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.

Handcut Dovetail Template & Calculator

We recently received a tip from Greg Tarrant of Australia, an online handcut dovetail template & calculator. (screenshot, left)

Give it a try and let us know what you think of it by commenting below this post.

The Blocklayer website (Greg's site) has a long list of online construction calculators, which might come in handy for any of our members. The site is unfortunately full of ads, but if you are careful where you click it looks like it might be useful.

To get a list of calculators related to woodworking, do a search in the upper right of this page and the results take you to a short-list.

Enjoy!

October Woodworkers Guild Meeting

Our meeting last night was hosted by Tom Doland in his (very organized and clean) woodshop. Tom had cooked a delicious stew -- reminiscent of chili, but better -- on his shops wood cookstove.

As always, our meeting started out with informal chewing the fat, catching up with each other and checking out some of Tom's woodworking.

Later, Tom showed us a huge chest-full of tools he had inherited from his grandfather, some of which we passed around so we could figure out what they were. Anyone know what this tool is?

The business part of our meeting was mostly about the upcoming Art of Wood Exhibit which will take place November 14th during the Helena Fall Art Walk. This year the show will be up for only one night -- November 14th, and not the entire month of November as it has been in the past. This is because the Myrna Loy Center is undergoing renovations and we had to find another venue for our show.

If you weren't able to attend the October Guild meeting, below are some important dates and facts to know. If you have any questions, please contact one of the exhibit committee members, or Tim Carney.

ART OF WOOD set-up and reception:

• The exhibit will be held at the Placer Building on the Walking Mall downtown Helena (see map below.)
• The ArtWalk runs from 6 pm to 10 pm.
• If you would like to put a piece in the show and haven't already turned in your entry form, please contact Tim Carney at 461-8621 or Mike Flanagan at 459-6580. Please do this right away.
• The entry fee is $15 for the first piece and $10 for any subsequent piece.
• Those participating in the show must bring their pieces to the Placer Building between 10 am and 12 pm on November 14th.
• It will take longer to set up the show this year. We need to install lighting because the Placer does not have the gallery-type of lighting we have enjoyed at the Myrna in the past. Please plan to stick around for at least a couple of hours if you can, to help set up the show.
• We will have to take the show down after 10pm that same night. So be prepared for that. We do not want to leave pieces in the building overnight.
• All guild members are asked to help by bringing a platter (or 2!) of hors d'oeurves for the reception. The Guild will provide punch and wine, cups, napkins, tables, tablecloths
  

ART OF WOOD promotion & preparation
We are printing up 4x6 announcement cards for guild members to invite their friends to the show. Watch the website for when they are ready.

Other guild business:

• Guild members who have not already done so need to pay their dues ($25) right away. Mail your check to Bill Pratt, our new treasurer, at 1035 Avian Rd. Helena, MT 59602.

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.

October Guild Meeting at Tom Doland's Shop

The October Helena Woodworkers Guild meeting will be held at Tom Doland's shop at 140 Fairway Dr. on October 13th at 5:30. Tom will provide a main dish so bring a side dish or something to drink.

Tom has some projects he is working on to show us, and we will be talking about the final details of our upcoming show.

The show will be just the night of the Art Walk (Nov 14th)and will be in the Placer Building on the walking mall. Please bring your entry form to the meeting.

Directions to Tom's

Heading north on Benton take a left on to Meadow. Take the 1st right which is Fairway. Tom's house is 140 Fairway Drive. Phone: 443-2387

View Larger Map

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

Sweetgrass Joinery Timber Framing

Guild members visit with Scott Carlson (right) and his wife, Nancy, after Carlson's Timber Framing presentationin Helena, Montana on June 30th.

Thank you, Scott, for a wonderful, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable evening learning about traditional timber frame construction. I'm sure all who attended gained valuable insights not only into the techniques of timber framing and the difference between what many builders call "timber framing" and traditional timber framing .... but we also saw how connected you are with the spirit of the trees and forests. You're one of those rare souls, Scott, who follows your heart in your career and consequently connects with the hearts of your clients. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and artistry with the Helena community.


Left, Nancy talking with her father-in-law, Dave Carlson. Right, Jonathan, Joshua and John Klesch visit with Scott Carlson