March Meeting: Round Robin

For the March meeting of CJWA we are repeating an event from last year that was very successful — a round robin. Instead of our usual format where there is one main speaker, throughout the meeting we will have ongoing demonstrations that are geared towards beginners but are still good general topics for any woodworker.

The demonstrations and topics will be:

Clean shop: ask our panel of experts your questions about getting the most out of the shop space that you have. (Steve Altman and Frank Vucolo)

Pocket hole joinery: a quick and easy method for assembling projects (Jerry Fishlin)

Sharpening: learn a simple approach to sharpening that will work regardless of what method you already use, and how to get the most out of the sharpening system that you already have. (Wilbur Pan)

Shellac: learn a fast and easy finish that anyone can quickly learn to apply with minimal equipment. (Matt Greco)

Table saw jigs and tips: how to get the most out of your table saw with some simple accessories. (Marc Gaertner)

CJWA at The Woodworking Show, Somerset Feb. 24-26

Once again, CJWA will have a booth at The Woodworking Show at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset on Feb. 24-26. In addition to a display of projects made by CJWA members, we will also have a running series of demonstrations given by CJWA members.

For potential new members, we have a special treat. If you are not a member of CJWA, stop by our booth to see a pair of Lee Valley Veritas carcass saws. If you then join our club between now and June, you will be entered into a raffle to win these saws. Our deepest thanks and appreciation go to Lee Valley for generously donating the saws to our club.

The schedule of presenters can be downloaded here. See you at the show!

Notes from the February meeting

Here are some websites for items mentioned at last night’s meeting.

The Professional Woodworker’s Guild of Upper New Jersey will have a demonstration of Hilti tools on Wednesday, February 15.

The CRAFTS of NJ spring tool auction will be on April 14.

CJWA club member Stuart Moore will be demonstrating SuperMax sanders at the Woodworking Show in Somerset on the weekend of Feb. 24-26. He is making an offer to take orders at dealer cost plus shipping for SuperMax sanders to paid CJWA club members only. And we know who you are.

February Meeting: Really big saws

Bob Rozaieski and Wilbur Pan, who co-authored an article in the April 2011 Popular Woodworking, “Western and Japanese Planes – Separated at Birth?” are back at it again. This time they will compare the traditional Japanese maebiki (invented around 1590) and a western frame saw modeled from drawings in Andre Roubo’s L’Art du Menuisier (The Art of the Joiner). These two saws could not be more dissimilar in appearance. Yet, they perform similar functions in the preparation of stock. Our two resident experts will unfold the mysteries behind these fascinating tools and provide us with what promises to be an entertaining demonstration of their use. 

We will also have presentations from Simon Stark, who will tell us about his Arts and Crafts table, and two shop tours from Al Falia and John Aniano.

CJWA Group Builds

  Why join CJWA? The Central Jersey Woodworker’s Association is the largest general woodworking club in New Jersey, and is the home to some incredibly talented woodworkers. Members get many benefits, as can be seen here on our website. But one of the new initiatives we’ve started over the past several months are the CJWA Group Builds. These are not exactly like a traditional woodworking class, but instead are a way for CJWA members to take advantage of the experience and talents of other CJWA members who lead these Group Builds.

The way that these builds are structured is that each small group of people meet on a regular basis at the leader’s shop to go over each step of the project, and then go home to their shop to work on the project.  Each project is designed to take a relatively short period of time, and it doesn’t take a huge amount of experience to complete a project.

How effective are these classes? Here’s an example of what can be learned and accomplished. This Arts and Crafts table was made by Linda Keleigh. Jerry Fishlin was the leader of this Group Build project. This was the first woodworking project Linda has ever made.