Lawrence Martell is one of the first members of the club and is the treasurer. Lawrence usually only comes when dues are due! He is a gifted craftsman according to the other lads. He does not extoll his own virtues..always a good sign. He is unquestionably a gifted entertainer. Lawrence can sing like a well tuned table saw. He plays guitar and fiddle in Stradevarian style. He entertains the cruise ship clientele on the Sydney wharf regularly and the rest of us ne're-do-wells on occasion.
Bob Cohen is new to the group. He has been demonstrating great enthusiasm so far. He has just acquired a lathe and some equipment and is anxious to get underway with a few projects. He has made a start on a tapered vase. More to come on Bob.
According to Leo (whose great grandfather and grand uncle were both coopers), a cooper is a cask maker, there are three types of cooperage:
Dry-eg a container for for foods like apples...presumably measured by weight
Wet-for wines, whiskeys etc.... volume measures
White-Makes straight containers like buckets, butterchurns. The staves are not bent in this type work.
The cask is the actual container. (Casket is derived from this term) The barrel is actually a measure of volume..not the container itself.
Terms:
HOGSHEAD- A 54 imperial gallon cask (now virtually extinct).
BARREL- A 36 imperial gallon cask, uncommon.Puncheon-A cask with a capacity of from 72 to 120 gallons (273 to 454 liters). FIRKIN, NINE- A 9 imperial gallon cask, the most common size. MINIPIN- Smaller version of a polypin which holds about 17 imperial pints. PIN- A 4.5 imperial gallon cask. POLYPIN- A 4.5 imperial gallon disposable beer container with an inbuilt tap, similar to a large wine box.
Discussion then proceeded on the project of making the URN, Jim Hiltz and Rick had their top and bottom components almost completed. They had glued the wedges together to form two halves and are ready to glue the two halves together. Leo assisted Paul in planing his ash pieces in preparation for the wedge cuts. Leo then began to discuss the central component for the project (the body of the URN) Several long strips have to be cut at an 11 1/2 degree angle on the table saw. The width (widest face) was 1 1/4 inches for the one Leo is doing. Then these wedges are planed in the thickness planer by using the sled jig that we made in the previous class. A thin strip is inserted under the strips and they are run through the planer and then reversed to plane the opposite face. They are then cut to required length (9 inches) and will be assembled and glued in one session. This is for next class.
We will be meeting in Riverside school on Hornes Road next Tuesday at 7 pm for a business meeting and to demonstrate the new Web Page which is under development.
Feb 10/09 Murphy,Rick,Naq,Lawrence,Roy,Joe,Jim MacLean, Hiltz,Myles, Irfan,Chris
Project: Staved cylinder (Urn)
Leo went over the process of making staves for a barrel/cylinder For the staves of the cylinder need a piece of wood 70 inches long, 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide. This 2 x 4 is cut into lengths and then divided on the table saw into wedges, which will be glued together to make the cylinder. For cover and bottoms’ you need to cut up some of these wedges 16 pieces 9 inches long cut into 22 1/2 degree wedge slices: This will make one piece that will be turned on the lathe into the top and bottom segments for the cylinder.
Went over the difference between quarter sawn and flat sawn wood: First, the log is cut into quarters. Then, the quarter is flipped ninety degress back and forth to saw off a plane of wood. This process does not produce any more waste than plain sawing, but it does require some extra time to flip the quarters back and forth. This milling process produces a specialty wood flooring cut called Rift and Quarter Sawn. The benefits to this cut of wood are straighter grain that is up to 50% more stable than plain sawn flooring, and a superior looking product featuring less variation, longer lengths, and medullary rays. Click here for pictures.
Irfan joined the club in 2008. He is quite busy at the Home Depot Store, where he works. He is great to keep us informed about the latest deals in woodwork tools and is soon going to be ready to set up his shop and make some things that we can post here .
Jimmy is of small stature physically but of great stature intellectually! He is a retired banker. Jim and his wife create sterling silver jewelry, which they sell on the Sydney waterfront to cruise ship passengers. Jimmy is a long-standing member of the club and has superb woodworking skills to complement his silversmith ability
Roy is no small man! He is a senior member of the club and has a quiet authority that goes unchallenged. He is a retired navy man. Below are some of Roy's works.
Wilson is a retired plumbing contractor. His knowledge of fittings has helped us a lot as we developed various "jigs" for the projects. Wilson is a motorcyclist as well. Above are a few examples of Wilsons woodwork:
Naq is new to woodwork, relative to some of the other members that is. He has an avid interest in learning anything new. He is also an accomplished "Pumpkin Grower". His woodwork interest are confined to lathe work at the moment.
Rick lives on The New Boston Road, which is nowhere near Boston. He is a retired teacher and has a fetish for wood! He is the official archiver and has been in the wood club since its inception.I started in 1981.
Jimmy has been in the club since time immemorial. Jim is a fine craftsman and does a lot of turnings and has done many pieces for local churches. He is presently enjoying his new tool--the McNaughton coring system and his new General Canada Lathe.
