Woodcraft Newsletter

Future Presentations/ Program Survey

A survey form was circulated at the last general meeting to see where the main interest lies in topics for our coming program. The results below show the main topics in priority order. Can you think of any other suggestions? Pass your suggestions on to any member of the committee

Router inserts and templates	1	Laminating and veneering	9
Adhesives	2	Tuning hand planes	10
Finishes	3	Band-sawed boxes	11
Gadgets and Jigs	4	Picture Framing	11
Abrasives	4	Upholstering	12
Turning chucks various, cup, screw, scroll	5	Carving and sculpture and figures	12
Dovetailing.	5	Japanese tools and joints	12
Scrapers – Use of and sharpening	6	Antique tools, scorp froe, spokeshave etc
Panel Door making	7	Marquetry
Turning Face plate	7	Saw Sharpening
Turning spindles	7	Pyrography
Designing your project	8	Hinges
Fluting Turned items	9 .

Highlights from February Meeting

President Arnold opened the meeting and extended a warm welcome to Derek Clegg ( formerly of the Peninsula Woodworkers) and our Guest Speaker Rob Wallace.
Arnold gave an outline of ‘progress’ exploring the options for our next Exhibition venue. In respect of the new Shoalhaven Arts Centre by the night of the meeting we still haven’t had access to the rooms to evaluate them. So far the price for hire from the Council appears to be comparable with our previous venue (the School of Arts) but there are some new organisational issues we will have to work through. Instead of our usual 3 day exhibition, Council will require a block booking of 2 weeks which will inevitably need to be considered by club members in terms of rostering stewards, though it appears some help may be forthcoming from a new Volunteer Steward group which will be attached to the Arts Centre. There seems also an issue around fragmentation of the exhibition which would be split over 4 rooms and will not allow the same spacious layout as we are used to. There is also a question about the ambience of the new venue being comparable with the School of Arts, which is excellent for exhibitions such as ours. We have made tentative booking for both venues pending the outcome of further investigation.

The Show and Tell part of the evening drew a number of contributors. First up was Peter Farrell with a very neat mallet, made with timber and tubular aluminium. Brian Byrne tabled a nice laminated bowl, a specimen vase and a nice cedar old style candle holder. Ian Morison brought a little lidded urn in hawthorne and a stemmed lidded challice in Cedar shown right

At the February meeting Secretary Bill Turner showed an interesting bowl made from Tree Lucerne (Tagaste) and a hanging Pot Pourri bulb in Jacaranda and cedar ( shown right)

Colin Gale tabled a neat little metal lathe made as a fitter and turner
Apprenticeship project.

Member Show success !
Gordon Elford entered his fine wooden urn ( Urnie) in Kiama, Berry and Nowra Shows recently, plus some
additional work in Berry and Nowra Shows. At Kiama he was awarded First Prize. He was awarded First and Second Prizes at Berry. He was then awarded a First, a Second and a Highly Commended at the Nowra Show. He was also awarded Most Outstanding Exhibit in the woodwork section at Nowra.Gordon observed that we have some really fine work at our evening meeting night in the Show and Tell segment, worthy of exhibiting in Local Community Shows and would encourage other members to participate.

Rob is the proprietor of Allwood Antiques in Geary Place North Nowra and is well known to many of our members for his excellent selection of fine timber for furniture and craft work. Rob dealt with the potential toxicity of timber dust which is serious cases of allergenic reaction can be life threatening.

Rob has his list of “favourite” hazard timbers which he has developed since he has been in the business, from reports of his clientele. For Rob Australian Black Bean tops the list. He has heard even of mill workers suffering internal bleeding from ingesting the dust.

He notes too the reputation of Western Red Cedar, Canadian Redwood and the Sequoias. he said Kwila from Indonesia and Malasia which is a heavy, greasy timber favoured for windowsills is known to be a serious irritant in nasal passages. Fourth on his list is Silky Oak, which many of our own members have experienced at first hand with bad rashes from dry or wet sawdust. He mentioned a number of other timbers like Blackwood (Acacia) Red Bean (a mahogany), Australian Red Cedar, Iroco, Makore which are African timbers, and even Camphor Laurel which can give you a high if you are exposed to the fumes long enough.

Rob also briefly mentioned the increasing cost of some timbers as they become scarcer ( Teak now about $30 a super foot.) An the problems of lictid and other borers and their treatment

Snippets :

We have 20 litres of high strength PVA Glue for distribution to members at $8.00 per litre.
We have 50 litres of yellow alphatic resin glue for distribution to members at $11 per litre
Remember we have a library available to members too!! We have a formidable range of Books and magazines which are under utilised ! Club money went to buying them over the years. Included are some 39 Issues of The Australian Wood Review, About 54 issues of better Homes and Gardens. Almost every interest area is covered. There are two books on making bandsaw projects, two on carving, three on chairs, two on chainsawing, three on drawing and design, one on picture framing, three on workshop jigs, Five on routering, eleven on general techniques, sixteen on general projects, and twenty-five items on turning five of which are videos !!

Coming Events

March 17th Keith Turner will talk to us about Japanese joinery
April 13th - 19th Kiama Woodcraft group show at the Old Fire Station
April 21st Committees Choice. Everyone to make a platter or tray.
It is also a lathe chuck night. Bring yours! (Arnold)
April 23-26 Tumut Show –we are invited to participate.
May 19th Router Inserts and Templates (Gerry Mutch)
June 16th. Abrasives?

President Arnold Parrott was born at Lockhart. Leaving school at age 15 he worked at a grocery store, collecting orders and making deliveries by bicycle. He later took a position with a stock and station agency and enjoyed a position as a spare parts salesman for International Harvester equipment in their farm machinery department.

Moving to Sydney for a TAFE course at Ultimo. He later completed a theological course at Sydney Uni. This led him into the Methodist Ministry and positions at Morpeth Gunning and Goulburn. He left the Ministry to become a welfare officer at Port Kembla Steel Works which he undertook for 15 months. He got an opportunity to be appointed as a Probation Officer, a career he pusued for 30 years,I nitially in the "gentle" district of Woolloomooloo, Kings Cross and Surry Hills. He spent 18 years in the Wollongong - Kiama district and moved to Nowra in 1998 .

He played competition tennis from the age of 12. He played golf until about 3 years ago he now enjoys lawn bowls through his association with Probus. He has 2 children and 3 grandchildren.

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