First Meeting of the Southern West Virginia Chapter

This post was written by Stephen Duffy of +WV Woodshed (WV Woodshed), MWA member in West Virginia.

This post is simply a call for participation in the initial Southern West Virginia & South Western Virginia Chapter of the Modern Woodworkers Association. The meeting is to be held Saturday, June 15th at 10:00am. We anticipate the meeting will last 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

In the area I live there are currently a limited number of woodworking resources. The few that do exist are niche' or skill specific, as in carving, turning, etc. Through my website I have met other woodworkers interested in developing a local community for all skill sets to discuss and share information about their individual passions or anything and everything woodworking.

Ron Hart, Owner/Operator of Virginia Hardware (a Rockler Affiliate Store) has generously opened his doors to host our initial and subsequent meetings. This initial meeting will be geared towards setting up the group, organizing a schedule for future meetings and creating/brainstorming concepts for meeting topics and member participation. Some ideas for topics include:

1. What's On Your Bench

2. Cool Tools Used In Your Shop

3. Technique Of The Month

4. Show And Tell

5. Just Showing Off

The address for the meeting is:

Virginia Hardware (a Rockler Affiliate Store)

1411 N. Walker Street

Princeton, WV 24740

Contacts for information:

Stephen Duffy = wvwoodshed@gmail.com

Pat McNulty = pmcnulty@gmail.com

PLEASE COME, PARTICIPATE AND SHARE YOUR WOODWORKING KNOWLEDGE WITH OTHER LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS!!! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

Until My Next Post...

Keep Your Mind On Your Fingers And Your Fingers On Your Hands!!!

-Stephen Duffy

Lie-Nielsen is coming to Brooklyn

This weekend the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Events are coming to Brooklyn. They'll be at 3rd Ward (195 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237) on Friday, 1/4, from 10:00 to 6:00 and on Saturday, 1/5, from 10:00 to 5:00.

Tools for Working Wood will be there, and they'll be open.

In addition to their own wonderful wares, Lie-Nielsen will be bring some top notch tool makers to Brooklyn with them. Daed Toolworks, M.S. Bickford, Guarino Furniture Designs, Northwest Woodworking Studio & Tools For Working Wood will be at 3rd Ward too. In fact, rumor has it +Matthew Kenney (of +Fine Woodworking) will be there too.

What a pretty view in Brooklyn.

I'm going to try to make it on Friday afternoon, but don't wait for me. Check out the show (and say hi to Matt).

3rd Ward

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Woodworking In America 2012 MidWest In Photos

Woodworking in America 2012 Midwest was a great event this year. Though the community seemed slightly split by having two (2) venues this year, we still managed to have a blast in Cincinnati. We took classes, hawked the MWA to anyone that would listen and, of course, hung out with our woodworking friends (both new and old).

Yep, Mike brought a log to a bar.

In the coming days and weeks, we'll be assembling a podcast of interviews we made with many of the lecturers from WIA2012 Midwest. In the mean time, check the links below to see the full Modern Woodworkers Association photo galleries of the weekend.

We used the photo sharing capabilities of Google+ Events to set up events for our Thursday night get together and the conference itself. Through the Events, anyone who was invited (everyone who follows the Modern Woodworkers Association on Google+) was able to upload all of the photos they took during the event to a communal album.

Thursday nights festivities

On Thursday night, Sean Wisniewski and Dyami Plotke contributed photos to the album you can find here.

We came, we saw, we sat on Megan's bench.

For the full event, Jeff Waggoner, Sean Wisniewski, Nik Brown and Dyami Plotke contributed photos. The full event album is here.

Inaugural NJ and NY MWA Meet-up

A number of like-minded woodworkers who met at the recent Fine Woodworking Live event have decided to try and form another local MWA chapter in Northern NJ and NY (esp. for those too far from the Long Island Chapter.)

This first meeting is meant to help the group get up and running and to grab some bacon at a local diner before the coming Bacon Apocalypse.

Here are the particulars and apologies for the late notice.


When: September 29, 2012 @ 9am

Where: The Nautilus Diner, Madison, NJ (https://plus.google.com/117263794054809444205/about?gl=US&hl=en-US)

Who: Most of us met at Fine Woodworking Live at SUNY New Platz but anyone is welcome to come

Why: We see a need for a group of passionate amateurs in the NJ and NY area.

What: Inaugural meeting of Modern Woodworkers of NJ & NY.

• Agenda: 
• Defining this group's interests further (Ideas, Next Steps)
• Getting acquainted
• Bring your favorite (small) handtool

I hope you can make.

PS. We have also just set up a NJ/NY mailing list.  Visit here to sign up: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!forum/modernwoodworkersnjny

Meetup With the MWA at Fine Woodworking Live

Fine Woodworking Live is coming up in two and a half weeks. It’s looking like it’ll be a great weekend of woodworking.

The MWA is looking to start the weekend off with a bang. We’ve organized a get together on the first night. We’ve set it up with Bacchus Resturant, Bar & Billards.

We’re going to meet at Bacchus on Thursday after registration.

Everyone is welcome. There’s no need to be associated with the MWA. Just bring your love of woodworking and we’ll have a great time.

So that we can let Bacchus know about how many of us to expect, please fill out the form below. I’ll be re-posting it many places, so please only fill it out once. No matter where you do. Also, please re-post yourself. We'd love see everyone there.

We’ll see you in New Paltz. Remember, nothing is shiny in New Paltz, except your Future.

Furniture With Soul

At the suggestion of one of our members, we will be having a MWA Boston Chapter Meetup later in June/early July to visit the NAGA Gallery's presentation of Furniture With Soul.

This Friday, June 1st, will be the opening featuring:


Book signing with the author and Furnituremaker David Savage (Cosponsored by Porter Square Books)  
Friday, June 1
5 pm 

Reception with the furnituremakers
Friday, June 1
6 - 8 pm

If you can make it for Friday, let us know in the comments or by email and we'll get an impromptu meetup going with those MWA'ers planning on attending. It should be a great opportunity to get inspiration, and chat with the makers about design, methods, etc.  

If two days is not sufficient notice, fear not, we'll be planning our visit for later in the show. (albeit, without the furnituremakers on hand (that we know of)

MWA Boston Area Meetup, June 9th

Furniture Institute 

of

 Massachusetts

MWA Boston Meetup at (and following) the event:

Thirteenth Annual

Furniture Exhibit 

&

Open House

  June 9, 2012

4-8 PM

Please join us at our Open House featuring student and faculty work. Meet the students, tour the facility and enjoy great food, tasty drink and good company! All are welcome.

For those who haven't seen Phil Lowe's shop, here's a great opportunity to meet the students, instructors, see some furniture, get inspired, talk shop, ask questions, sign up for some classes, meet some great people...

All are welcome (NOT just Boston chapter members, if you'll be in town, let me know!)

As usual, the meetup will occur during the event, and will likely continue at a local restaurant or watering hole.

If you think you'll attend, please leave a comment below, or send me an email

(Note: I may not be able to attend this one, but letting me know you're going will let me put everyone who is going in touch for the meetup)

The 16th Annual Long Island Woodworkers Show

This post was originally posted at penultimatewoodshop.com

Here we are!

Two weekends ago, I was lucky enough to take my three (3) sons to the Long Island Woodworkers 16th Annual Woodworking Show at the Old Bethpage Village Fairgrounds.

Entering the show.

This is the 6th or 7th year in a row that I’ve attended the Long Island Woodworker’s Show and they’ve found their rhythm as far as size, exhibitors and venue. Since I’ve been going to the show I’ve seen it migrate from Sports Plus (a now defunct large entertainment venue) to Hofstra University to an American Legion Hall (a space so cramped with woodworking that you could barely walk) to the Old Bethpage Village Fairgrounds.

The wonderful timber framed barn that houses the show.

The building the show is in now is just the right size and certainly the right atmosphere. It’s a large, beautiful, timber framed barn, perfect for a woodworking show.

The show itself is made up of member exhibits, vendors and special interest displays. The Long Island Woodworking Club’s special interest groups are the L.I. Scrollsaw Association, the L.I. Woodturner’s Guild, the L.I. Cabinet & Furniture Makers and the Secret Society of Woodcarvers. Each special interest group (at least is seems like each, but I didn’t check) has a corner of the building where they give live demonstrations and talk up their craft.

What's a woodworking show without Woodmizer?

The vendors aren’t the boutique shops you’ll see at Woodworking in America or the generic guys you’ll see at the Woodworking & D.I.Y. Shows. They were all medium sized and somewhat local. The ones I spend the most time with were Lakeshore Hardwoods and the member used tool sale.

A great photo, taken by Tom McKenna of Robert
having Tom's son draw a raffle winner.

While I spent a good deal of my time chasing my kids around and trying to get them enthusiastic about this joint or that finish, the highlight was the wonderful chat I had with Robert of the Long Island Woodworker’s Club. He let my boys draw a raffle winner, and as I learned in Saratoga, he’s a great guy to talk too.

This cookbook rack was my favorite of the member gallery.

Unfortunately, I missed seeing Fine Woodworking’s Tom McKenna. Matt Kenney gave me a heads up that Tom was visiting the show, and it looks like he had a good time too. Check out his post about the Long Island Woodworker's Show here.

You can see my entire Long Island Woodworker's 16th Annual Woodworking Show Picasa gallery here.

Have you found your local woodworking show and discovered who you need to talk to there?

Heading to the Long Island Woodworkers Show

So it looks like I’ll be heading to the Long Island Woodworkers 16th Annual Woodworking Show after all. My travel plans have been changed and while I’m still not sure exactly when I’ll be going, I’ll certainly be making an appearance there this weekend.

The wonderful timber framed barn that houses the
Long Island Woodworkers Show.

So if you’re anywhere near the Old Bethpage Village Fairgrounds this weekend, be sure to stop in and say to the Long Island Woodworkers Club. I'll see you there.

Have a seat and chat with fellow woodworkers.

The Long Island Woodworkers Club 16th Annual Long Island Woodworking Show runs 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday & Sunday, November 12th & 13th at the Old Bethpage Village Fairgrounds, 1303 Round Swamp Rd, Old Bethpage, NY 11804.


UPDATE: I've figured out my plan and I'll be heading to the show on Sunday at about 10:00ish with my three sons. I hope to see you there.

16th Annual Long Island Woodworking Show

Though it appears I will be missing this local event to take my kids to visit my Grandmother, I’d like to invite everyone to attend the Long Island Woodworkers 16th Annual Long Island Woodworking Show.

The barn that houses the Long Island Woodworkers Woodworking Shows.

The show is being held in a beautiful timber framed barn on the grounds of the Old Bethpage Village Restoration Fairgrounds for the 3rd (or 4th) year in a row. It’s a beautiful venue and the building is just the right size to house the small to medium show.

My Dad's winning carvings from 2010.

As with most shows, it’s a combination of member exhibits and vendors, with the odd lecture thrown in for good measure.

Members of the Long Island Woodworkers Club (& Chirs Schwarz in the background)
at our group dinner held at the Northeast Woodworkers Show in Saratoga Springs
in March, 2011.

If anyone is in the area and thinking of attending I’d encourage you to use the comments here as a method of coordinating your trip so it can serve as a Modern Woodworkers Association meetup too.

I’ll post if my plans change, but assuming I’ll be on Cape Cod for the weekend, have a great time.