woodsplinter.com

WHEN:
Wednesday, July 25, 6:30pm

WHERE:
Amazing Stairways
2331 E. Melrose St.
Gilbert, AZ
(cross streets are Germann & Greenfield)
Phone: 480-560-8185

MAP:
The exact address doesn’t render in GoogleMaps, so here’s a link keyed on the cross streets. Melrose St. is just north of Germann, and the shop should be just west of Greenfield. MAP LINK HERE

PROGRAM:
Amazing Stairways designs and builds complex, high-end staircases. Joe Pastore has offered to show us how he does what he does. He currently has a double staircase and a 170-degree staircase in progress. See Joe’s web site at www.amazingstairways.com.

Thanks to Joe for inviting us into his workshop. Everyone please note this is a WEDNESDAY meeting, and the time has been moved up to 6:30pm.

Steve Makin set this one up, so if you have questions, etc, please contact him by email or phone: azsteven99@yahoo.com or 480-736-3999 (w).

Ciao,

La scheggia grande e tagliente di legno

The Zen of CNC - June 26th saw the group converge on John Francis’s workshop in the Deer Valley Airpark. John has a CNC habit that he can’t break, and he was kind enough to share it with us. John has for a number of years produced a line of seating for a company that sells zen meditation and yoga equipment (www.zenbydesign.com). In the beginning, John produced these designs pretty much by hand. These days, he keeps his Onsrud CNC setup busy cranking out parts, made of 8/4 maple and other hardwoods as well as some sheet stock. This is big-boy-toy stuff, but for gearheads very interesting and in some senses, frankly, amazing. Many thanks to John for hosting and running the demo.

YouTube we ain’t - but here is a few minutes worth of video of John’s CNC monkey doing it’s thing. This is small format, low quality video in order to save disk space. Also viewable by just about the slowest connection in existence.
More images to follow…
MDF Chairs - The design challenge Simple Chairs concluded at this meeting with the presentation of chairs by 7 makers. The idea, you recall, was to make a functional seating object from a 48″ x 48″ piece of 3/4″ MDF. Josh Kuhlmann won the $100 prize by vote of the members present. More images to follow…

Group Project - Stage 3 - Bernie Becker had his way with the “Who’s Your Daddy?” project (pictured here), and it has been passed on to Andy Glantz for its next makeover. The other two ‘daddies’ so far are Doug Forsha and Steve Makin.

Cheers,

La Astilla de Madera

WHEN:
Saturday, May 19, 8:30 a.m.
WHERE:
10010 E. Jenan Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Map Link
(easy directions: from the 101, exit at Cactus, go east; turn south on 98th St.; turn left on Jenan Drive)

PROGRAM:
Architect Amit Upadhye will conduct a tour of the residence he designed that is currently under construction. The design incorporates a number of unusual features, materials, and construction techniques.

Cheers,
Der Hölzerne Splitter

Amit provided these images of the project:

Steven Makin hosted the April 2007 meeting at the recently opened Lane Stanton Vance wood products facility in Tempe, where Steve happens to be the Big Cheese. Steve has been involved in the sale of wood products in the Valley for many years, and was recruited by LSV to head their wholesale, to-the-trade warehouse (their first outside California). LSV has had regional sales people working in the Phoenix area for a long time, with orders being shipped from California, but the new walk-in warehouse is focused on small shops who need to be able to buy smaller quantities and (as we all like to do) poke through the pile.

It’s a huge facility, well-stocked with hardwoods and sheet goods of various types. Steve’s long and intimate knowledge of area shops and needs allows him to tailor the on-hand product selection and provide materials that are in common use here. Of course with the buying, milling, and shipping capacities of LSV at his back, Steve can get just about anything anyone happens to need, from timber to veneer to sheet stock to custom mouldings.

Professionals are welcome to visit the facility at 443 W. Alameda Dr., Suite 125, Tempe 85282. You can contact Steve by phone at 480-736-3999 or by email at stevenmakin@lsvlumber.com.

Furniture Society Conference - just another reminder, it’s in Victoria, BC Canada this year, June 20-23. There will be some WSG presence in attendance - Paula Cooperrider and Andy Glantz are on the FS board, and David Fleming (L’Éclat) works on the FS web site and database.
Riordan Mansion tour - Josh Kuhlmann and Jeremiah Polynone are working on organizing a group schlepp up the hill sometime this summer for a tour of the Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff. Stay tuned for more info.

GROUP PROJECT…

The 2007 “Who’s Your Daddy?” project has undergone two iterations so far. Doug Forsha started the trouble with a veneered panel of pomele sapele; next, Steve Makin placed the panel in a mitered frame of yellowheart. The piece now goes to Bernie Becker, and we’ll see next month what Bernie decides to do with it. There are no restrictions on what each succeeding maker can do with (or to) the piece as he or she receives it. Saw it in half, paint it, grind it up into sawdust and cast it in epoxy resin - whoever has it can have their way with it, no questions asked.

SIMPLE CHAIRS…

The deadline for completion and show-and-tell has been officially moved back to the June meeting.

MAY MEETING…

Architect Amit Upadhye is scheduled to lead a group tour of a residence he designed that is now under cnstruction in Scottsdale. Tentative date is the morning of Saturday, May 19. Location and other information will be posted here as soon as available.

Cheers,

La Scheggia

Andy Glantz hosted the March 2007 meeting at his home, which also serves as his workshop and showroom. Andy talked about the various pieces of furniture and architectural woodworking that grace the house - everything from chairs to upholstered sofas to shoji screens to cabinetry. We all crowded into his office area to watch the computerized presentation Andy will be making at the upcoming Furniture Society conference, the subject of which is his recently completed wenge and Avonite sideboard (seen in this image just below the shojii).

Out in the workshop, Andy showed off his favorite machines and power tools, especially his SawStop tablesaw. The group applied considerable pressure for a live demonstration of the saw’s amazing ability to stop within a fraction of a second when contact is made with living flesh (or similar - such as a hot dog). Andy wisely resisted even though we offered to take up a collection to replace the sensor unit, which is a one-shot deal. As I recall, there was no offer to cover medical expenses in case the saw didn’t work as advertised

Andy showed us two other devices of which he is fond - the Wixey digital angle gauge, for setting sawblade and other angles precisely, and an adjustable curve (flexible spline) for full-size drafting. The Wixey gauge (pictured here, which seems to indicate that Andy is listing 2.9 degrees), is available through the company’s web site, www.wixie.com, or through Rockler (the local store, or www.rockler.com). The AcuArc flexible splines can be found at www.artstuff.net, an art and drafting supply house.

Andy and his work were featured in the May 2007 issue of the Woodshop News.

Cheers,

L’Éclat

When: Tuesday, April 24, 7:00pm

Lane Stanton Vance facility
443 W. Alameda Dr., Suite 125
Tempe, AZ 85282
(access code: 4283)
ph: 480-736-3999

Map Link for directions

Woodmeister Steve Makin will give us a tour of the new LSV yard he manages. Steve is also providing the refreshments, which is likely the only way any of us will see the benefit of those WSG dues we’ve been forking over to him all these years

Speaking of dues, Tuesday night would be a good time to forketh over yours, if you haven’t done so already this year ($25 does it, and Steve Makin’s the guy to give it to).

WSG Prez Josh Kuhlmann has announced that the MDF chair project deadline has been postponed until the June meeting (it was to have been May). Most likely that’s because Josh hasn’t started his yet, but that’s probably true of the majority of us. Now’s a good time to get started, and there’s still plenty of time left to finish. See the Projects Page for details. Just so you don’t feel bad, here’s an image of my own work so far:
See you all Tuesday night. Word has it there may be a door prize. Hmmm… lumber yard… 100bd.ft. of Honduras mahogany? A 300# amboyna burl? Well, we can hope. Or maybe there’s not a door prize, after all. I forget.

C’est bon ,

L’Éclat

The annual Furniture Society conference occurs June 20-23, 2007, in Victoria, BC Canada.  Complete details including registration, travel and lodging suggestions, and program details can be found on the Furniture Society web site: FS Conference

University of Victoria (conference host) offers affordable housing options ($50-$60/night). Round-trip airfare from Phoenix to Victoria can be had currently for as low as $310 (Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, etc). Cost of the conference is $285 (higher after April 15).

If you have any questions about the conference you can ask Andy Glantz or Paula Cooperrider (both FS board members) or myself (D. Fleming).

As previously announced, Andy Glantz will host the March meeting at his residence/studio. Andy - who by the way is featured in an article to be published in the May 2007 Woodshop News - will show his latest piece, which combines big-hunka-wenge and man-made, solid surface materials. Refreshments will be provided.

Details follow:

WHEN: Tuesday, March 27, 7:00pm

WHERE:

5450 East Cortez Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
480-699-8803
www.zenith-design.com

HERE’S A GOOGLE MAP LINK if you need directions

See you there.