Fall Art Walk: Art of Wood Exhibit

Just a quick note that the postcards for the Guild's "Art of Wood" show at the Placer on Nov. 12th, will be ready to pick up next Tuesday evening, Oct. 26. All members who would like to help us promote our exhibit are welcome to come pick up a handful of the cards, to send to your customers, family and friends. We appreciate your help getting out the word.

For more info and to pick up the cards, call Tim at his shop 449-2730.

January Guild Meeting: Sharpen Your Mind & Your Tools

Our January meeting will be hosted by Tim Carney. The meeting will be Monday January 18 at 5:30 pm.

We will watch a video, Sharpening Simplified on the basics of sharpening hand tools.

Everett Ellenwood says of the dvd, "Having trouble getting your carving tools razor sharp? In Sharpening Simplified, I show you simple proven method to get your carving tools properly contoured and sharp, each time you sharpen them."

Tim will also show us a few of the projects available for us to help with the trolley restoration project we visited at our last meeting.

Date: Monday, January 18, 2010
Time: 5:30 pm til or 8 or 8:30 pm
Place: 3025 East Bozeman Avenue at Timothy's Fine Woodworkng
Food: Tim will provide the main dish -- most likely a big pot of homemade soup that'll go warm us up in this cold weather. Members, please bring a side dish and something to drink.

Directions: To get to Tim's shop, take Highway 12 East to Carter Drive (just east of Walmart) Turn north on Carter Drive. Go over the railroad tracks and take a right on Bozeman. His shop is less than 1/4 mile from Carter Drive -- it's on the southwest corner of the tan building.

December Guild Meeting: Trolley Car #3 Restoration

Our December meeting will be hosted by the Lewis and Clark County Historical Restoration Committee. Not only will be have an opportunity to view the Trolley Car #3 preservation project, but dinner will be provided by the committee, so please join your fellow woodworkers and our host, Rich Palmer, Monday evening.



Rich will give a talk about an ongoing committee project, the restoration of trolley car #3; then we'll go by bus to see the trolley preservation project and be bused back to the Great Northern Town Center.

Date: Monday, December 7th
Time: 5:30 pm til or 8 or 8:30 pm
Place: 845 Great Northern Boulevard
Food: the Lewis and Clark Historical Preservation Committee is providing dinner. All you have to bring is yourself and your curiosity. Can't pass this up!

Photos are from the Lewis&Clark Historical Preservation Committee website here.

Art of Wood Annual Exhibit 2009

We'd like to invite everyone to attend our 6th annual Art of Wood Exhibit on Friday, November 13th, at The Placer, in Downtown Helena. The exhibit will be open during the 2009 Fall Art Walk from 6 to 10 pm.

Guild members, please remember to bring appetizers or dessert between 5 pm and 6 pm, so we can continue our tradition of having the best spread on the ArtWalk.

See you all there!

March Guild Meeting: Becoming Guild-Website-Literate

Our March guild meeting is scheduled for 5:15 pm, Monday, March 16 at the Lewis and Clark Library. As we did for our February meeting, we have the computer lab scheduled from 6-8 for our evening's presentation, and we'll have dinner in that large conference room from 5:15 to 6:00 pm.

The Guild is providing the entire meal, including beverages. We'll eat in the large conference room off of the library's new lobby. Again, please do not bring your own beverages this time -- the library does not allow alcohol on the premises. The meal is on us!

Our February meeting was fantastic -- Bill Daigle did a great job of teaching us the basics of a simple, free CAD-like program, Sketchup. Maureen was scheduled to show us how to get around on Facebook and our guild website, but she was stricken with a nasty flu and wasn't able to make it. She'll be here at our March meeting to try it again.

Maureen will give us hands-on practice using the Guild's websites and Facebook network (left)

Basics to be covered by Maureen will include setting up online photo storage, uploading photos, setting up simple websites for members who do not have an online presence, and registering for your own Facebook page so that you can participate in the Guild's Facebook activities and announcements. Please consider checking this out even if you don't think you'll spend much time on Facebook or the guild's website. There are many ways you can make use of the Guild's online offerings, not only for participating in Guild activities, or to promote your woodworking hobbies or businesses. With your own web site or Facebook page, you can share your woodworking with your friends and families.

Please come -- we'd like to see a great turn-out. If you're not a member but want to know what we do, or how to use the internet to further your woodworking interests, you are welcome to attend.

LINKS:

• Lewis & Clark Library, Helena, Montana
• Flickr -- to set up your own FREE online photo storage account
  

February Guild Meeting: Sketchup & Making Use of our Websites

Our February guild meeting will be held late in the month this time -- we are scheduled for Monday, February 23 at the Lewis and Clark Library. We have the large conference room scheduled from 5:30-8:30pm and the computer lab scheduled from 6-8 so we'll be in both rooms after our social time and meal.

The Guild is providing the entire meal, including beverages. We'll eat in the large conference room off of the library's new lobby. Please do not bring your own beverages this time -- the library does not allow alcohol on the premises. The meal is on us!

Bill Daigle will demonstrate the basics of Sketchup, which he uses to design his woodworking projects. The library will have the software loaded onto computers in the lab, so we can follow along with Bill on the overhead monitor.

There are 10 student stations in the lab, so plenty of computers for us to share. Even if you don't know how to use a computer, you might like to see what can be done with computer-aided-drafting/drawing and design.

Maureen will have at least two computers set up in the conference room, to give us hands-on practice using the Guild's websites and Facebook network (left)

Basics to be covered by Maureen will include setting up online photo storage, uploading photos, setting up simple websites for members who do not have an online presence, and registering for your own Facebook page so that you can participate in the Guild's Facebook activities and announcements. Please consider checking this out even if you don't think you'll spend much time on Facebook or the guild's website. There are many ways you can make use of the Guild's online offerings, not only for participating in Guild activities, or to promote your woodworking hobbies or businesses. With your own web site or Facebook page, you can share your woodworking with your friends and families.

Another simple SketchUp sketch with the final product below:

LINKS:

• Sketchup Graphics showing workbench and exploded view of tv cabinet © Design Click Build
• Fireplace Sketchup Rendering and Photo © by Wizum
• Lewis & Clark Library, Helena, Montana
  

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Woodworkers' Guild Dump Pile

At our September meeting our members decided we wanted to have a Dump Pile to use as a way to barter, sell or just get rid of woodworking stuff and materials we no longer want. This might include hand tools, power tools, shop machines, extra wood, cabinet doors and drawers, old woodworking magazines, instructional videos, anything you can think of.

The first few items in the Dump Pile are just for samples of how our pile will look once people start adding stuff.

If you would like to participate in the Dump Pile, please send Maureen your email address and you will be invited to become a member of our Woodworkers Dump Pile, which is actually a wiki (explanation of exactly what a "wiki" is, will be forthcoming at an upcoming meeting.) For now, once you get the invite to the dump pile, just follow instructions and you can add your items, or respond to anyone else who has items for free or barter.

You will also be able to participate in discussions, ask questions and answer other guild members' questions, and upload files, photos and documents to our wiki. That means you will be able to add your email address, your phone numbers and shop addresses to our master-members-list. This will be immensely helpful to our communications.


Also, if you sign up for email updates at the DumpPile (see screenshot, left) you will get notices when someone wants your items, or when someone puts up a new item.

Please add items as soon as possible so we can get this going.

I will eventually put the dump pile logo/badge in our website sidebar so it will always be handy to click on and see what's new in our dump pile.

Thanks for making our guild website and our guild a vital, dynamic club/online network.

New Guild Officers

At our September Meeting, the Helena Woodworkers Guild officially recognized our new and continuing officers. Mike Flanagan (left) is now our Secretary and Bill Pratt(below left) takes over from Priscilla Bode as Guild Treasurer.




Thank you to Priscilla and to Lance Seaman, outgoing Secretary, for all of your hard work over the last couple of years.

And thanks for sure, to Tim Carney, for agreeing to continue as Guild President. Tim has really brought the guild in a good direction since he became president a couple of years ago.

The Helena Woodworkers Guild continues to grow and evolve, every year we greet lots of new members and figure out ways to function as a source of woodworking education, networking, and support for all of Helena's woodworkers. If any of our members know of someone who is not already coming to our meetings, or aware of our activities, please invite that person to attend our meetings as your guest. We are also very interested in welcoming young woodworkers and youth who might be interested in woodworking as a career or hobby.


Good Luck to our new officers and again, thanks to our outgoing officers.

Hands-on Timber Framing Opportunity: Learn More and be of Service

Guild member, Bill Pratt sent a link and a Missoulian article about a special opportunity for woodworkers to participate in a hands-on timber framing project in Missoula later this month -- on September 22 and 26th.

Please consider volunteering for the Silver Park Small Shelter Project. The Timber Framers Guild will host a workshop to build one of the three winning timber and log designs in the Silver Park Design Competition.

"The Bonin design, shown below, will give participants an excellent oppor-tunity for honing their skills in compound joinery. This shelter, plus the other two winning designs that are being cut at local shops, will be raised in their eventual home in Silver Park, which is adjacent to Osprey Stadium where the workshop will be held. There is no fee but you do need to register."

The Timber Framer's Guild is offering this project as a free workshop to registered participants. The public is also invited to visit Ogren Ballpark to watch and learn by observation, something about timber framing. So if you are interested, please contact:

http://www.tfguild.org/SilverParkDesigns/

Phone: (888) 453-0879 (toll-free)

Email: maureen@tfguild.org

Links:

• Free Timber Framing Design Standards
• Timber Framers Guild
• Missoula's Home Resource: a Building Materials Re-Use Center
• Habitat's Re-Stores, another re-use resource - we have one in Helena
• Registration Form/Online Survery for free workshop
  

New Feature: The Dump Pile

Guild members, we now have an experimental new feature on our website: The Dump Pile.

At our September meeting, Dave Ashley suggested starting a barter/sell/dump system for unburdening ourselves and our shops of woodworking-related stuff and tools we no longer need or want. Maureen agreed to try to find some way to allow our members to post articles for give-away or sale online, as well as to see what other woodworkers have posted. Dave is also going to have a place at Helena Hardwoods to post The Dump Pile.

I have set up a "wiki" that will hopefully eventually become an interactive Dump Pile. Below is the button I made to put on Sawdust & Shavings to make it easy for our members to find the Dump Pile. I have also put the button at the bottom of the sidebar (scroll way down) where it will always be.



When you click the button, you will end up on a start page. On the left of that page, click where it says "Sawdust & Shavings Dump Pile." Anyone can view the "ads" in our dump pile. In order to post your own ad on The Dump Pile, you must "join." If you are having trouble figuring out how to do that, please email Maureen: maureenshaughnessy(at)gmail(dot)com.

I hope we get some participants in this new feature. Let me know if you are confused or can't make it work. :-D --Maureen

Links:

• Our Dump Pile Public Profile
• Our Sawdust & Shavings Wiki Start Page
• The Actual Dump Pile with Ads and All
• Dump Pile Discussion Forum

Timber Frame Construction Presentation

Come Join the Helena Woodworkers Guild for an opportunity to learn about timber framing from a master!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How many of our woodworkers have woodworking "genes" running in their families? Judging from the photos in this article, it's obvious guild member Dave Carlson's woodworking talents have been passed on. Dave's son, Scott Carlson, an accomplished timber framer from Ohio, will give a Power Point program on timber frame construction, history and techniques while he is in Helena visiting his family.

Scott's presentation will be June 30, 2008 at 7:00 pm in the large meeting room of the Lewis & Clark Library (left.)

Please join us -- looks like it will be fun, inspiring and educational.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Scott, a professional timber framer from Ohio, owns his own timber framing business which specializes in traditionally hand crafted timber frames for homes, public buildings, barns and out buildings. Scott's business website is Sweetgrass Joinery.

Here are a few more examples of Scott Carlson's work to get you excited about attending his timber frame presentation on June 30:

Add this event to your own Google Calendar (an online, free calendar with optional reminders) Click the button below:

Helena Woodworkers Guild March Meeting

Hi everyone, here's the scoop on our March Guild meeting. Although we generally meet on the first Monday of each month, this month we're meeting on the second Monday.

Date: Monday, March 10th
Time: 5:30 pm til 8:30 or whenever
Place: Lance Seaman's new house at 3052 Early Bird in Helena
Agenda: In addition to our usual jawboning and eating, we'll have a look at a mantle and entry door made by Lance. Also, Tim Carney will lead a discussion on upcoming meetings.
Please bring a side dish or something to drink -- or, just show up. There is always plenty to eat! Our host will provide a main dish.

How to get there: Lance's house is located in the Sunrise Subdivision near Nob Hill. From Helena, take Saddle Drive south and turn right on Morning Glory. Drive to the intersection of Morning Glory and Early Bird.

If you are coming from south of town, take the new interchange exit for South Helena. Exit the round-about on Saddle Drive, go west a bit, then turn left on Morning Glory. Lance's house is at 3052 Early Bird. Call Lance at 442-8459 if you get lost (but you won't ...)

Here's a map


View Larger Map

all photos in this post © Maureen Shaughnessy. These were taken at the Guild's December meeting at Mike and Priscilla Bode's shop.

Swinging Tool Rack Design by Bill Pratt

Congratulations to Bill Pratt, one of our Guild members, for the inclusion of his innovative swinging tool rack in Fine Woodworking's Jan/Feb 2008 issue.

Bill designed and built the tool rack to utilize shop space that would otherwise be wasted in front of the overhead door in his shop. His design was included in Fine Woodworking's Methods of Work section.

To read the entire article online, you must have access to FW's online community or sign up for a free 14 day trial membership. You might find the membership well worth the small fee, since you can access all of Fine Woodworking's archives online. Or you could get the magazine ...

Here is an excerpt from the article:

The double-car garage door severely limits wall space in my garage/woodworking shop. So I created a 4-ft. by 5-ft. swinging tool rack for hanging hand tools, clamps, and accessories. Mounted in the corner of the front of my garage, it can stay against the garage door until I have to get in or out that way. The rack does not interfere with storage on the adjoining wall.

I made the rack out of 2x4 and 2x2 lumber. Two heavy-duty fence hinges are bolted to two 10-in.-wide stand-offs to hold the rack away from the wall. The stand-offs, which can be any length, are lag-screwed into a stud in the garage wall.

Anyway, not only is Bill's idea published in a nationally popular magazine, he is also the subject of a feature article in the Helena Independent Record.

Great press, Bill.

Note: photos are copyrighted. Top photo by Bill Pratt. Center image (sketch) from Fine Woodworking article and bottom photo by John Harrington, for the Helena Independent Record.

Woodworkers' Guild December Meeting in Helena, Montana

Our December meeting will be a party!


Hi all, this month we'll meet on Friday, Dec. 14th at Mike and Priscilla Bode's house and shop. The best parking is behind the Bode's house.

Spouses and significant others are most definitely invited. Please bring an appetizer/hors d'oeuvres to share (check out the incredible spread we came up with for our exhibit opening night -- think we can top that?)


The main program is Fun, with a few bits of guild business thrown in just so we can say we had a meeting. On the fun agenda:

• Fine Woodworking Magazine has asked our members to submit photos of our best, woodworking for their print and/or online readers' gallery. We'll talk about ways to photograph your work to show it off effectively as well as formats for sending your photographs to Fine Woodworking and other woodworking journals
• Recap of the past year: what we've accomplished as a guild for our members and for the Helena community
• Ideas and discussion on how we can make our website better
• A chance for new members and folks interested in becoming members to visit with all of us in a social setting. Don't be shy -- if you are interested in joining the guild, please come - we'd like to meet you.
  

Date: December 14, 2007
Place: 811 8th Avenue
Time: 5:30 pm til whenever
Agenda: 2007 guild recap; photographing your work; socializing & fun
More Info: call Lance Seaman (442-4143) or the Bodes (495-9672) or email helenawoodworkers(at)gmail.com

Your Time, Helena IR article about Woodworkers Guild

Our guild members got some great publicity in the Helena Independent Record weekly arts publication, Your Time.

Reporter and YT editor, Emily Donahoe, interviewed Dave Carlson and Tim Carney about the history and purpose of the guild and about the large number of talented woodworkers in Helena. Excerpts from the YT article:

If a piece of handmade furniture is no less than a work of art, then there are many artists among us.

According to Helena Woodworkers Guild president Tim Carney, however, a lot of them are still, shall we say, hidden in the woodwork.

The Helena Woodworkers Guild is a group of professionals and hobbyists who meet once a month to share tools and techniques, and a potluck dish or a few. The guild is exhibiting a variety of work at the Myrna Loy Center through the end of November.

Seated in an elegant, sculptural rocking chair he made himself, the tall, soft-spoken Carney and his physical opposite, the compact Dave Carlson of D. Carlson Woodworker Fine Furniture, discussed their craft and the wealth of talented woodworkers based locally.
Read more

Dave Carlson and Tim goofing off in Dave's shop

all photos in the YT article and in this blog post Copyright © Maureen Shaughnessy

Gift Idea for the Woodworker in Your Life

We now have gift membership cards available.

Here is a thoughtful gift for the woodworker in your life: a gift membership in the Helena Woodworkers' Guild. We welcome anyone with an interest in woodworking. It doesn't matter if they are beginners or experts; our guild has all kinds of woodworkers.

Guild members participate in our monthly meetings; get a listing and gallery on our website, Sawdust & Shavings; and receive regular communications about special guild events and opportunities for community service. All guild members are also entitled to enter one or more woodworking pieces in our annual Art of Wood exhibit which takes place during the Helena Fall ArtWalk.

If you do not live in the greater Helena area, and want to give something like this to a woodworker, please check this list of Canadian and US woodworkers clubs to find a guild or club closer to home. They may have gift memberships available.

Art of Wood

Copyright by Maureen Shaughnessy

We would like to invite the public to attend the opening reception of the Helena Woodworkers' Guild Annual Art of Wood exhibit, at the Myrna Loy Center. The reception will be held from 6 to 10 pm during the Fall Downtown Helena Art Walk on November 9th, 2007. Please join us in enjoying delicious appetizers, desserts, wine, punch and live music throughout the evening.

The exhibit will be open to the public from November 2nd through the 18th during Myrna Loy box office hours (generally opens around 1 pm) Although some of the furniture you will see in the exhibit is not for sale or in private collections, if you see something you would like to own, you may contact the woodworker (through materials at the exhibit or their member galleries on our website) to find out about commissioning a piece like it.

The Helena Woodworkers' Guild has 20 members, ranging from hobbyists to professionals, from inexperienced (but enthusiastic) woodworkers to seasoned studio-furniture makers. Anyone with an interest in woodworking (sculpture, furniture, cabinetry, turning, carving, building) is welcome to join our Guild. Come to our opening and visit with some of our wood-artists who will be in attendance. Or come to one of our meetings to find out more about what we do as a group.

We will be updating our website and members' galleries in the coming days and weeks. Please bookmark our site and check back for updates. Thank you for your visit!

October Guild Meeting

Since our usual Monday meeting day falls on a holiday weekend, we are holding our October meeting on Thursday instead. Please come Thursday, October 11 at 5:30 pm.

Dave Ashley is hosting this month's meeting at his shop, Helena Hardwoods (3290 Centennial Drive just off of Highway 12 on the way to East Helena.) Dave usually provides something from his grill, so come prepared for deliciousness. Please bring a snack and/or beverage to share.

Dave Ashley is giving a talk on kiln-dried wood -- our main topic of the evening. Also on the agenda is a bit of planning for our annual woodworking exhibit at the Myrna Loy.

We will be asking who is going to contribute their work for the exhibit, and how many pieces. New members, we also need your bios and a photo of yourself for the exhibit. All members participating in the exhibit must give Maureen the information on each piece by October 18th. That would include titles, description and price (if the item is for sale.) This information will be printed on title-cards to accompany each piece.

We are also printing up 4x6 postcards as invitations to the show. Each participating guild member will have from 30 to 50 postcards to mail as you wish. The remaining postcards will be available at the exhibit reception for visitors to take home with them.

Our website will be featured on the back of these postcards, so if you would like to have photos of your woodworking included in your member "gallery" and slideshow, please get the photos to Maureen by October 18th. That gives her time to format and upload your photos to the Guild website.

You can drop your stuff by Tim's house at 721 Broadway, or email your information and photos to Maureen: maureenshaughnessy (@) gmail (dot) com
(that's code so the web "bots" don't find her and deluge her with spam)
You can also call Tim Carney if you have any questions or trouble getting your info to Maureen. Thanks!