WNY WOODTURNERS II
Meetings 7:30 PM; Second Thursday
Note: see below for directions to Mike Zientek’s where meeting will be held.
The President’s Corner by Kurt
Hertzog
One of the
best reasons to join an AAW Chapter (or any woodturning group) is to learn.
Those interested in learning to turn, or expand their turning expertise, will
have plenty of opportunities to see the work of others, watch demos at
meetings, befriend other members for mentoring, and attend various outside
learning forums. Attending and paying attention is all that’s required.
However, the amount of learning varies depending on the amount of attention
paid and the amount of practice and experimentation done afterwards. The key
words are “practice and experimentation”. If you sit through the demos or see
an interesting idea at a meeting, you won’t maximize your benefit from it by
just watching it. You’ll need to practice it, master it, and then continue to
experiment with it to fit it into your own repertoire. The osmosis of the
information in doesn’t guarantee it’ll come back out in usable form by magic.
It takes some effort by you.
My reason
for bringing up the subject is to get people thinking about taking advantage of
the opportunities available. We’ve already spoken about watching club demos and
seeing work of others at the meetings. What about one on one help or mentoring?
Some clubs have a formal mentoring program and others don’t. Regardless of the
formalness of the mentoring program, have you ever asked another club member or
turning acquaintance for some help? If you haven’t, you may be surprised when
you do. I’ve never experienced another turner who wouldn’t take the time to
help, particularly if you are eager to learn and have a specific need they can
help with. You’ll need to fit their schedule and meet at the most appropriate
location. Is that too much to ask for their time and expertise helping YOU can
learn something they’ve already mastered? If it’s important to you, you should
be able to fit their availability versus whining about how nobody can seem to
meet your schedule.
Another of
the great learning opportunities is outside events that are available. Have you
ever attended the multi-club turning events held at the local Rockler store, the club picnics, or the fundraising turning
event at the county fair? These events bring turners from many local clubs to
another venue where you can watch, learn, practice, and build friendships.
Whether you are an absolute novice, an accomplished beginner, or very
experienced, you are welcome to come and participate. Sometimes you’ll be
giving. Other times you’ll be taking. Most often, you’ll be doing a bit of
both. The point is, if you don’t attend the event you’ll never have the chance
to do either. What about the national events? Many members say that the cost of
attending the annual national turning events (Utah Woodturning Symposium in
My point is
that your opportunities to learn turning and expand your horizons are limited
by YOU! You have many chances to learn from your friends and neighbors or some
of the most famous turners in the world for either free or a very modest
sum. YOU need to take advantage of these
opportunities. It’s not the club’s responsibility to teach you how to turn. It’s
your responsibility to learn from the opportunities presented to you by the
club.
Thanks,
Kurt
New
members Gail Warzel and Marci Bonnet were welcomed
July
meeting will be held a Mike Zientek’s shop at 8653 Hunters
Creek Rd,
Directions
to Mike’s shop:
From
From
Springville-Boston: Take Rt 16 North to light
in
From
We need items for the fair. Turn up some and Jake will store them. It
takes a lot of product to sell and raise $6000 or more for” Make a Wish”. So
get out on that lathe and make some things that we can sell at the fair for the
kids.
If your are receiving a hard copy of this newsletter and have
an e-mail address, please send that address Kurt Hertzog at KHERTZOG@ROCHESTER.RR.COM. You would then receive an announcement that the
newsletter has been posted to the website via e-mail each month. It would help
defer some of the cost the club spends each month.
Old
Business
Rich Mialki gave a report on fair. People are encouraged to sign
up to either sell or demo turning to help the Make a wish cause.
Tickets for the John Jordon demo in Oct. are available. See Kurt or Lance
Items from
the Library are missing. The librarian will be calling people with outstanding
items.
Club received a letter from Nashville
Tennessee Symposium to be held Aug 12th & 13th.
Bob Weisidel has extra black walnut. You may contact him
at992-9833 if you’re interested in some.
Gary Jones
has 2 honey locust trees down. Call him at 662-1310 if interested in some.
Show and
Tell
Kurt
Hertzog:
Rich Mialki: spinner toy
Paul Mazuchowski: a retro bowl
Jake Debski: lidded box;
Brian Mazuchowski: small bowl with votive for
Mother’s Day gift
Gerry Rucker:
vase with wood burning and painted decoration
Bill Perry: Natural edged bowl
Dan Vucic: bowl
Jerry Weisedel: small platter & pens
Winners in
the staff gift competition were: Jake Debski, Paul Mazuchowski, Kurt Hertzog, and Jerry Weisedel.
Congratulation to all.
Gary
Jones: Rockler
Jake Debski: Craft Supply
Ron
Hudson: 50/50
Kurt Hertzog gave the demo on sharpening and turning with an
Ellsworth gouge. Thank you Kurt for sharing this information
with the members.
Here’s one
I found in Woodsmith: When wiping off excess
stain in confined areas or inside corners, use a wedge-shaped cosmetic sponge.
The sharp defined edges allow you to get stain out of tight areas without
leaving any smears.
Respectfully
submitted,
Muriel Kummer