March 23rd, 2024:
PAW General Meeting 2024-03-23
Prescott Area Woodturners met at 6708 Corsair in the Prescott Airpark on Saturday March 23, 2024. President Ric Davis called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. Ric welcomed the 52 members in attendance, as well as 3 who joined via Zoom. He noted that we had five guests and two new members.
One of the guests was Mary Schick from the Phoenix club, who will be our demonstrator at the April general Meeting.
Dave Henderson was back-up Membership Director today, and he announced that we now have 85 members. Dave also talked about an up-coming order for PAW logo shirts, and said that an email would soon be sent with directions for ordering.
Treasurer Dennis Egan announced that the club treasury was in good shape.
Ric, again, brought up the need for volunteers. We need someone to coordinate the November sale, and someone to act as back-up to Dennis Egan this year, then transition to Treasurer in 2025. We also need a Vice President in 2025. The Nominating Committee, Gary Frank, Walt Spencer and Bruce Butler, is actively working to fill these positions.
Ric announced that there were no applicants for the 2024 PAW Scholarship. However, Ric reminded everyone that they may petition the Board during the year if they discover a class they wish to take. Details can be found in Policy 4 of the By-Laws.
The PAW Hold Harmless Agreement is now on-line.
The AAW Symposium is in Portland, Origin this year, from May 23 to 26. 15 PAW members are registered so far. Registration is still open, and there is a discount until April 5.
Donations for Empty Bowls so far total about 30.
Pictures of members will appear in the Members Only section of our website. Pictures can be submitted, or pictures will be taken at the Picnic on June 22.
PAW will again participate in the Prescott Farmers Market. Donations are requested for the April 20 market. Sales on that day will benefit the club. Individual sellers will offer their pieces at the September market. There is a fee of 10% charged by the Market.
One of our vendors, Simple Tools, donated a carbide scraper. The tool is unique, and pricy. It was decided that our members would test the tool in their shop and write a review. It is passed from person to person.
Program Director Bob Zimmerman introduced Jeffrey Neff, who came to us from San Diego, California. Neff showed slides of examples of his work. He said he likes a challenge. He has taken scores of classes over the years, and regularly surfs the web for ideas.
Today he demonstrated a three-winged bowl. He begins with a cube; for today’s class Jeff glued up maple and padauk. He positioned the cube diagonally on the lathe. He turned a preliminary shape, then made a tenon at the end. He cautioned that it is important to make sure the tenon is tight to the chuck, then continued turning the inside of the bowl.
Neff used a special neoprene chuck called a “Rubber Chucky”, available in various sizes at rubberchucky.com, to reverse the bowl and remove the original tenon. The bowl was then ready for sanding.
After a break, Jeff demonstrated a flat winged bowl.
Larry O’Brien talked about the MAG sale on Courthouse Square on May 11 and 12, 2024. So far only 7 people are selling. There could be as many as 12. He does have several volunteers to demonstrate. Later he will ask for help at set-up and tear-down.
Chuck Brown ask if anyone had a monitor that we could borrow for use at meetings. The monitor is used with the switching device to make smoother camera transitions .
Chuck then showed a video clip of a national TV show, in which Harper Harrell was featured. Harper is our ”adopted” example of recipients of the Beads of Courage containers made by our members.
Show & Tell brings to front and center the projects our members are working on. The projects are displayed on a table during the meeting, so everyone can see and ask questions.
Dan Hall’s Safety Minute this month was Using the Lathe SAFELY. He made the following points:
- Any time the lathe is on you should have full face protection
- Watch speed at start up, especially with a new piece
- Do not wear loose clothing
- Never leave the lathe running when you leave the room
- Always know where your tool tip is. The tool should be on the rest before starting the lathe
The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marge Hunt, Secretary