Handsaws – 4th Mar 2020

Mar 122020
 

Chris started our March meeting with an excellent video on handsaws by Anne Briggs, covering types, body position, practice, vices and much more!

Anne showed the benefits of a Moxon Vice. Check out the following video on how to build one for yourself.

Anne also shows her Glen-Drake joinery saw – check out the following video where Kevin Glen Drake compares traditional Western and Japanese saws, and the reason for developing his own saw – fascinating!

 
After a lamingtons, tea and a chat we listened to Peter Sellers’ introduction to his desktop organiser – a great project to take on.

This led to some discussion on correctly centering a drill bit for attaching hinges – especially for small projects. Brian informed us of the centering bits that are available for this purpose. Click on the picture below for a bit more information.

Chris then showed members his 3 in 1 drill press upgrade – click on the picture from Woodsmith below if you are interested in building your own.

We finished the evening with Scott’s visit to the Sturt School For Wood open day in Mittagong.
If you are interested in being notified of events at the School, you can sign up for their Newsletter.

Scott had also just received a book recommended at the School on Veneering – click on the book below for a bit more information.

Another great night – looking forward to our April meeting!

Member Methods & Bevel Ripping – 5th Feb 2020

Feb 082020
 

“The More You Know, The More You Realise How Much You Don’t Know”

Well, we certainly learnt a lot of new techniques at our first meeting for 2020. Members had indicated an interest in how some of the entries in our Christmas contest had been designed and built, and Hugh and Chris kindly showed us some lovely designs and very useful techniques.

Hugh started the evening with a description of his bit holder, necessitated by the loss of his original plastic container. The inclusion of cup hooks allowing for storage on a peg board was a great component of his original design

 

Chris then showed us an amazing range of designs and techniques used in his prize winning pieces.

First, his beautiful coffee table. Chris covered a range of techniques including aprons, haunched tenons and adding “ears” to aid clamping. Click on either the Milescraft CircleGuide picture or the video for further information on circle cutting.

 

Chris then showed us his lovely trinkets box made from Sydney Blue Gum and Jacaranda. Chris’s box was a modification of original plans that can still be bought from Wood Magazine, and for those interested in Chris’ method for drawing curves, check out the following video for making a simple drawing bow.

 

And then we learnt some great techniques in building Chris’s endgrain cutting board, including his router flattening jig (using either a straight or dish bit)

 

Check out the Wood Whisperer video below for Chris’ original inspiration and reasons for using endgrain.

For Chris’s full presentation click on the first page below.

Over a cup of tea we watched some great woodwork from the Australian Woodturning Exhibition – AWTEX

We then had our monthly raffle draw followed by Brian’s description of the club’s latest woodworking magazines. Check out the contents on our library page – and don’t forget you can borrow any of the club’s magazines!

Ron then gave a presentation on some beautiful and functional desks he has built, and Chris finished the night with an original Triton video on bevel ripping

Learnt so much – A great night!

Christmas BBQ & Contest – 4th Dec 2019

Dec 222019
 

A lovely night to finish off the year – great food, great friends and great woodwork.

Many Thanks to our cooks Brian and Peter – and of course the lovely Carolan.

An interesting mix of woodworking projects were offered for the contest this year:-

 

Thanks so much to our judges – Ben & Phil from the Woodcraft Guild – their understanding, feedback and anecdotes made for a wonderful night.

And the winners are:-

Outdoor Furniture

Possum Box – John

Workshop

Bit Organiser – Hugh

Toys

1st – Train – Bruce

2nd – Dolls Bed – Trevor

3rd – Long Snake – Bruce

Prize Winner – Games Table – Scott

Indoor Furniture

1st – Glass Top Table – Chris

2nd – Nick-Nack Table – Mick

3rd- Gift Wrapping Table – Hugh

Boxes & Ornamentals

1st – Treasure Box – Chris

2nd – Folding Chess Set – John

3rd – Cutting Board – Chris

Prize Winner – Bandsaw Box – Hugh

Phil finished off the night with his experience and recommendation of Organoil products – and he showed us his lovely little stool made from American White Oak.

For those interested in the polishing process Phil mentioned, check out this video on Wet Sanding Technique.

Have a great Christmas – and start thinking of your woodworking projects for the New Year!

AGM & Japanese Woodworking – 6th Nov 2019

Nov 202019
 

AGM 2019 Executive

A nice and peaceful AGM thanks to our great executive – Chris, John & Carolan

Many thanks to our outgoing committee member Peter and a big welcome to Rob – and a big thank you to all our members for a great year – and many to come!

Mick rounded up the night with a presentation on his trip to Japan – the most amazing scenery, history, castles and woodwork!

For those of us who can’t quite get over there at the moment, click on the picture below for a bit more information on the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum.

Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum

And, for those wondering about our resident expert on screws – check out the following recent article from the Australian.

Hope you’re all finishing up your entries for the Christmas contest – not long now!

Routing Small Pieces & Mobile Equipment – 2nd Oct 2019

Oct 142019
 

Chris & Brian gave members a great presentation and demonstration on routing small pieces.

 

Click on the pictures below for Chris’s original presentation and some further background from one of his sources.

 

As part of the demonstration, Chris showed us a great jig for pattern routing small pieces – click on the picture or video below for more information

 

After cake, tea and a good chat, Chris then gave a presentation on making workshop equipment mobile – click on the first page below for the full presentation.

Chris also sent out a link to the following video on an amazing flip top mobile workbench – at the end of the video, note the castors mentioned in Chris’s presentation above.


 

A little bit of trouble with Chris’s last video on bevel cutting (we’ll get that fixed), but to finish off a great night we had quite a bit of discussion by members. Mick came up with a very good idea for not being surprised in the the workshop by the kids – get a safety mirror!

This one is quite reasonably priced, and safe for the workshop.

Kenyan Top Bar Hive & More Workbenches – 4th Sep 2019

Sep 192019
 

Stephen began a great evening with a follow up of Scott’s presentation last month on their portable Festool style workbench.


 

Stephen used the PARF Guide System supplied by Carbatec to create his portable workbench. Click on the picture or video below for more information.

Stephen and Scott also showed us the dogs and bench stands 3D printed by Yellowbox Shed.

Click on the pictures below to see the products available and also the Stanton Bench (a trusted partner of Yellowbox Shed) that Stephen mentioned.

Yellowbox Shed bench dog sets

the Stanton Bench

After tea and cake, Brian gave us a demonstration on how to fine tune the workcentre – including adjusting the circular saw for precision cutting.

 
And Nick finished off the night with a fascinating presentation on the Kenyan Top Bar Beehive that he his currently building.

Click on the picture below to learn a bit more about Beekeeping Naturally – the next Beekeeping Naturally course in Canberra is coming up soon!

Cove Cutting & More Workbenches – 7th Aug 2019

Aug 212019
 

Scott began a great night with a presentation on a portable Festool style workbench that he and Stephen are building.

Festool Basic Multifunction Table.
Click on picture to get further information.

Looking forward to Stephen’s follow up presentation next month!

 

Hugh also gave us a presentation on his new fold-up Workbench, plus his amazing glue-up table and innovative approach to achieving a fully functional Workshop in very limited space.

Hugh’s Workbench

Hugh’s Glue-up Table

Hugh’s Workshop

Click on any picture above to see the full set of Hugh’s photos

 

Chris sent members a link to the following video by Timbecon on Designing Your Workbench.


Plus a link to their workbench accessories, including holdfasts and dogs.
 

And to finish a great night, Chris showed us an alternative process to cutting coves on the Workcentre using a parallelogram.

Woodsmith Cheese & Cracker Tray Plans

Cheese & Cracker Tray Preview

 

If you don’t have access to the full video by Woodsmith, following is a similar process from the Woodwhisperer that may be of interest.

Click on any item above to view them.

Tapers & More Workbenches – 3rd Jul 2019

Jul 082019
 

We had a preview of Chris’s beautiful workbench last month, and this month Chris showed us where he got his inspiration from – Robert Lang’s 21st Century Workbench.

Click on the pictures below to see a video on how versatile the workbench is and how to buy the plans at a very reasonable price.

 

And then – another excellent workbench from Brian! Click on the pictures below for the original plans or Brian’s economic modifications (with a costing of various options – excellent value!)

Brian’s Modified Workbench with Costing

 

Members were then given practical demonstrations of 2 different methods for cutting tapers on the Workcentre. Brian used a Taper Jig from Carbatec, and Chris used his L-Jig coupled with an electronic angle finder.

Brian’s Method – the Carbatec Taper Jig

Chris’ Method – L-jig and electronic angle finder

 

Craig then showed us a simple idea for a plant stand

And Chris finished an action packed night with a list of his favourite websites

(click on the picture to see the full list and actionable links)

Woodworking Benches – 5th Jun 2019

Jun 182019
 

We had a great night looking at that essential component of any workshop – the woodworking bench.

A number of members gave presentations on their benches, and why they liked them –
functionality, accessibility, stability, suitability, affordability and how good they looked!

Click on any of the photos below to see the full presentation

Bob’s Bench

Chris’s Bench

Craig’s Benches

John’s Benches

Trevor’s Bench

John finished the night with a great presentation on the variety of workbenches available to members – click on the title page below to see his full presentation.



And here is the article Chris sent us on the most common workbench questions from Christopher Schwarz’s book Workbenches – from Design & Theory to Construction & Use – just click on the book cover below.