July Toy Maker in the Spotlight

Posted on by

When you join the Alabama Woodworkers Guild you soon realize you have joined folks that believe in sharing their skills with the community. One of those folks is Tom.

Tom is one of the star volunteers in AWG Toy Group. Tom became a guild member in 2009 and immediately joined the Tuesday toy maker. He rarely misses a Tuesday producing 16 Bird houses every week. Consequently, we just call him Bird House Man.

Tom says what keeps him making toys is knowing he helps to put a smile on the face of a child who is having a very tough day. Also, his volunteerism keeps his hands, eyes and mind exercised while he has a lot of fun.

2016 End of Year Report

Posted on by

Well the best laid plans etc.!  Apologize for not providing the expected monthly updates but things just got crazy.  Happy to report that the November General Guild Meeting was a success and we were very fortunate to have several of our Toy Recipient Partners with us that day.

The Toy Group made 10,644 Toys last year!  That was an increase from the previous year even with picking up more complex toys to make.  Below are just a few of the photos we received this year from Children’s of Alabama and our new partner: the YWCA of Central Alabama.

This will be my last posting as the Toy Chairman.  It has been a great and rewarding “tour” as your Chairman!  It has been my honor and pleasure to work along side such a Talented Group of Woodworkers!! Thank you!

2016 Annual Christmas Party

Posted on by

The annual Guild Christmas Party was held Thursday evening, December 1, 2016 at the Riverchase Methodist Church. We had a great turn out with approximately 80 people in attendance. The tables of food were overflowing and the desserts were delicious. Ray Ziegler and Patrick Murphy provided a little history to the Guild along with a 2016 year in review presentation. Afterwards Pat Bush played Santa and passed out the door prizes.

H4H Trestle Table Class – Session 2

Posted on by

H4H Class 2 Summary

On Thursday September 22nd, the class made good progress toward getting the leg assemblies done for the table base. During the first class we got all of the material cut to rough dimensions and stickered, then left to acclimate to the shop's atmosphere on the top of the project rack for two weeks until the next class. In this class we finished milled the material for the leg assemblies S6S (square 6 sides). We cut the mortises into the bases and the undercarriages using the hollow chisel mortiser. And we cut the tenons on the columns to fit into the mortises in the bases and the undercarriages using a tenon jig on the table saw. Next class we will finish the details on the leg assemblies and start working on the top.

 

September 17th Pre-meeting

Posted on by

Mentor Mike Key gave us a demonstration on how to use the finger joint jig. This jig was built by Bill Newman and donated to the guild. It is currently set up to cut a 1/4 inch wide finger and slot. Thanks, Mike! Check out this You Tube Video for making a finger joint fixture.

mike_key2

No idle hands here.

Posted on by

It's busy on Thursday evening in the Hand Tool Group. Here are some photos from September 8, 2016 as the members work on a set of chairs to go with the trestle table they recently completed. Also work is progressing on a book case from an earlier class.

2016 Habitat for Humanity Cabinet Class Off and Running

Posted on by

This year’s Habitat for Humanity Cabinet Class kicked off Saturday the 27th at the Woodworkers Education Center in Maylene.  The first session included a basic orientation and review of the proposed plans then off to the shop floor to begin work on the Red Oak, Cabinet Face Frames.  Lead by Bob Moore and Randall Robertson, the class divided up into two teams and learned how to cut the dado joint on the face frame to fit the cabinet carcass.  The rails and stiles are joined with pocket hole screws then sanded smooth in preparation of the next session: Carcass construction scheduled for Saturday, September 10th.

There is still time to catch up with the remainder of the class if you are interested in learning cabinet making.

Dining Table Class for H4H Holiday House

Posted on by

This year we are adding another class for the H4H Holiday House. The 40″ x 72″ trestle is a Paul Sellers design.  The Thursday evening Hand Tool Class is making this same table and six chairs using tools. The table was on display at the August meeting. The maximum class size is six. there are four already signed up for the class leaving two openings. The table will be made of red oak and we will learn selection and stock preparation using the joiner and the thickness planer and Trestle-Dining-Tabletable saw. There will be a large table top glue up, we will make mortices using the hollow chisel morticing machine and we will cut tenons on the table saw. There is also dovetails cut in the table apron.

The class will be on Thursdays from 9:00am until 3:30 pm. The schedule is 9/8/16, 9/22/16, 10/6/16, 10/20/16, and 11/3/16 if necessary.

The class fee is $85 and you must be a member to attend.