January 27th, 2024:
PAW General Meeting 2024-01-27
Prescott Area Woodturners met at 6708 Corsair in the Prescott Airpark on Saturday January 27, 2024. President Ric Davis called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. Mark Oglesby announced that we had four guests at today’s meeting. Ric called each to the front to introduce themselves.
Treasurer Dennis Egan gave a quick synopsis of our current financial status.
Ric then called Marge and Wayne Hunt to the front of the room and seated them on two waiting chairs. He announced that Prescott Area Woodturners have decreed that Marge and Wayne were now Lifetime Members of PAW. He then called up the club’s past presidents: Larry Dorrell, Jim Muehleisen, Gary Frank, Don Milburn, Barry Walter and Mark Oglesby. Ken Allen was out of town, but sent a message that was read by Vice President Chuck Brown. Each of them had been told to “talk about Marge and Wayne”. They did so, glowingly, even embarrassingly, but brought up many good memories.
From Marge and Wayne:
A very personal note here. We were briefly told about this at the last Board
Meeting, and were totally surprised. And so very pleased! This is an honor,
and a perfect end (on December 31) to our tenure as Board members. The
beautiful plaque that was presented at the meeting is already on the wall in
our dining room. Thank you, all of you, for honoring us in this way.
Sincerely,
Marge and Wayne Hunt
President Ric Davis brought up the proposed changes to our By-Laws. Details about the proposed changes had been sent to the membership via email. He asked for any discussion. There being none, he said that a vote would be taken at the February General Meeting.
Ric then announced that one of his goals as 2024 President was to work with Yavapai College. So far, there have been talks regarding Empty Bowls. If the event were held at Yavapai College, PAW could demonstrate, and Yavapai potters could demonstrate as well.
Dean Humphrey announced that the Woodturning students at Yavapai College are challenging PAW members to see which group can turn the most bowls for the 2024 Empty Bowls Event. President Ric Davis accepted the challenge.
Vice President Mark Oglesby said that he had spoken with the coordinator for Empty Bowls, and all 100 of the PAW donated bowls were gone within the first half hour of the 2023 Event.
Ric then asked all members of the Board of Directors to stand. He referred to a spreadsheet that showed the number of open Board positions. He asked members to be thinking about ways to serve, and warned that he would be contacting folks personally.
Ric announced that the Board has voted to offer a scholarship this year. Details can be found in the BY-Laws, but Ric will send a reminder email.
Regarding the Holiday Dinner, Ric announced a committee consisting of Ginnie O’Brien, Janet Humphrey and Susan Kissell. The dinner will take place at 1:30 P.M. on Sunday December 9, 2024, at the Prescott Resort. More information will follow, but Ric asked everyone to mark their calendars now.
Ric then said that the March General Meeting would feature a wood give-away. In other words, take wood and make a bowl. Donations to the treasury will be accepted. What isn’t claimed will go into recycle. Jerry Shugars said he has slabs of maple that he will make available. They are large and heavy, so he did not bring them today. Contact Jerry at 928-899-0695 for more information.
Ric then mentioned that the AED unit at YEI should be recertified. He asked how many in the audience were trained on the AED machine, and suggested that we could look into classes.
Ric also mentioned the AAW Symposium that will take place in Portland, Oregon in May. Ric has
attended symposiums and finds them very worthwhile.
Today’s Safety Minute was brought by Dave Henderson. He showed a bowl he was turning that had caught. It took a chunk out of the bowl and broke the handle off the tool he was using. The audience offered many suggestions to prevent this from happening again.
Show & Tell always brings out the artists in our midst.
The first of two demos was given by Barry Walter. He showed the steps required to create bottle
stoppers. He begins with blanks measuring 2” x 2”, or 1½” x 1½”. He used a Forstner bit and a drill bit to make space to insert the tube from the stopper kit. He shaped the blank on the lathe and applied Mylands Sanding Sealer by hand. Then Yorkshire grit (paste) is rubbed in all around, Once the paste is applied, Barry turned the lathe on and used a clean cloth to clean off any residue of the grit. He uses friction polish to complete the stopper. The metal stopper that fits into the bottle is purchased. Kits cost from $5 to $8. Barry says that stainless steel is best. Bottle stopper blanks come in packages of 2 – 9.
Barry showed a PowerPoint with suggestions of classic shapes that could be used in bottle stoppers.
The second demo was given by Ginnie O’Brien, whose PAW name tag reads “Queen of Desserts”.
However, Ginnie’s creativity extends beyond the oven. She embellishes some of her husband Larry’s turning projects. Recently she told Larry to save all the shavings his Forstner bit was making, because she had an idea. That idea became beautiful, unique flowers.
Her first flowers were made with floral wire and tape, but they have evolved into
wood sticks, beads and hot glue. First, a wooden bead is glued to a long, thin stick.
Then, Ginnie picked one of the shavings from a tray full, and glued it onto the stick
at the base of the bead. This process is repeated until there is a full ball of shavings.
Ginnie says that fresh shavings are more pliable. She wasn’t sure about ways to
keep them pliable. The finished flower is sprayed with lacquer. She has found that
to be better than polyurethane. She was asked if she colored them. Her reply was
that people seemed to like the natural ones best. It takes Ginnie from 45 minutes to an hour to make each flower.
At the close of the demonstrations Program Director Bob Zimmerman announced that on Tuesday, January 30 Walt Spencer would demonstrate coring. He will be at the Zimmerman shop at about 8:30 a.m. Next General Meeting will feature an IRD from Hawaii. E. Achaval will create a calabash bowl using Koa wood.
The Raffle today consisted of donations from our vendors. We were reminded to make sure our vendors know that we are PAW members whenever ordering.
The meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marge Hunt, Secretary