AUGUST MEETING

“RECAP”

The August 17th Guild meeting was held at John DeLapa’s Shop off Park Road in Benton Harbor, Michigan.   The meeting was well attended with 24 members and 1 guest who joined the Guild.  Welcome Bob Peart from Watervliet as a new member.    

The meeting topic was “Hand Crafted Tool Handles, Hammer Handle Making”.  John DeLapa demonstrated how to make hammer handles.  The handles are made mostly from either Ash of Hickory with second growth being the best.  John uses mostly Ash because of its availability.  Look for wide growth rings to be in line with the handle end.  John traces the pattern of the handle on the wood stock from a template.  He then cuts the profile of the handle using the band saw.  He then profiles the eye of the hammer head and fine tunes the handle with a rasp.  The hammer handle is rounded off with a drawknife of spokeshave or in some cases a ¼ round router bit.  The bottom of the handle is beveled 1/8 to 3/16" at approximately 45º.  If the handle needs additional smoothing, John uses a scraper for fine tuning.  John uses “Uncle Jack’s” finishing technique for the final step.  This consists of linseed oil followed by burnishing with blacksmith tongs.

Jeff Starke then discussed the use of J.B. Weld epoxy to seal the hammer end.  The hammer head is glued in place and trimmed as needed.  Jeff Starke uses J.B. Weld epoxy to fill in any small gaps that exist between the hammer handle and the hammer head.  The J.B. Weld is a two part epoxy consisting of equal parts of a hardener and a steel type composite.  A thin layer of the mixture is applied to the hammer end and cures in approximately 24 hours.

Many thanks to John and Jeff for a great demo. 

For anyone interested, the Wood Expo 2010 at Johnson’s Workbench in Charlotte, Michigan is set for September 10^th and 11^th.  There are a lot of demos and seminars some featuring woodworker Scott Phillips.  Check online for details. 

SEPTEMBER MEETING

Tues. September 21, 2010

7:00 PM

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 21st at Barry Young’s shop at 768 East Lemon Creek Road, Berrien Springs, Michigan.  Barry will be facilitating a discussion on “Planes and Scrappers” with an open forum for all.  This should be a great meeting with demos on alternate ways of smoothing out your wood projects while minimizing sanding.

Directions:  From the North, take Hollywood Road South to Lemon Creek Road.  Turn left (East) on Lemon Creek and proceed East for 1 mile.  Barry’s place is on the South side.  Look for the barn with the red silo.  If you get to Lauer Road, you went too far.

PROJECT OF THE MONTH

Project of the month for August was “Something Made from Wood You Harvested or Firewood”.  There were several entries.  Larry Nelson won the “Sawdust in the Hat” $25 gift certificate for a pair of turned Candle Holders from harvested Walnut.  Nice job Larry. 

The project of the month for September is a “Jig”.  Remember, to be eligible for the gift certificate, the project must me made within the last 12 months.