, the Gonnadoers and the Getitdoners. Some promise to do things but never follow through, and the others take the next step and make things happen. Gonnadoers wind up contributing very little while Getitdoners keep the world going around.

Speaking for myself, I think most of us fall in between. The important thing is to strive to stay on the Getitdoners side of the ledger.