March Meeting: Advanced Router Techniques with Marc Gaertner

The March CJWA meeting will be at 7 PM on March 10, and features a discussion about advanced router techniques led by Marc Gaertner.  Marc will be demonstrating techniques using a router table and hand held routers that go beyond simply making a dado for a bookcase shelf.  Frank Vucolo and David White will also be sharing their methods of using a router.  There will be ample opportunity for members to contribute their experiences, so feel free to bring and share your tips on router use.

CJWA Booth At The Woodworking Show, Somerset, NJ

If the number of flyers that we passed out is any indication, it seems that our booth at the Woodworking Show in Somerset on Feb. 19-21 was a huge success.  We went through several hundred flyers, and traffic at our booth was quite steady throughout the show.

Our booth featured an impressive display of projects made by CJWA members, including a rotating tree of projects. We had demonstrations on a wide variety of topics, including showing bandsaw techniques and a number of demonstrations on how to use hand tools to their greatest advantage.

Congratulations and thanks go to Frank Vucolo, Simon Stark, and John Tamaino for organizing the best booth we have ever had for the Woodworking Show.  They really did an excellent job putting together the booth, and thanks also are due to all the volunteers who helped out over the course of the weekend.  It was your efforts that made the CJWA booth such a success!

February Meeting: Steve Altman on Box Making

We started the meeting by welcoming two new visitors. Frank Vucolo, Simon Stark, and John Tamaino gave our final update for our booth at The Woodworking Show at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset on Feb. 19-21. They really have done an excellent job organizing the displays and demos at our booth.  Here are some of the projects made by CJWA members that you will be able to see at the show:

Steve Altman gave an excellent presentation that was ostensibly about box making, but the talk wound up covering a wide and fascinating range of topics.  Steve touched on design considerations in making a box, methods of working with smaller pieces of wood, and modifying tools to suit your purpose.  He also showed how he cuts the lid for a box, examples made by famous box makers such as Peter Lloyd, Andrew Crawford, and Philip Weber, and even found time to run through a survey of glues.

The highlight of Steve’s talk was his run though of this jewelry case that he is in the process of finishing.  The jewelry case is made of pommele sapele, spalted maple, and ebony, and features a slide out section to hold necklaces, and a hidden cash box specified by Steve’s wife.

CJWA at The Woodworking Show, Somerset Feb. 19-21

As we have done for the past several years, CJWA will have a booth at The Woodworking Show at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset on Feb. 19-21.  Frank Vucolo, Simon Stark, and John Tamaino have really done an excellent job organizing what will be our biggest and best booth ever.  In addition to a display of projects made by CJWA members, we will also have a running series of demonstrations given by CJWA members.  The demonstrations will include such topics as sharpening, hand planes, dovetail joints, making a bandsawn box, inlay techniques, saw sharpening, Japanese hand tools, using a shavehorse, and bandsaw setup and safety.

For those of you who will be displaying projects at the booth, please bring them to our meeting this week, if possible.  We will be able to bring them to the booth on Friday for display for the weekend.

IMPORTANT: MEETING DATE CHANGE

Due to the snowstorm coming our way, the February meeting has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 PM. Good luck with your snow shoveling!

(If you saw a previous message regarding rescheduling the meeting, please disregard it. Wednesday, Feb. 17 is the correct rescheduled date.  Sorry for any confusion.)