WAVERLEY WOODWORKERS INC.
Clubrooms: 2 Windsor Ave.,
Mount Waverley,
Vic 3149
Telephone: 9807 9648
E-mail: phug8047@bigpond.net.au
|
NEWSLETTER DECEMBER, 2004 |
Volume 11 Office bearers
2004/2003 Issue 11
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
On
behalf of the committee I would like to wish all members and their families a
Happy, healthy Festive Season. The elections over, the ‘Create from a crate’
entries are in and by the time you read this our Christmas Party is over, so
now we can all relax unless like me you are still wondering what they all want
for Christmas.
I
would like to thank the committee, our Newsletter Editor and the other key
holders and trainers for working like Santa’s helpers keeping the club on the
move. Cameron McKerrall's hard work on our web site has come to fruition. If
you haven’t had a look at it you should even if you have to ask a relative or
friend for help. Cam mate , its great and thanks to Kathy as well for egging
him on.
Gavin
Betts has been continuing his research into resolving our table saw problems.
Sometimes it seems we just have to wait a bit longer to make sure we get a
machine that we can all be proud of and at the moment we are waiting for an
importer to let us have a look at another machine, Thanks to all for your
patience while we resolve this one.
NOVEMBER CLUB NIGHT
Tony
Mc Lachlan led us through the safety and general mode of operation of the
Triton Router. See when you adjust the right bits its quite easy! We also got
to see the accessories on the table so I expect lots of finger jointed boxes
appearing in the club. (Continued on page 3)
Discounts Available from the following:
The following
companies offer discounts to members of the Waverley Woodworkers . Note:
Discounts are only available on presentation of your current membership card.
Australian Wood Panels, 40-42 Winterton Rd., Clayton 9543 5033
Baileys Toolbank. Unit 4 Rowen Crt., Box Hill 9897 1911
Blackwoods, 9-19 Lionel Rd., Mount Waverley (ask for
Cyril) 9518 2222
Carba-Tec. Mountain Highway, Bayswater
9427 8444
Note: New address
Dixon’s Hardware. 304 Stephensons Rd., Mount Waverley 9888 1813
Flatman’s Timber & Hardware. High Street Road. Syndal 9802 9211
A. Lewis & Co. 302 Jasper Rd., Ormond 9578 6218
Malvern Paint & Timber Finishes. 1933 Malvern Rd., Malvern East 9885 2883
Magnetic Abrasives. 286 Neerim Rd., Carnegie 9571 6811
Mathews Timbers. 125 Rooks Rd., Vermont 9874 1666
Moorabbin Timber. 230 Wickham Rd., Moorabbin 9553 0155
Plyboard Distributors. Note: This company no longer allows discounts.
Sachy’s Industries, 43 Browning Drive, Glen Waverley 9803 2370
Shiver me Timbers, 217 Kororoit Creek Rd. Williamstown 9397 5993
Woodworking Warehouse. 11 Citrus St. Braeside 9587 3999
If you know of
any other source for discounts for members, then please give me a ring on 9560
5752 with the details.
Similarly, if you
have difficulty obtaining a discount from any of the above, please give me a
ring.
Peter Hughes
|
COPYRIGHT: Except where
otherwise stated, other woodworking clubs may use items from our Newsletter.
We do ask that such be without alterations, and that the source be
acknowledged. |
(President’s Report continued)
This
was a good refresher course but I hope members don’t expect all Duty Officers
to be able to demonstrate all the options so, if all else fails, read the
manual.
Brian
Ellis has been making children’s toys and the committee would like to help him.
Hopefully we can set up a group of like minded members to organize themselves
with whatever support required. There is always a need for sturdy safely
designed wooden toys for children and hopefully this what we will achieve.
CREATE FROM A CRATE
Well
members who came along sampled our entries in there various stages of
completion. For those of us involved Helene Longton, Judy Yeo, Lynne Fitzsimmons,
Gavin Betts, Geoff Allen and for a while Wolfgang Becker ( before he gave up)
this project has been both energizing and exhausting. I am sure that we have
all gained from the experience as woodworkers and it was great camaraderie that
kept us all going but then that’s one of the reasons for being in the club in
the first place.
Geoff
Allen
CLUB NIGHT 9 FEBRUARY, 2005 at 7:30
pm
The
activity for this night is yet to be determined and will be advised in the
February, 2005 newsletter
CLEAN UP DAY Saturday 18
December
All
members are asked to man the pumps on the afternoon of Saturday 18th
December for the annual spruce up of the clubrooms. The more people the merrier
and you never know you might get to meet somebody new so, how about it, then we
can start all fresh and clean next year for another year of wood chip and dust
production.
Geoff
Allen
CLUBROOMS CLOSING from 19 December
to 8 January
The
Clubrooms will be closed over this period to enable the willing Duty Officers
to have a rest.
JUST TURNING
Monday 25 October – 8 members present
Harold
Pinto brought along 2 small turned bowls – one from Coolabah and the other
unknown. Finish was “Ruskins” Danish Oil. Geoff’s Allen’s piece was a Koto
inside-outside turning piece which was of interest as very few members have
tried this type of turning. (Ed. If you want to know more about this technique
of turning, please see Geoff or Helene)
Peter
Stacey brought along a tiny Pinoak bowl with a domed lid with holes. The
container is to hold pot pourri.
Bob
Lorensene brought along a Biscuit and Dip bowl of unknown timber. Also Bob had
2 key rings, one of mango and the other Huon Pine. Bob corrected the size of
the drill needed for the holes to take the cylinder for the key ring – it is
27/64”. The rings are called secret compartment Key rings.
Ron
Jones showed a bowl he had made a few years ago of the “Black Boy” timber.
Finish is Shellawax.
Helene
showed her attempt at inside-outside turning of old Oregon for a lamp.
Geoff
Allen gave a talk about Neil Scobies demonstration at Knox and District
Woodworkers which was very interesting – 5 members and 1 visitor from WWI
attended.
Helene
Longton
Monday 1 November – 7 members present
Harold
Pinto brought along a small natural edge bowl from Purple Heart. Harold also
showed an attractive vase made from the Purple Heart, with a piece of sealed
pipe to hold a flower stem. An Ogee bit with the thread filed off was used to
make the hole.
Bob
Lorensene showed how he holds his sandpaper strips for turning. He used a piece
of 2 ½” x 1 ½” x 9” long piece of Pine with slits for the paper and 2 magnets
fitted underneath to keep it still on the lathe.
Alec
Morey brought along a platter made from Mallee Root, American Cherry, and
Sheoak with pewter. Alec said it is such a difficult procedure, that he won’t
be making another.
Ron
Jones showed a Red Gum desk set with 2 pens, one of Mango and one of an unknown
attractive timber of many tones. The letter opener was made from Apricot.
Bill
David brought along a photo of the Mango desk set he made with a tiny clock and
2 trumpet pen holders as a graduation gift. Finish was “Liberon” wax.
Helene
Longton brought along 2 Banksia nut Tea Light Holders with Red Gum Ends. For
interest, although it wasn’t turned, Helene brought along a photo holder shaped
like a comma on its side – in the circle was a piece of NZ stone shaped like a
miniature palm tree.
Harold
brought pieces of Purple Heart to share. Bob
brought silicone surfaced paper – nostick – for members to use to glue
up. He also showed small pieces of burl of an unknown timber.
Helene
Longton
Monday 15 November – 9 members present
John
Baker showed an almost finished bowl he had turned from a Red Gum fence post
with a finish of Seedlac 1200 followed by 2 coats of Beeswax. Ha also had a
practice piece turned in the shape of an egg-cup from Jacaranda.
Bill
David reported that 2 Lanterns he had made from Purple Heart were given away as
presents.
Peter
Stacey brought along the natural edged bowl which started out as a club
project, but Peter has been working on the piece which has required much
filling and is now at the sanding stage. Peter also displayed 3 carved items he
had purchased during his travels. All were high class work, very ornate and
intricate work. Two were in the form of lidded boxes and the other a wall
plaque.
Al
Sengotta had a bowl turned from an Apricot tree branch finished with a coat of
water based acrylic.
Bob
Morrison had turned a miniature spinning top and vase from boxwood and a spoon
from Red Gum.
Ron
Jones brought along a pen made from various woods including Purple Heart, Red
Gum and Ramin.
Harold
Pinto showed 3 pens made from Conkerberry, African Bubinga and Ebony with a
final finish of Shellawax Glow.
Ray
Austin showed a deep hollowed waisted form shaped Jug in Ash with Red Gum
handle and Red Gum features. The finish was Triple ‘E’ and friction polish.
Ray
Austin
Monday 22 November – 12 members present
Bill
David brought a beautiful Purple Heart based Lavender oil burner with glass
lantern style lamp.
Peter
Stacey brought film canisters for storage containers or for vase inserts to
hold water in the timber turned vases. Peter also brought along a Mulga bowl on
a chuck and used double sided tape to hold this as it was so small. Must use
low speed for safety. Finish was Linseed Oil.
Helene
Longton showed a lidded container to be finished with a sloped lid and 3 legs
in Purple Heart with Triple ‘E’.
Ron
Jones brought along four articles made from Banksia nuts – a Christmas Bell for
a tree ornament, a Lavender oil container with lid to hang in the wardrobe, a
candle holder, and a small vase.
Bob
Morrison brought along a small Blackwood bowl finished with Shellawax, needle
case, a tiny vase from a Box tree, a straight sided dish and a dainty bowl
turned very fine with a pattern created with a Dremel. Bob also showed a
work-in-progress comprising a Mango platter with a multi-coloured timber
(unknown species from Jim Cunningham) geometric shapes to be inserted into this
platter which will be entered into a competition next year. Bob’s pieces would
not be complete without his miniatures – a very tiny vase and a spinning top 20
mm long.
Helene
Longton
Monday 29 November – 11 members present
Peter
Stacey, Bob Lorensene, Bob Morrison, Harold Pinto, Helene Longton and yours
truly all managed to find some treasure at Vic Wood’s weekend sale, although;
cheap often doesn’t seem cheap enough.
Bob
Lorensene has been having fun making spinning tops and he also brought in his
grandmothers prized Mulga bookends which were in good condition despite there
age.
Alex
Morey has made a Gidgee lace bobbin (now we are all waiting for his first
segmented lace bobbin). Bob Morrison has already started on the weekends wood
with a lidded box in fiddleback Yellow
Box and two mini captive ring goblets from a piece of Belah. This time Bob had
made them big enough to be able to be seen with the naked eye. More fiddleback,
this time Red Gum from Ron Jones in the form of a clock, it is very stylish and
every mantelpiece should have one although a battery might help it keep better
time. John Dixon has turned an urn shaped vessel out of a Frankston Red Gum
post which was a very pleasing shape. I think we have convinced him to have
another go at hollowing it out some more. John also brought along a squat pot
(inkwell shape) turned from the same timber.
Please Note: the closing date for input to the February,
2005 Newsletter is 17 January, 2005
MAJOR WOODTURNING WAGGA WAGGA 2005
A
major Woodturning Event, similar to “Turn Around Down Under” is to be held at Wagga Wagga N.S.W. in March
2005. I understand that well known International Woodturners will be there
participating.
Maximum
number for this event is 100 people. Details are available on the Notice Board
in the Office.
“WOODWORKS 2004”
This
competition is being run by the Council of Victorian Woodworking Clubs and the exhibition will be held from 4 December
to 19 December from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at the “Meatmarket Arts Centre”, 42
Courtney Street, North Melbourne.
A number of our members are partaking and
from what I have seen and heard I am looking forward to the end results.
Peter
Hughes
WOODWORKING TIPS from
“FINE WOODWORKING”
(Published
with the express permission of Taunton Press, publishers of “Fine Woodworking”.
Such permission is restricted to Waverley Woodworkers Inc.)
Getting started in Woodworking:
Router 101 – Rabbeting
A
rabbet is a simple cut that’s easy to set up and guide – it’s a great way to
start learning to use the router.
By
Aime Ontario Fraser
In
this excerpt from her book “Getting Started in Woodworking”, Fraser provides a
skill-building exercise that will help you set up your router and rout rabbets
on the sides and ends of a board. Mastering basic skills like these will serve
you well in all your woodworking.
Rabbeting
is a great application to start learning to use the router because it’s a
simple cut that easy to set and guide.
With the bearing on the tip of the rabbeting bit, the router is docile
and easy to control as long as you remember the rule: Rout against the turning of the bit.
Routing rule of thumb and
forefinger:
The
easiest way to figure out just which way to rout is by making an L with your
right thumb and forefinger. Point to the surface you want to rout with your
thumb. Your right forefinger points in
the direction the machine should travel.
If
you rout in the other direction (called ‘climb cutting’), the router tends to
pull itself along by the tuning of the bit, making it difficult to control and
can be dangerous. Climb cutting is used in some circumstances, but most of your
routing should be done using the above rule.
The
key to router success is keeping the base flat on the surface. If the router
tips just a little off vertical, it can rout a perfectly molded divot in the
edge before you know what has happened.
Concentrate
on keeping the router flat on the work, with the bearing pressed against it’s
guiding surface. Keep your work area clean, your clamps out of the way, and
make sure the router cord runs free before you start. That moment of inattention
when you look down to step over an obstruction could be enough to mess up a
perfect edge.
Whenever
you run a router, you should wear hearing protection, and a dust mask.
Setting up the router:
Before
working with the collet or bit, be certain the router is unplugged, i.e. it is totally disconnected from the
power.
1.
Move the base plate away from the body of the router to give you room to
work. Loosen the collet nut by holding the shaft steady with one of the two
spanners that came with your router, or by using the shaft-lock button if your
router has one.
2.
Insert the shank of the bit into the collet as far as it can go, then
back it out by about 1/8” and hand
tighten the collet.
3.
Using the spanner or spanners, crank the lock as tightly as you can.
4.
Put the router upside down on the bench. Hold the 3/8” step on a
router-bit depth gauge over the side of the bit and raise or lower the cutter
until the end of the cutter just touches the gauge. You can also use a sliding
square. Set the blade at 3/8” and put the end of the blade on the router base,
with the base of the square as a height gauge for the bit. Make sure that the end of the blade is
within the square’s base so that it can rest flat on the router base plate so
the base of the square is perpendicular.
5.
Check that your workspace is clear, make sure the on/off switch is set
to off, and plug in the router
Routing the
rabbet:
1.
Clamp the work piece with the edge to be rabbeted overhanging the
edge
of the bench (this prevents the bearing from scoring your
benchtop).
Position the clamps so the router base won’t run into them when making
the rabbet.
2.
Start your first test cut anywhere in the middle of the piece. Put the
router
base on the workpiece, but make sure
the bit is about 1” away from the
edge. The seemingly great distance
from the work is because many
routers give a little twitch when
switched on, and you don’t want the bit to
accidentally touch the wood before
you’re ready to cut.
3.
When you’re routing you need to be in a strong and stable position that
lets you see what’s going on at the bit. Stand well back from the work,
and bend at the knees to see the cutter.
4.
Once the router comes up to speed, push it directly inward. It’ll make a
lot
of noise and dust at first, but as soon as the bearing touches the edge,
it’ll
quiet down. Push the router from left to right, at the same time
exerting a
steady inward pressure to keep the bearing against the edge. Don’t push
too hard, or the bearing will dent the wood.
5.
Make a cut several inches long, move the bit about 1” away from the
edge( as in your starting position), and turn off the router. When the
bit
has stopped spinning, remove the router and check the depth of cut with
the sliding square. Adjust by trial and error until the depth is
correct.
Rabbeting
the ends:
It takes some practice to get the
rabbet perfect at the ends of the board. The most common is mistake is taking a
little chunk out of the end by running around the corner. This happens when you
are trying too hard to keep the bearing in contact with the edge of the
workpiece. With a little practice, you can get perfect corners. The secret is
an inch of climb cutting at each end.
1.
Clamp a board as described above, and start the router about 2” to the
right of the left end of the edges to be rabbeted.
2.
Turn on the router, push it against the edge, and slowly bring it to
your
left. You’re making a climb cut in the opposite direction of
the rule of
thumb and forefinger. You’ll find the router doesn’t want to
stay against
the edge as it does when you rout in the other direction. Be
prepared for
the router to pull toward you a little bit, but don’t worry
if it does. Go
slowly and you’ll be in control. Watch the bit, and you’ll
see that before
the bearing reaches the left end of the board, the wider
diameter cuts a
rabbet right to the end.
3.
When you reach this point, stop your motion to the left, and push the
router inward so the bearing contacts the edge. The you can
start cutting
from left to right in the normal fashion.
4.
When you get to the far end, slow down and watch what’s happening. In a
similar fashion, you’ll stop when the cut goes to the end,
but before the
bearing runs off the edge. The biggest mistake people make
when
routing is to assume that they have to rush just because the
router is so
fast and noisy.
A
full colour copy of this article (with photographs) is available for perusal in
the Club Library.
WOODWORKING TIPS FROM “WOODSMITH”
Copyright
of August Home Publishing Co. Publishers of the “Woodsmith”, “Shopnotes” and
Workbench” magazines. All worth the read. Used by Waverley Woodworkers Inc. by
permission)
“KNOCK-DOWN SAWHORSE CUTTING GRID”
Cutting
down full sheets of plywood (or other sheet products) with a circular saw has
always been a bit awkward. I usually lay the plywood sheet on supports on the
floor and then have to crawl around to make the cut. But recently, I came up
with a solution that makes the process a lot easier.
I
made a simple cutting grid that fits over a pair of sawhorses, see drawing next
page.
The
grid is made up of interlocking strips of ¾” plywood. The strips are all 4”
wide. I cut two 8’ long strips for the main rails and five 4’ long strips for
the cross rails. Then all the strips are notched so that they interlock to
create a grid. I also notched the bottom edge of the long strips and the top edge
of the sawhorses to hold the grid in place.
The
grid is assembled on top of the sawhorses by simply sliding the pieces
together. Then I put the sheet of plywood on top of the grid and set the blade
on my saw so that it cuts through the plywood and just barely starts to cut
into the top edges of the grid. (If the rails get chewed up through use, it’s a
simple matter to make some new ones.)
The
nice thing about this cutting grid is that when I’m finished cutting, it can be
disassembled and stored out of the way.
Phil
Huber – On-Line Editor, ShopNotes.