Greetings

It seems like time speeds up a notch once the Fall holidays start rolling Thanksgiving is just a week away now and Christmas will be right behind. However, it may be possible to slow down this steamroller effect. You just have to focus on things you really hate to do. Or maybe things that cause you pain. I base this theory on the adage that “Time really flies when you’re having fun.” If so, shouldn’t the opposite also be true? “Time crawls by if you’re miserable.” I’ve never tested my theory though. An hour is always 60 minutes so I’d rather have a hilarious time and have it seem to go faster.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

October Meeting

We finished up the auction during the October meeting. We also had a good time at the tool sale/craft show at St. Barnabas Church.

November Meeting

For the November meeting, Tim Ryan will present a program on stabilizing wood.

Upcoming Events

Our Christmas Luncheon will be held on Dec 2^nd at a new location. This year we will meet at St Barbabas Episcopal Church located at 110 East Lincoln Street, Tullahoma. Thans to Our president for arranging the facility.

October 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in October meeting.

Jeremy Price turned 2 very large bowls. One out of Walnut the other out of Maple. Both were finished with Odie’s Oil.

Gary Bennet showed us a Bandsaw Box he had made from Red Cedar finished with Deft Lacquer.

Judy Bennet brought 2 items using Intarsia. The Honeybee Sign used Spalted Maple, Oak, Walnut, and Yellow Heart. The Christmas Bell Ornament used Mahogany, Walnut, and Ash. Both were finished with Deft Lacquer.

Richard Gulley brought many Christmas ornaments made with his CNC and Laser Engraver. He used different types of Plywood and finished with spray Lacquer. He also showed a variety of nameplates referencing different names for Jesus in the bible that were engraved into individual ornaments of different hardwoods.  All were finished with spray Lacquer. He included the scripture reference for each name.
(Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4, Pic5)

Internet Links of Interest

For you woodworkers that may have a latent neanderthal tool gene, Wood magazine has an article on what planes to choose after a basic block plane and mid-sized plane.
Your Next Hand Planes | Wood (woodmagazine.com)

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

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.

Greetings

As we move into the Fall season, I’m sure woodworkers are spending more time in the shop. This would be a good month to bring in Show & Tell.

Also bring your checkbook or the one who carries the family checkbook. We’ll be auctioning off a lot of smalls from the recent donation to the club.

Before we move into the newsletter, let me take a moment to be serious (not my usual mode of operation.) I would ask all of you that know the value of prayer to lift up the nation of Israel. What the country has suffered in past days is almost beyond comprehension. The path forward Israel has chosen will not be easy for the world to see, but the pure evil that they have experienced must end.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

 September Meeting

Anthony Watts presented a great program on his method of constructing Shaker boxes. He brought many examples of his work for the club to see.

October Meeting

We will conclude the auction at the regular meeting. There’s still a plethora of items to be sold.

Upcoming Events

-October 21-22 Rich Wetherbee’s Carving seminar. Cost is $170 plus roughouts $30-$40. Lunch will be provided both days. Contact Jim if you plan to attend.

-The Tool and Craft Fair will be held Saturday, Oct 28th at St Barnabas Episcopal Church. It slipped one week due to Rich Wetherbee’s carving seminar on 21-22 Oct.

-The Club is looking for a black locust tree to support a repair at Falls Mill.

 September 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in September.

Micky Knowles brought in a walnut bowl finished with Ser and Lacquer Sanding Sealer and Lacquer.

Gary Runyon made 2 Sliding Lid Boxes of Chittum wood and Walnut, fished with Minwax Antique Oil.

Chris Sautter presented 4 turned bowls: Two were Maple, two Spalted Box Elder. They were finished with Oil and Bees Wax. Chris noted that the spalted Box Elder tree belongs to his neighbor and we may consider harvesting some/all of the wood when he decides to fell the tree.

Vince Zaccardi brought in 4 bowls made of: Leyland Cyprus, Oak, Red Oak, Maple. The Red Oak and Oak were finished in Lacquer.

Jim Jolliffe showed us a carved Love Spoon out of Cherry which he finished with Rattle Can Lacquer. (Pic1, Pic2)

Internet Links of Interest

Most of my work the last few weeks has involved laser engraving/cutting. But recently I saw this article on using a drag knife with a CNC. I probably won’t try it soon, but maybe someday.

This page discusses different methods of holding down your work on a CNC. The method using wedges could be implemented on a workbench.

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!

Carving Seminar with Rich Wetherbee, member of the Caricature Carvers of America (CCA) October 21-22 8:30a-4:30p NOW FREE (a $200 value) to club members for the instruction and one roughout! Class size is up to 12 students.  Please come try it as we have all the tools you need and now have a nationally recognized instructor!  Contact Jim Jolliffe at jim.jolliffe@icloud.com or call 937.545.9135 to sign up.

Sweeping Up

Some woodworking pics you might like.

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.

Greetings

On September 19^th several of our members met to tour the Sam Werner Military Museum in Monteagle. Five of us met in Cowan at Paw Paw’s Country Restaurant for breakfast. I thought we were going to have a small crowd for the tour. However, when we got to the museum, a larger group of woodworkers were waiting for us. We ended up with 10-13 maybe. Evidently, none of us are picture takers, for we didn’t get any pictures of the group. Most of us took pictures of the display items but not of each other.

The tour guide, Parker Lowndes, was very knowledgeable on all the equipment and displays. And there was a lot of it. There may be a couple projects our club can help the museum with in the future. More on that as it develops.

I would encourage everyone to take your families to tour the museum. There’s a heavy focus on local history such as Camp Harris and many local veterans have donated items. It’s something all our children should see.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

August Meeting

I think I owe most our woodworkers an apology. I consider most woodworkers to be extremely frugal (cheap.) That includes me. But for the August auction you busted the piggy bank, raided the cookie jar, and dipped into the egg money. I’ve always heard “money can’t buy happiness.” But it can buy tools and that’s REAL close to the same thing. There were a lot of smiling faces leaving the meeting. I’m sure Jim will give us a total sales report at the next meeting.

September Meeting

Anthony Watts will be our presenter for the September meeting. He will demonstrate how he constructs Shaker boxes. This is no “one size fits all” program. There’s bound to be a box just the right size for you.

 Upcoming Events

-September 23rd Club picnic at Falls Mill 11am-2pm. Meat and drinks provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

-October 7-8 Tim’s Ford Heritage Days. Details coming.

-October 17 – We will conclude the auction at the regular meeting. There’s still a plethora of items to be sold.

-October 21-22 Rich Wetherbee’s Carving seminar. Cost is $170 plus roughouts $30-$40. Lunch will be provided both days. Contact Jim if you plan to attend.

-The Tool and Craft Fair will be held Saturday, Oct 28th at St Barnabas Episcopal Church. It slipped one week due to Rich Wetherbee’s carving seminar on 21-22 Oct.

-The Club is looking for a black locust tree to support a repair at Falls Mill.

August 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in August.

Micky Knowles brought in 2 highly figured/spalted walnut nesting bowls finished with Sanding Sealer Lacquer, and a Hummingbird “Condo” House made of Ironwood with the same finish for the auction.

Ken Burgess carved a Bark House “in-the-round” from Cotton Wood Bark, finished with MinWax, which was also auction item. (Pic1, Pic2)

Richard Gavagni was inspired by a recent program and made Native flutes finished with poly.

Richard Gulley showed us a Laser Engraved slate coaster with “Try that in a Small Town.”

Ken Gould brought in a Walnut and Steel end table finished with resin and three resin castings.

Gary Runyon made a Walnut Sliding Top Box and 2 threaded boxes for the auction, made from Hickory and Chittum, respectively.

Internet Links of Interest

A link for finishing with shellac-

Applying a Shellac Finish | Wood (woodmagazine.com)

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!

Note: Woodcarver Rich Wetherbee will lead a Caricature Carving seminar at Jim Jolliffe’s shop October 21st and 22nd from 8:30 – 4:30 each day.  Cost is $170 plus roughouts ($30-$40 each).  Lunch will be provided both days. Please let Jim know if you want to sign up.

Sweeping Up

Some more funnies that may give you a chuckle.

Greetings

The August meeting promises to be a real barnburner. The auction always turns out to be a big deal, but this one is going to be a BIG DEAL! Watch for emails explain how some of the items can be viewed before the sale.

We’ll also be finalizing the tour to the Military Museum. We have to set the timetable and breakfast location.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

July 2023 Meeting

Paul Jalbert presented his entry for the 2 X 4 Challenge. Use a regular 2x4x8 and create something in a month’s time using as much wood as possible. Paul created a 1/48th scale model Martin JRM-3 Mars Seaplane. Then he added a twist by characterizing the nose and wingtips of the plane to look like a pelican with flying cap and googles.

 August Meeting

The August meeting will be the annual club auction. Be sure to bring cash, a good check, or a banker in good standing who will vouch for you. There will be wood bundles, tools large and small for sale to the highest bidder. We also ask members to bring items for sale, especially work you have created.

Upcoming Events

-The Club has a field trip scheduled to visit the Military Museum on August 19. Museum is located at: 1148 Main St. Monteagle. There are a couple options for breakfast. That decision will be made at the August meeting.

-September 23rd Club picnic at Falls Mill 11am-2pm. Meat and drinks provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

-October 7-8 Tim’s Ford Heritage Days. Details coming.

-October 21-22 Rich Wetherbee’s Carving seminar. Cost is $170 plus roughouts $30-$40. Lunch will be provided both days. Contact Jim if you plan to attend.

-The Tool and Craft Fair will be held Saturday, Oct 28th at St Barnabas Episcopal Church. It slipped one week due to Rich Wetherbee’s carving seminar on 21-22 Oct.

-The Club is looking for a black locust tree to support a repair at Falls Mill.

July 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in July

Gary Runyon started us off with a small bowl which he turned from curly black walnut.

Dennis Rumer brought in a paper towel holder out of Walnut and his very first bowl turned from Purple Heart. Both were finished with poly.

John Hartin brought in a walnut goblet and used it as an example of how to apply the ‘Rule of Thirds” to your designs.

Vince Zaccardi turned a walnut plate finished with oil. Then showed us a rough turned piece of live edge hickory after it had been in a bag for several months. The live edge had separated from the bowl and although it didn’t break, it was severally twisted.

Internet Links of Interest

Looking for some free woodworking plans? They’re as close as a Google search. Most of the major woodworking magazine sites have freebies. Here’s some that Wood Magazine has to offer –

https://www.woodmagazine.com/project-plans/free

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!

Note: Woodcarver Rich Wetherbee will lead a Caricature Carving seminar at Jim Jolliffe’s shop October 21st and 22nd from 8:30 – 4:30 each day.  Cost is $170 plus roughouts ($30-$40 each).  Lunch will be provided both days. Please let Jim know if you want to sign up.

Sweeping Up

I found several funnies this month that may give you a chuckle.

And finally, a little something for our field trip on the 19th – 

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.

Greetings

I trust you all had a great July 4^th. We saw a couple fireworks displays and ate a lot of BBQ. It’s a great country that celebrates by eating slow cooked meat and watching explosives.

These are busy times what with gardens, grass mowing and such. I hope you’ve also managed to get in some shop time. Bring in something for Show & Tell.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

June 2023 Meeting

Kevin Ashley presented a program on Native American Flutes. I haven’t heard a lot of Native American Flute players, but I have heard a few. Kevin was easily the best I have heard. He also gave a good program on the construction of the flute and had flutes constructed in several sizes and wood species.

July 2023 Meeting

Paul Jalbert will present his entry for the 2 X 4 Challenge.

Upcoming Events

The Turning Bee will be held on Saturday, July 22 from 8 AM until turners complete.  Location is Isha Institute 951 Isha Lane McMinnville TN 37110.  Cost is $10 per person for the bowl blanks. Chair Denis Urbanczyk will provide more details in the July meeting.

July 29 Shop Tour Teri Smith @ 100 Pleasant Way, Shelbyville. Anthony Watts will provide more details at the July Meeting.

Richard proposed visiting the WWII Military Museum on Saturday, August 19. Further details coming.

The August meeting will be the annual club auction.

The Tool and Craft Fair will be held Saturday, Oct 28th at St Barnabas Episcopal Church. It slipped one week due to Rich Wetherbee’s carving seminar on 21-22 Oct.

The Club is looking for a black locust tree to support a repair at Falls Mill.

May 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in June

Paul Jalbert completed a service project making a Little Free Library and Native Plant boxes for Tim’s Ford. Used paint to finish.

Richard Gavigni presented 2 letter openers made from Lignum Vitae and finished with paste wax.

Chuck Taylor brought in 2 items: Salt and Pepper Mills turned from Pecan and Nested bowls made out of Spalted Maple. All were finished with Tried and True, Linseed oil, Bees Wax.

Mickey Knowles turned a Mimosa Bowl finished with Sanding Sealer (cellulose) Lacquer.

Gary Runyon brought in a series of wolverine-type Tool Rests which he welded.

Richard Gulley brought in a Cord Spreader Jig out of Maple unfinished. And a couple of Laser cutouts made from ¼” plywood and MDF. Also shown were test cards from different plywoods. Here are pictures of his new laser, chiller, and exhaust fan.

Bob Truesdale showed us a partially turned bowl made from Spalted Dogwood.

Jim Jolliffe showed us a carved cabin in a frame made from barnwood. The cabin was carved out of cottonwood and frame background was red cedar. Finished with satin lacquer, using colored pencils to add color highlights.

Internet Links of Interest

From WOOD magazine –

Save with Hockey Puck Prop Up | Wood (woodmagazine.com)

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!

Note: Woodcarver Rich Wetherbee will lead a Caricature Carving seminar at Jim Jolliffe’s shop October 21st and 22nd from 8:30 – 4:30 each day.  Cost is $170 plus roughouts ($30-$40 each).  Lunch will be provided both days. Please let Jim know if you want to sign up.

Sweeping Up

Since we just celebrated July 4^th, I thought it might be a good time for Shop Safety tips. Be careful out there.

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.

Greetings

Have you ever had one of those days when nothing seemed to go right? I’ve had one of those days for about the last four weeks! I ordered a new 100 watt laser engraver about the first of May. When it was delivered there were issues with it. It took the last four weeks of back and forth with support to get it up and running. In the same time period, both my riding mows gave up. About a week ago my computer caught some kind of virus. This past Friday my phone died. I haven’t known what time it was for the past 3-4 days. I take comfort in the fact that “In the end, everything’s going to be alright. If it’s not alright now, it’s not the end.”

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

May 2023 Meeting

The May Program was our second social hour. I can’t speak with authority on the success of the meeting. I ran out of steam way before I ran out of day last meeting date. I’ve never known our group to be bashful about talking on any subject, so I assume it went well.

BTW, there are a few pics from the sharpening seminar posted here.

June 2023 Meeting

Kevin Ashley will present a program on Native American Flutes.

May 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in May

Gary Bennett presented 2 band saw boxes: 1 single drawer was made with mahogany; the double drawer box was made from cherry. Both were finished with Deft Lacquer. He also used Flocking to finish inside the drawers.

Darren Earle showed a completed a platter carved out of Oak burl, turned by Tom Church and sanded/finished by Susan Church, it was finished with oil.

Dennis Finney showed us his 3-D cutting board. He used four different wood types and a total of 384 pieces and finished with Howard’s Cutting board oil.

Vince Zaccardi brought a platter he made during a John C Campbell Folk School Turning seminar using Ambrosia Maple and finished with 2 coats of homemade oil-lacquer. The bottom was turned off center and carved.

Bob Truesdale showed us a small live-edge egg cup he had turned with Ky Coffee wood and finished with Rattle can Satin Lacquer.

Denis Urbanczyk made a bed table with folding legs out of Walnut with brass inlay. He finished it with Danish Oil

Internet Links of Interest

Jim has been sharing a few good tips with us every month. Here’s a few from the Family Handyman-

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/56-brilliant-woodworking-tips-for-beginners/

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!

Note: Woodcarver Rich Wetherbee will lead a Caricature Carving seminar at Jim Jolliffe’s shop October 21st and 22nd from 8:30 – 4:30 each day.  Cost is $170 plus roughouts ($30-$40 each).  Lunch will be provided both days. Please let Jim know if you want to sign up.

Sweeping Up

A few funnies about wives. All in jest of course. 😊

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.

Greetings

We had a good day at the Sharpening Seminar on the 22^nd . We had six or eight in attendance (some were a little dull) but by lunch time we were all sharp woodworkers!

A week or so ago Henry Davis and I took a road trip to Dean Lutes shop to pick up some maple. On the way we passed the military museum between Sewanee and Monteagle. Henry said he knew the folk and had donated some things to the museum. He suggested we visit the museum soon. But I thought it might be a good field trip for interested club members. Henry will check for times/dates and we will discuss at the May meeting.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

April 2023 Meeting

Andy Rigney presented pictures of some of his cabinets and furniture. He gave a brief history of how he is turning a passion into a living.

Editor’s note: It’s always been a fear of mine that you could turn a hobby you love into a job that you hate. But that’s just me.

May 2023 Meeting

The May Program will be our second social hour. Do you have a subject you would like to know more about or a problem you just can’t solve? Bring it to the meeting. There’s a good chance you’ll find what you need to know. If nothing else, I can guarantee you’ll get a little sympathy.

April 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in April.

Geoff Roehm opened the show with how to do inlay work. He recently finished an iris and butterfly inlay on the neck of his daughter’s guitar. (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3, Pic4)

Jim Jolliffe showed 2 pieces carved from Basswood; ‘Cold One’ and ‘Lucky Leprechaun’ Both had Acrylic paint, Lacquer, and Matte fixative.

Mickey Knowles: Brought in a turned bowl out of cherry. He finished he piece with Cellulose Sanding Sealer and Mohawk Briwax.

Gary Runyon brought in a piece of Yellow Wood harvested locally, with hand-planed finish.

Gary Bennett presented 2 laminated bowls: cypress/maple and poplar/mahogany. Both were finished with Hand Wipe Poly.

Judy Bennett brought in 2 examples of wood burning using Basswood. The color on the platter was due to oil-based colored pencils. The plaque was a wood scene with a cabin.

She also showed an intarsia Noah’s Ark. Various woods were used: western cedar, Basswood, Mahogany, Poplar, and walnut. It was finished with Deft Satin.

Vince Zaccardi brought a charcutier board using Walnut and an accent wood. Inlace epoxy was used to fill a big hole, the plate was finished with danish oil.

Richard Gulley showed a Lynchburg Weather Forecaster made from Jack Daniels Oak Barrel stave. He was given a box of parts by the Pugh estate in Moore County. He offered them to any one interested.

John Hartin brought in 2 turned bowls. A pierced Burl Bowl of Red Oak and a large bowl with carved leaves from Magnolia (Yellow with Black streaks). (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3) Both were finished with his homemade oil (1/3 poly, 1/3 Thinner, 1/3 Refined Linseed oil)

Internet Links of Interest

A few of my favorite internet DIY woodworkers who build their own tools/jigs:

Matthias Wandel – https://woodgears.ca/

John Heisz – https://ibuildit.ca/

Izzy Swann – https://www.izzyswan.com/

Stumpy Nubs – https://stumpynubs.com/

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!

Note: Woodcarver Rich Wetherbee will lead a Caricature Carving seminar at Jim Jolliffe’s shop October 21st and 22nd from 8:30 – 4:30 each day.  Cost is $170 plus roughouts ($30-$40 each).  Lunch will be provided both days. Please let Jim know if you want to sign up.

Sweeping Up

Submitted for your edification and enjoyment:

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.

Greetings

Well, I’m hopeful that Spring has sprung. It’s been a busy month so far and I don’t see any change in the activity level. My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on the 7^th. It’s probably more than coincidence that both of us had been married exactly 50 years.

The rest of the month will be focused on cleaning the shop and getting ready for the sharpening seminar on the 22^nd. We’ll have several methods of sharpening to demonstrate and opportunity for hands on sharpening. Bring a few chisels, hand planes, turning tools or even jointer blades and you might take them home sharp! More details at the meeting on the 18^th.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

March 2022 Meeting

Bill Lester presented a detailed slide show of how to make a banjo.

April 2023 Meeting

The April Program will be presented by Andy Rigney of Rigney Family Homecraft. He will go over his business and products.

March 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in February.

Matt Brothers: Opened Show & Tell with a slide presentation of a replaced walnut gun stock he made for a client. (Gun1, Gun2, Gun3, Gun4, Gun5, Gun6, Gun7, Gun8) Pictures are not in sequential order.

He also showed a beautiful bed he made of cherry. (Bed1, Bed2, Bed3, Bed4, Bed5, Bed6, Bed7, Bed8, Bed9)

Paul Jalbert: Completed 4 cherry spoons started by deceased TVWW member Jim Accord. 2 were engraved with birds the other 2 with cats. They were finished with Butcher Block oil. All were returned to Mrs. Accord.

Mickey Knowles: Brought in a turned bowl made of cherry. He then turned a bowl and a spinning top, both from African Mahogany. The top was made from the inside material left from the bowl he turned. All three pieces were finished with Sanding Sealer Lacquer.

Chuck Taylor: Brought in a toy tractor from maple, oak and cherry; and a wagon from figured maple. These were finished with Tried and True. His second item was a turned bowl out of spalted maple finished with satin lacquer.

Someone also brought a bundle of thin hardwood pieces. They somehow ended up at my house and I appreciate the donor and the delivery man. They’ll probably grow up to be Christmas ornaments.

Internet Links of Interest

From the WOOD magazine website – a page of links dedicated to shop maintenance (in conjunction with our sharpening seminar on the 22^nd.)

https://www.woodmagazine.com/workshop/shop-maintenance

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!

Note: Woodcarver Rich Wetherbee will lead a Caricature Carving seminar at Jim Jolliffe’s shop October 21st and 22nd from 8:30 – 4:30 each day.  Cost is $170 plus roughouts ($30-$40 each).  Lunch will be provided both days. Please let Jim know if you want to sign up.

Sweeping Up

For this month’s humor, I’ll focus on our obsession with tools.

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.

Greetings

Well, as I write this, it’s the afternoon of “Spring Forward.” I made through church without sleeping (at least not too much.) But I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist the call of the recliner the rest of the afternoon. I’d sure like to get a good start on the newsletter though.

Before we get on with the newsletter, I’d like to thank Gary Runyan for hosting John Hartin, Jim Jolliffe and myself to an impromptu shop tour Saturday afternoon.  It’s interesting to hear the history of how a person’s shop came together. A shop definitely reflects the interests of the owner and, to some extent, the stage of life one is in. On the way back, Jim and I stopped by John’s for a quick tour of his house and shop.  The house was maybe one of the most comfortable houses I’ve ever visited. Much like a favorite pair of shoes that have formed themselves to your feet, it just felt good. His shop was small but suited him fine for the things he makes now. Your sure can’t argue about the quality that comes out of his shop. Thanks again to Gary, John and Jim (the driver) for a great afternoon of good fellowship.

Now let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

February 2022 Meeting

For a first-time event with very little planning, I think the Social Hour was a success! Folks just seemed to gravitate to a conversation that was interesting or maybe someone asked how to solve a problem. It seemed like no one was in a hurry to go home.

March 2023 Meeting

The March program will be presented by Bill Listell on banjo making.

February 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in February.

Matt Brothers & Darren Earle: Matt came by some timber (Kentucky Coffee wood, I believe.) He had a small piece of the wood and several pictures showing the logs being milled by Darren Earle. (Pic1, Pic2, Pic3)

Paul Jalbert: Showed 2 love spoons. The Mother Spoon was made with Basswood. The Rosebud Spoon was made with cherry. Both were finished with Danish Oil.

Bryan Gordon: Showed what can go wrong when you lose focus. He was making a hummingbird house. He had drilled out the inside and made a plug to use when finishing on the lathe. Then, Bang! He forgot to use the plug. Fortunately, no injuries.

Mickey Knowles: Showed us his Walking stick made of Native Alaskan Willow wood and finished to a high gloss.

 Richard Gavagni: Shared a yarn bowl, a candle holder, and a cutting board. All were finished with Sanding Sealer and Lacquer.

Gary Runyon: Turned a cherry bowl which split. He used un-brewed coffee grounds and CA glue as a filler. He also showed us Fiber Diz’s sets made from multiple woods. Each Diz has a different size hole in the center to allow for spinning yarn into various thicknesses. Gary used Dr’s Woodshop Finish. (Pic1)

John Hartin: Turned a cherry bowl finished with oil/varnish. He also had a unique texture in the lid. He cut up old shop rags, dipped them in black paint, and put on the lid to dry in place.

Bill Guffey: Shared with us 2 walking sticks made with walnut and finished with Sanding Sealer and Lacquer.

Chuck Taylor: Brought a set of 48 ABC blocks complete with their own storage box. The blocks were made using Bradford Pear, Maple and Cherry and were finished with lacquer. He also displayed the International Standard describing colors and proper reverse letters, numbers or symbols.

Richard Gully: Brought several valentine ideas which he had made over the years. Finished with rattle-can lacquer. He also displayed a sign made from Ambrosia Maple with his CNC machine, finished with oil.

Jim Jolliffe:  Shared photos of making pocket doors with friends, using pine and plywood with no finish as the friends are painting the doors.

Internet Links of Interest

From Wood magazine website – a slideshow on jig building-

Jig Lovers Special | Wood (woodmagazine.com)

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

For this month’s humor, we’re having leftovers. Here are a few funnies I haven’t used in the past months. The first is a valentine reject.

This one is for you pet lovers:

Finally, from the miscellaneous department:

Watch out for SPLINTERS.

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.

Greetings

February is upon us and by the time you read this newsletter Valentine’s Day may have come and gone. I hope you remembered the one who takes care of you. Whether it be wife, husband, parent, or friend. “Always take care of the one who takes care of you.”

I plan on bringing to Show & Tell little Valentine gifts I’ve made for my wife over the years.

BTW, February is a short month, so this will be a short newsletter.

Let’s get started with SPLINTERS.

January 2022 Meeting

Tony Murphy did a great job presenting his program on making a bar stool.

February 2023 Meeting

The February program will be “Social Hour.” This is something new the club is trying. The idea is, once a quarter, we’ll take  time to socialize and get to know each other,

 January 2023 Show & Tell

Here are the items that were shown in January.

Paul Jalbert made snowshoes out of oak and bent the frames in his homemade steam machine made from a refurbished coffee pot. (Pic3)

Joe Little showed star segmented and a ring segmented bowls, made of various woods and finished in lacquer.

Mickey Knowles showed a set of salt and pepper grinders. One was made with Walnut (for pepper); the other was Maple (for salt). He used sanding sealer and lacquer to finish.

Anthony Watts showed us 3 shaker Boxes in Cherry and finished in oil. He also showed us 5 compound cut ornaments made of cedar.

Jim Jolliffe shared 3 caricature carvings; a woman, a pilot, a Mountain man all carved out of Basswood and finished in BLO, acrylic paint and matte spray.

 Internet Links of Interest

No actual link this month, but Eric Strotheide sent me this info. He didn’t send the link for the article and this is just a portion of the text he sent. However, if you do a search for The Claxton Spear, you’ll find a plethora of information on this early tool. I probably read over 30 minutes before getting back to the newsletter.

“The oldest man-made object on earth, sits in a display in the Natural History Museum, London.

This stunningly well-preserved spear point is by far the oldest known wooden tool ever found, it was made over a hundred thousand years before anatomically modern humans first appeared on the scene, by some early ancestor of our species, a clever Hominin with a penchant wood carving.

Made from Yew wood, skillfully carved by razor sharp worked flints and shaped into a stout spear, a tool made for hunting the large prey of the land bridge between Britain and Europe.”

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

For your consideration – Some Valentine humor.

Watch out for SPLINTERS.

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.