WOODWORDS ON THE BRANDYWINE

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Joshua Chester Stafford
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1 WOODWORDS ON THE BRANDYWINE Volume 25 Issue 8 August 2012 WOODWORKERS GUILD OFFICERS FOR 2012 President: Peter Leavens VP: George Hoffman Treasurer: Jeremy Noblitt Newsletter Editor: Tim Sabo Librarian: Tony Knisley Raffle Manager: Tony Knisley Webmaster: Richard Dell Program Committee: Jim Stevens Charles Given Pell Sherman Jim Kirkbride July Highlights Dual presentations from Peter Leavens & Tim Sabo The presentation time at last month s meeting was split between Peter and myself. We randomly chose topics we thought might arouse some interest. Peter Leavens Shop usefulness for Finishing Pneumatic Nailers Some of us might remember a few years back Chuck Skelley gave a demonstration on pneumatic nail guns. I believe he brought with him three different types of nailers; framing, brad and finishing. Last month Peter showed us his Hitachi finishing nailer he bought from Lowes. One of the features that impressed Peter into buying it was that it accepts 5/8 to 2 18-gauge nails. That s equivalent to having both a brad & finishing nailer in one. The cost was reasonable and it received pretty good reviews on-line. To power the gun Peter uses a Hitachi 6-gallon 145 PSI air compressor, also obtained at Lowes. It s a small compressor, light weight, sized ok for the application but somewhat loud. As with many other guns it operates at 100 PSI. Peter chose to demonstrate the gun by building one of the wine bottle racks featured in last month s newsletter. He brought in precut pieces of redwood and a couple of spacer jigs to help align everything during assembling. Mistakes are easily fixed with a nail gun. Just disassemble, remove the nail and reattach. This is something Peter came across after being distracted during his talk. 18-gauge brads leave a barely visible hole when removed. Thank you Peter for sharing. Tim Sabo Shop made jigs for sharpening blades and chisels I thought it might be interesting to trial a couple of those jigs typically featured in woodworking magazines and books. I chose two simple, but useful conceptual jigs to try. Both are jigs to help sharpen chisels, plane blades and joiner blades. I wanted to evaluate whether the critical points are discussed in the articles and whether the cost (materials & labor) make them worth making and keeping for many years of service. The first jig tried was featured in ShopNotes, issue 31, Low-Speed Grinding Jig. This device uses a drill press with some kind of stone chucked into the spindle. The drill press is set on a low speed (I used 360 rpm) so as to not overheat the blade s edge. The article suggests a 60 grit stone. I was fortunate and had access to a 250 grit flat diamond disk that I could chuck into the drill press. I didn t have to buy this item. I spent about $15 in materials on this jig. It is used by mounting a joiner blade onto a table that gets pulled past the spinning stone by turning a threaded rod. I found that a coarse threaded rod is more desirable because it allows one to gently turn the crank instead of rushing and jerking the crank handle to keep the speed up. This jig has the ability to make micro-adjustments to align the blade flat with the stone. A good feature, but the jig is only as good as the drill press and how true the shaft spins without wobble. The final edge had a strong hook that needed to be hone away. I was pleased with this jig and will use it again. The second jig comes from the Time Life Book Series, Woodsmith Custom Woodworking: Shop-Built Jigs & Fixtures, Bevel Grinding Jig. It is used with a bench grinder. It supports chisel blades, plane irons so that they can be held against the stone at the correct angle. With this jig you can easily check your progress then return to sharpening without fussing with the alignment. Bench grinders cut very quickly, especially those rotating at 3600 rpm. This jig helps control the sharpening process to remove the blade from the stone before it has a chance to get too hot. It has a stop to keep from over grinding. I was also pleased with this jig and plan on using it again and again. photos on pages 2 & 3

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Page 4 WOODWORDS ON THE BRANDYWINE 2012 Meeting Schedule Guild meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month. All interested persons are invited.

4 Page 4 WOODWORDS ON THE BRANDYWINE 2012 Meeting Schedule Guild meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month. All interested persons are invited. Our upcoming meeting is: August 15th JD McCormick will detail handsaw use and sharpening 7:00 PM Woodcraft 166 South DuPont Highway New Castle, DE Upcoming contest The topic for this contest will be Toys. This will include whirligigs through checker boards. Entries will be due in December. Multiple entries are acceptable, however, one prize per individual. Contest is open to all current members. Rules on how the judging will take place will be distributed at a future meeting. The judges will be selected by the program committee and will include only non-participants. If you don t plan on having an entry and would like to be a judge, please see any member of the program committee. September Meeting Update The September meeting will be held at our regular time and place. However, we will be sharing the floor with the First State Woodturners. They have arranged for a guest demonstrator and wish to share the opportunity with us as well. Alan Carter is a nationally known artist who has been featured in magazines like: American Woodworker & Woodturning Design. The June 2011 issue of Woodturning Design features one of his pieces on the cover. There are number of galleries which have elected to show his work. He frequently does well in juried shows and is a popular demonstrator at many symposiums and shows. Visit his web site to learn more: Christmas tree ornaments needed We will participate in the Festival of Trees by decorating a 6 tree to be auctioned with proceeds going to the Hospice of Delaware. Since the auction occurs before our regular meeting date in November all ornaments will be collected in October. We would like a good mix of all styles and need approximately 100 to fill the tree. Each year our tree has been very desirable and typically bring bids near the $1000 mark. We are looking forward to another quality effort. Please plan to participate. 1 Raffle Winner Bob Stozek won the raffle prize (Diamond Sharpening stone) Bill Davison won $4 in the 50/50 Treasurer s Report 08/01/2012 Raffle Income $ /50 Income $ 4.00 Current balance $

5 Volume 25 Issue 8 Page 5 Classifieds The classified section is open to any paid member. Have your classified information into Tim Sabo by the first of the month to be included in that month s newsletter. your information to: Jim Stevens has the following for sale: call (302) Rockler Clamp Storage Rack Asking $75.00 Jerry Sheeran has a mortising attachment Delta Model # with bits barely used. $50. Jerry at Pjsheer@aol.com or call (610) Walnut logs A recent wind storm that went through the Middletown area downed a walnut tree. For sale, 2 logs: 20 diameter, 7 long - approximately 120 bft 1 log: 14 diameter, 9 long Or: the tree (with its branches) may be purchased for firewood Phone: (410) Woodcarvers of Delaware club The Woodcarvers of Delaware club meets every Monday night (6:30-8:30), while school is in session. We meet at McKean High School in the old woodworking room. The meetings are informal. People bring and work on their projects at the meetings. Experienced woodcarvers are available to help you master the art of woodcarving. If you would like to add a new dimension to your wood working skills, come and check this club out. For additional information contact Roger Earley (president) at Dave & Anne's Sawmill Dave Peregmon Custom Sawing, Hardwood lumber for sale Hardwood Lumber for sale 33 Chestnut Street, Pennsville, NJ Phone: (856) (cell) or (215) (home)

6 Page 6 WOODWORDS ON THE BRANDYWINE Show & Tell Wayne Scholz Roger Earley

7 Volume 25 Issue 8 Page 7 JD McCormick David Webber

Woodworkers Guild of Delaware 38 Jay Drive New Castle, DE. 19720 WE RE ON THE WEB www.delawarewoodworkers.

8 Woodworkers Guild of Delaware 38 Jay Drive New Castle, DE WE RE ON THE WEB Open to all woodworkers novice to experts Woodworkers Guild of Delaware Benefactors of the Guild Please keep these friends in mind when you make purchases: Woodcraft Lee Valley Veritas

WOODWORDS ON THE BRANDYWINE

ROHM A ND H AAS C OMPANY WOODWORDS ON THE BRANDYWINE Volume 24 Issue 12 December 2011 WOODWORKERS GUILD OFFICERS FOR 2010-11 President: Peter Leavens VP: George Hoffman Treasurer: Jeremy Noblitt Newsletter