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Finger Lakes Woodturners

FLW November Newsletter

Next Meeting

The next FLW meeting will be held in room 2470 in Booth Building at RIT on Monday, December 4^th at 7PM. The planned demonstration for the meeting is using and sharpening scraper tools.

Instant Gallery

All of the entries, up to 3 maximum, will get a chance in the Instant Gallery Raffle. The prize will be the AAW project books. Of the set of 3, only two are in print and will be the prize. Bring in new work, old work, in process work, or other turning related accomplishments for entry into the Instant Gallery.

Opt-In List

See the meeting and BOD meeting minutes for more details on the FLW "opt-in" mailing list. If you want to have your name and address information included on a list that will be provided to woodturning related companies that will offer discounts and/or catalogs, contact Kurt at khertzog@rochester.rr.com or phone. You must indicate that you WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE OPT IN MAILING LIST. Only those responding asking to be included will be listed.

Auditor Needed

The By-Laws require that we have an independent member act as auditor to audit the finances of the organization as we pass the financial responsibility from the current Treasurer to the new Treasurer. We need a volunteer from the membership. Please contact Don Osborn at 381.3458 to volunteer. It should take only ½ hour or so of your time.

2-Inch Mirrors

For those who attended the vacuum-chucking meeting, you saw some clever turning projects using mirrors. We have a quantity of them at a good price provided by a member of the Buffalo turning club. They are high quality, 2-inch beveled edge mirrors and are available for $1.25 each. Please contact Kurt to reserve your quantity before they are gone or returned. After the December meeting, unsold mirrors will be returned to the owner.

Dues Due

It is that time of the year. Dues are due. The dues for the 2001 calendar year are $10 per member. Avoid the Christmas rush and get them in now. You can mail a check to Ed DeMay, 2095 Risser Road, Canandaigua NY 14424 or pay by check or cash at the December meeting.

Beginner’s Classes

After much discussion, the BOD has decided to not plan and execute the beginner’s turning classes in favor of encouraging use of the "mentor system". See the BOD meeting minutes for more details. More than half of the survey respondents indicated that they would be willing to mentor new turners. With that many potential instructors available, it is felt that using the mentor system would produce more and better learning opportunities than a workshop would. Beginners or those desiring turning instruction are encouraged to contact any of the mentor volunteers to set up their own individual instruction arrangements.

Mentors Wanted

The current member roster has been updated to indicate those members willing to mentor new or learning woodturners. If your name is not indicated and you wish to volunteer, you are listed in error, or your situation has changed, contact Kurt to have the roster updated. The mailed newsletters will have a copy of the latest roster enclosed. The email versions will have an attachment to the newsletter notice.

Hook Tool Steel Available

For those who indicated they wanted some O1 tool steel to make hook tools with, it is in. We have 3/8 inch, O1 tool steel in 12-inch lengths. They will be available at the next meeting for $2. Contact Kurt if you can’t wait until the December 4^th meeting. The attendees of the Alan Lacer workshop saw the whole process from beginning to end. If you weren’t there, we will be putting together a short instruction sheet based on Alan’s handouts.

Minutes of the BOD Meeting – November 14^th, 2000

The Doug Crittenden called the meeting to order at 6:05PM at his house. Present were Doug Crittenden, Kurt Hertzog, Ward Donahue, Bill Tschorke, and Don Osborn. Ed DeMay was absent and would join us later.

The BOD discussed the plans for this month’s presentation. In keeping with the groups desire to have turning, it was decided to progress to the next tool on the list. This month’s presentation will be the scraper, in all of its forms. The BOD decided to ask Ralph Moser to be the lecturer, based on his experience and expertise with bowls and instructing. Kurt will contact Ralph to see if he can do it. The January meeting, 1/8/00, will be the skew tool. Kurt will contact Jim Echter to see if he would be willing to do that demonstration.

Much discussion took place on the "training class". There is a desire to help the new turners with their basics. The problem becomes the logistics. The planning and efforts of grouping sufficient lathes and instructors to make the instructor to student ratio low is a major undertaking. The group rethought the basics. All of the potential students will be at different levels and have potentially different needs. In a class setting, they would also probably be working on a lathe different from what they might have at home. The insurance issue is another concern. A variety of scenarios were discussed with two being the most logical. One would be a "one on one" at the instructors’ location. This has the equipment familiarity and insurance problems. The other is a "one on one" at the students’ location. This has many benefits. The student is working on their equipment in their own environment. It is also at their own convenience. The instructor and student can set their own times and durations to suit themselves. The BOD decided that this was the most workable solution and will push that idea. More that half of the membership indicated that they would be willing to be "mentors". The potential student can contact any of the mentors for assistance. Depending on their location, availability, and expertise, the student may have to call several to find the right match. They also may have to change or have more than one mentor to cover the topics that they would like to learn and the mentor is comfortable teaching. Kurt will publish a new member roster with the mentors indicated so the students can contact them directly. The list will be kept secure and will not be readily accessible on the website. We will push this idea and see how it works.

The instant gallery raffle for the December meeting was discussed. Ward has not gotten the prizes yet and will take care of it prior to the meeting. It turns out that only two of the books are still in print so the winning prize will be the two available project books from the AAW. The instant gallery will be highlighted in this months’ newsletter.

The BOD reviewed the decision to have an "opt-in" list that is provided to selected wood related businesses for discounts and mailings. In keeping with the RWS privacy policy, our member list and personal information will not be sold or given to anyone. In light of the memberships desire to obtain discounts and be on catalog lists, the SIG will put together a list of those wishing to have their names and information available to selected businesses. The SIG members will be polled and everyone desiring to be part of this effort will have to send an email response or call Kurt to be added to the list. Only those specifically asking to be included will be included.

The requirement for the financial audit was covered. There will be a note in the newsletter asking for a volunteer from the membership to take part in the audit. That member will work with the incoming and outgoing Treasurers to verify that all is in order and the transfer of responsibility should take place. If no one steps forward from the notice in the newsletter, someone will be selected at the next meeting so all three can take care of this in December.

The following items will be included in the upcoming NL. The 2-inch bevel edged mirrors, for those interested in the vacuum chucking projects, are available for $1.25 each. The unsold ones will be returned to the Buffalo club in December. The notice of renewal of dues will be published. Checks will still be sent to Ed’s address until the January cutover.

The current BOD reviewed their long term financial plans with the new members. The goal to have sufficient funds to host major turning speakers and collaborate with other local clubs is almost here. Once we have between $750 and $1000 in the treasury, we will be in a financial condition to undertake things like this. Our by-laws require that no commitments be made that can not be funded out of current funds. The plan would be to use the current funds in these efforts and replenish the monies with receipts from the event. Having sufficient funds up front will prevent us from overextending ourselves or not being able to make good on our commitments.

The meeting concluded at 8PM with desserts and a shop tour.

KTH/kth
11/15/00

FLW Regular Meeting Minutes – November 6^th, 2000

President Doug Crittenden called the meeting to order at 7PM. The club recognized visitors Pete Mercer, Ed Spath, and Zak Spath. Ed DeMay gave the Treasurer’s report indicating that the club had $566 in the treasury.

Kurt Hertzog gave the Secretary’s report. He covered the status of the website and the mailing of the newsletter. Kurt announced the raffle of the hooked tool donated to the SIG by Bill Moore. Tickets were $2 each with the drawing proceeds donated to the RWS. He passed out photocopies of the vacuum turning articles donated by Frank Stanko. Mention was made of the upcoming dues and a reminder will be put in the minutes and newsletter.

Jim Echter brought up the proposal that he had received from Klingspor. They had offered to take a copy of our member mailing list and offer all of the members a 10% discount on their orders. The mailing list would be used to mail catalogs to our members. Discussion that followed focused on the RWS policy of membership information being privileged and not transferred to anyone outside of RWS. The members felt that they would like to take part in this and similar offers. Only one member present expressed dissent. The proposal was made that we offer an "opt-in" mailing list. All members desiring to take part in this type of offer would have to respond directly to the Secretary indicating their desire to be on the list. This proposal was put to a vote and passed unanimously. Kurt will write it up in the newsletter and field responses to generate the "opt-in" mailing list. This list will then be sent to Klingspor and a few other woodworking related businesses that have expressed the same interest.

Sharpening systems were discussed. There is a low speed, slower than 1725, available from Garrett Wade. It runs at 1125 rpm. The opinions on speeds and wheel types were kicked around. It was a good information exchange.

The drawing for the hook tool was held. Guest Mrs. Osborn drew the name. Kurt Hertzog won the hook tool. Kurt had Mrs. Osborn draw another name afterwards. The next name drawn was Jim Echter and he was given the Alan Lacer made hook tool. The SIG raised $28 for donation to the RWS in Bill Moore’s name.

Using the bowl and spindle gouge was the presentation for the evening. Doug did the explanations while Ward Donahue did the hands on demonstration. Several new turners had the opportunity to try their hand at it.

The meeting was adjourned at 9PM.