Greetings

It’s a new year and carries with it possibilities and potential. My New Year’s resolution is to maintain my machinery better and to keep the shop cleaner.

I’ve also resolved to lose ten pounds by mid May (my birthday.) So far, I just have fifteen pounds to go.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

December Meeting

Our December meeting was Super Show & Tell. And you guys really stepped up and made it SUPER!

The Christmas Luncheon was held on Dec 2^nd at a new location. This year we met at St Barbabas Episcopal Church located at 110 East Lincoln Street, Tullahoma. Thanks to our president for arranging the facility. There are pictures from the luncheon in the Club Events Gallery.

 2024 Officers

Officers for 2024 were presented and approved. They are: Jim Jolliffe, President; Gary Runyon, Vice President; Darren Earle, Treasurer; Teri Smith, Secretary; Richard Gulley, Newsletter Editor; Chuck Taylor, Membership; Christian Carroll, Publicity.

January Meeting

For the January meeting Gary Runyan and Geoff Roehm will present ideas for Tips, Tricks and Jigs.

Upcoming Events

February 20^th – Sam Clark – Dust Collection Solutions

December 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in December’s Super Show & Tell. And man was it SUPER!

Matt Brothers made 2 single porch chairs and a Settee Garden bench with an intricate cris-cross back. All were from mahogany and finished with Teak Oil and Lacquer. (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4, Pic5, Pic6, Pic7, Pic8, Pic9, Pic10, Pic11, Pic12, Pic13)

Jim Jolliffe presented the Grinch which was carved from Basswood and finished with acrylics, stain and ultra-matte finish by Vladimir Davydov.

Jim then showed three of his pieces.  He showed a carved basswood Santa with removable toys (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4, Pic5, Pic6, Pic7, Pic8, Pic9, Pic10), and a tall-hatted Christmas Gnome which had a bell carved on the hat tip. He used Basswood, BLO, acrylic paint and matte lacquer for both.  He also showed a carved cottonwood bark snowman ornament finished with acrylic paints and matte lacquer.

Richard Gavagni showed 2 walking sticks he made. On one he added glow-in-the-dark resin which acts like reflectors. He also made a Christmas tree with bells, and 2 gnomes.

Chris Sautter made clipboards as Christmas presents for his family and kept one for himself. The wood types he used was maple, cherry and oak, then finished with oil. The clip was attached with Chicago screws.

Mickey Knowles turned 2 bowls from blanks left over from the Turning Bee. Both were from the same maple tree, but one looked spalted and one not. The spalted bowl had a live edge and had been stored in a bag for months.

Dennis Rumer used pine scraps to make mini-pallet coasters. He also turned 2 Walnut and 2 Bocote bottle stoppers which were finished with hand poly and Minwax.

Karen Browning showed us 4 turned bowls of various wood and finished with Odie’s Oil. (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3)

Jeremy Price showed us 3 bowls he turned using Maple, Beech, and Walnut. All were finished with Odie’s Oil.

Larry Wendland showed 2 boxes he made. The Walnut one had a mirror. The Oak one had old barn wood around the 4 sides. He finished both boxes with lacquer.

Brenda Zuccaro displayed scroll saw ornaments from thin Mahogany including a Santa face. She also showed several turned ornaments made from Cherry and Walnut. These were all finished with poly.

Michael Zuccaro showed us a guitar he was working on which will be finished with French Polish. He used hand sawn Mahogany, Rosewood and Sitka Spruce.

Paul Whalen made an octagon Kitchen Table from Oak which he finished with clear Epoxy and Poly. He embedded pictures and favorite Bible verses of each family member on burned edge placards. (Pic1, Pic2)

Anthony Watts presented his first carving, a Santa, from Basswood. It was finished with acrylic paint and satin lacquer.

Darrell Albert displayed 3 carved dished made from Chittum Burl and finished with Walnut Oil and Wax. (Pic1, Pic2}

Chuck Taylor showed us his “Clobber” game board. He used 2 pieces of plywood with an oak frame. He chose satin lacquer and paint to finish.

Gary Runyon handmade 4 planes. For the jack plane he used Hickory, the block plane was from Maple, and the 2 finger planes were from Curly Maple. His Shoulder plane was made with Texas Ebony and Bloodwood. The spokeshave he brought was made from Apple and Mesquite. The shop knives he made from Pigeon wood and Curly Maple. (Pic1, Pic2) All were finished with Minwax Antique Oil.

Gary also brought in Piggy No Wiggly Glue with instructions describing how to make it. Gary confessed he had not tried using or making the glue but that it worked much like hide glue but had a longer “open” time of approximately 20 minutes.

Vince Zaccardi turned a Walnut platter finished with Precat Lacquer. His Mallee Burl was finished with Danish Oil. He also showed a saltshaker from Ambrosia Maple which he finished with Shelwax.

Internet Links of Interest

In recognition of Tips n Tricks night, here’s a simple tip I saw while perusing the Net…

Keep baby wipes around. Yes! You read that right!

Use them for everything – to wipe off extra wood glue, clean up paint drips and even wipe down tools!

And bonus, if you ever forget to close the lid and they dry out, they make excellent lint-free cloths and you can use them for staining projects and wipe down sanding dust too!

Carver’s Corner

The Splinter Carvers continue to meet first and third Saturdays of the month from 8:30 am to 10:30 am (whether Jim’s there or not).  The shop is located at 201 Jolliffe Acres Ln, Tullahoma. Tools and wood are available at the meetings, just bring yourself and try your hand at carving!

Sweeping Up

Here’s some funnies to brighten your day-

Submissions to the newsletter are more than welcomed. Send funnies, tips, or other content that may be of interest and you may see it in a future edition of SPLINTERS.

Newsletter Information

Splinters is a publication of the Tennessee Valley Woodworkers. For submissions, email editor, Richard Gulley (rgulley@retiree.utk.edu .)