Chris gave a couple of very useful and informative presentations after the AGM at our November meeting.
(Members, please login to see the President’s Report on the Member’s page.)
Chris first presented a session on card scrapers, including two videos. The first demonstrated four uses of a scraper, while the second demonstrated how to sharpen one.
He also showed an alternative sharpening tool from his own collection.
Chris then presented an overview of clamp storage methods, drawn from the web and his workshop.
Click on the first page below for the full presentation.
And this is the video Chris made reference to in the last slide
Enjoy your woodworking – Christmas is not far away!
Members have been busy making bird boxes for the Lions Croke Place Wetlands Landcare Group – part of the Ginninderra Catchment Group
Ron introduced the teams making the bird boxes at the meeting. All the makers enjoyed the opportunity to work with other club members in making the boxes. When there were problems, or things did not turn out as they hoped, the common catch cry of all groups was…”its only a bird box!!”.
The teams were;
Spotted Pardalote
Crimson Rosella
Eastern Rosella
Kookaburra
Nightjar
Red-rumped Parrot
Congratulations and thanks to all who participated!
The boxes were presented to Mick wearing his Landcare hat. The following video shows Mick giving a bit more information about the group (and a little bit about a local woodworking club!)
A certificate of appreciation was presented to Debbie from Bunnings for supplying all the materials for the project. She and her husband (another Mick) were pleased with the outcome and enjoyed seeing how Bunnings donations were making a valuable contribution to the community.
Lindsay From COTA gave a short presentation on the Silver in Gold Expo. Sadly the Expo has been postponed, but when it’s finally held the Club will hopefully be running a stand at the Expo, and Lindsay will organise for the Landcare group to have an adjoining stand to highlight the work being done by TOCACT in the Community.
The evening was rounded off with some great demonstrations on board making.
The router – connected to Brian’s cyclonic dust extractor and the vacuum cleaner (no dust in the face tonight) – was in full use for demonstrations of tongue and groove cuts and biscuit joining to make wide boards for table tops etc.
Brian demonstrated specialised tongue and groove router bits (relatively expensive) and general cutters (inexpensive) to achieve similar results.
Ron demonstrated biscuit joining just using a biscuit cutter bit and the fence of the router.
The techniques used by Brian and Ron could be performed on any router table and were not specific to Triton, although Brian did show us the Triton biscuit joiner.
Members might also be interested in the following from The Wood Whisperer
Tonight’s meeting was on making the frame for drawers.
Ron demonstrated the Gifkins dovetail jig for making drawers. A little help from Brian’s sledge hammer and we had a nice tight fit!
Check out another demonstration of the jig below.
John gave an overview slide presentation on drawer lock router bits and demonstrated the Torquata drawer lock router bit from Timbecon. Click on the first page below for John’s slide presentation.
As John says – ‘Every mistake provides a learning opportunity with the audience getting a good understanding of the concepts involved and where things can go wrong! We also the learnt the importance of connecting a dust extractor to the router. Everyone attending the demonstration will have memories of the demonstrator being covered in dust.’
If you are looking at drawer lock bits, the small diameter upright bits (the blue type in John’s slide presentation) may be safer and easier to use. The gap between the fences on the router table are narrower. There is less opportunity for the wood pieces to slip into the gap between the fences. The downside is that there is limited scope for integrated fascia boards with the smaller diameter bits.
The smaller diameter bits can also be operated at higher speeds. Many routers only have a single high speed. The Triton router was one of the first to bring in variable speeds.
We also learned the importance of doing lots of test cuts – not just to make sure the depth of the cut is right but also to develop a safe reliable technique for these awkward cuts. A high temporary fence is recommended by John to provide stability, especially with larger drawers.
Click on the Torquata drawer lock bit below for more information by Timbecon. John found their video demonstration particularly useful as the bit did not come with any instructions. John has written instructions for his future reference on test cut pieces which he keeps with his high fence. It is worth searching out U-Tube videos demonstrating other drawer lock router bits.
Rules Relating to the 2021 Photographic Competition
Projects submitted for the competition should have been constructed by members entering the competition, within the last 3 years and not previously entered in a Club competition.
Projects should be of a nature whereby they cannot be entered into the Club’s annual woodworking competition, for example, they are too large/ fixed in place, etc.
Judging of projects will be undertaken by all members present at the meeting at which the competition is held.
As projects will be judged based on photographs and related descriptions, entrants should ensure they submit sufficient photographs to enable a full assessment of the merits of their entry or entries.
Photographs of the project during construction phase would be welcome.
Photographs should, if possible, be taken from different angles and include close ups of any notable woodworking features or joints.
Entrants should submit for each project a brief fact sheet detailing materials and techniques used and any notable features of the project.
There will be three categories of projects – indoor projects, outdoor projects and workshop projects.
Entries should be submitted via email to Ron* to allow circulation to members.
Entrants will be requested to make a brief presentation to members prior to judging.
The judging criteria and points allocations for the competition were as follows:
Finish (appropriate for conditions and well applied) 20 pts
Construction (techniques, joints, etc) 25 pts
Design 25 pts (more points for original or modified designs)
Chris gave a great presentation to members on sharpening. Here it is for those who couldn’t make it to the meeting, but try to come next time if you can – you learn so much more being there!
And these are the videos Chris showed.
Now you can get working on those Christmas presents with nice sharp tools!
A couple of great items from members for our first meeting back.
Mick shared his experience how his dust control project grew after talking to fellow Tritoners. Mick’s next presentation aims to share his further experience in progressing this project referencing ‘Dust Control Made Simple’ by Sandor Nagyszalanczy.
Click on the book cover below for a bit more information.
John W then presented the results of his investigative work on building a Biesemyer style rip fence for the Triton 2000. He believes it can also apply to an MK3.
Click on the picture below to obtain the plans and instructions.
And a few videos on the same topic for your viewing pleasure.
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.
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!
“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.
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
