MWA Podcast Episode #21 - Woodworking New Year's Resolutions

Show Notes for Episode #21:

After being with us since episode number 2, and being the technical lead behind this wonderful innertubecast, Nick Roulleau has left the MWA. We wish him the best in his woodworking and all his other endeavors

As we’re trying to focus the discussion and comments to a single location, to comment during the show please use twitter with the #mwalive hashtag.

Dyami Plotke and Rob Bois of the MWA were guests on the latest episode of ShopTalk Live, the Fine Woodworking Podcast. It will be posted to iTunes on 12/28 and can also be listened to at shoptalklive.com

Our good friend Justin Leib has started a blog at halfblindwoodwoker.blogspot.com
Bill Akins, a long time member of the founding Atlanta chapter of the MWA has recetly blogged about his shaving horse at his blog, plainshavings.com

For the main topic, we discuss the woodworking related gifts we recieved for Christmas, the woodworking gifts we made for Christmas and our New Year’s resolutions for our shops and our projects.

Our next podcast will be on January 9, 2012. Megan Fitzpatrick, the new editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine will join us.

The MWA on Shop Talk Live

This is a re-posting of a post I originally shared at penultimatewoodshop.com

Last week fellow +Modern Woodworkers Association member +Rob Bois and I headed up to Newtown, Connecticut to meet up with the +Fine Woodworking crew and represent the MWA on their podcast, Shoptalk Live.

Publishers, and just all around nice guys who love woodworking.

We had a great time and really appreciate the invitation.

On the podcast we joined +Asa Christiana, +Matthew Kenney & +Ed Pirnik to talk woodworking. The specific topics discussed ranged from the pro & cons of sliding compound miter saws (I'm on the Pro side) to the dangers of drinking shellac.

Matt Kenney sits down in their decked out podcasting studio

Yours truly, behind the mic.

Ed Pirnik made this decked out mic stand just to accommodate us.

You can check out the podcast on their site here, you can also download and subscribe to it on iTunes here. And if you do listen using iTunes, please leave a review. +Ed Pirnik will really appreciate it.

Rob & Matt talk shop.

Yes, Rob, jointers do come that big (By the way, he won a Bad Axe Tenon saw).

Jeff's Josh Finn Workbench Update

I'm a sucker for benches. Frankly I can't think of a better reason to showcase a fellow +Modern Woodworkers Association  member.

+Jeff Branch is a member of the Atlanta Chapter. He's been a member of the MWA from the beginning and he's been a contributing member of the overall online woodworking community for much longer. You can catch all of Jeff's posts at woodfever.net. He's a big advocate of SketchUp and sell's his well crafted plans on his site and at Sawtooth Ideas.

Jeff's Josh Finn Bench

The bench that Jeff uses and has recently posted about is his Josh Finn inspired bench. It's made of two (2) beams (built as torsion boxes) that rest on specially made saw horses. I could go into the design more here, but you owe it to Jeff to read about it right at the source.

What I find so cool about the bench are two (2) things. First, I'm a sucker for torsion boxes. I think this bench makes great use of them to provide a wide and very usefully variety of clamping scenarios. Second, I think the Roubo's have become a bit too dominant lately. While they are a great bench, so are many other designs. Jeff's definitively non-Roubo bench helps illustrate this point.

Yet, as you'll see by reading Jeff's post, he's currently reading The Workbench Design Book and may be falling under it's design spell.

What do you ladies and gentleman, you woodworkers, use for a bench? Please share.

MWA Podcast Episode 20 - Special Guest Chuck Bender

• Things online that piqued our interest
• Google Launched the “Communities” in google+ which looks like it will be a great place for topical conversation, like forums, and social sharing, like G+ or twitter, but allows for moderation, and for communities around a specific topic, like woodworking, so there’s much less unrelated noise to filter through. We’ve set up a community for the Modern Woodworkers Association which we’ve shared on FB, G+, Twitter, and will add a link to from our homepage. Another great community for woodworking is the “woodworking” public community. Worth checking it out.

• Goings on in the MWA
• We’ll be publishing our first newsletter
• We’re planning meetups at the various sites for the Woodworking Shows. If you want to help organize a meetup in your area for the shows, send us an email to modernwoodworkersassociation@gmail.com

• Chuck Bender of acanthus.com
• Acanthus comes from the 5 classic orders

• Chuck first answered our standard 5 questions. Then we went into his work.

1. how did you get into woodworking?
1. He learned as a boy by starting off making a skateboard
2. what's your favorite tool?
1. His Daed Tool Works Smoother
3. who has influenced you the most?
4. What was your biggest stumbling block & could it have been avoided?
1. Learning to Carve, as it wasn’t part of his training (and Making Money as a furniture builder)
2. Get out of your comfort zone
5. How has the internet influenced your work?
1. exposes to more people, lead him to re-examine how he teaches and does things

• Videos from NO BS WW
• 26 episode online show
• upcoming project: Wharton Esherick style table
• Upcoming Classes?
• Fundimentals
• straight leg chip and dale footstool with a blah, blah . . .
• master class Newport Block front chest
• Wharton Escherick Music Stand
• Appearances?
• Woodworking In America
• The woodworking shows
• Triangle woodworkers Association
• He’s in it for the fun and interaction
• Bermuda Dovetails
• Where and why?
• Found in Bermuda, Spain & in Chuck’s shop
• A challenge, and he got paid for it
• Chuck balances being a woodworking personality (educator) vs a professional furniture maker (teaching/building for customers) at about a 60/40 ratio.

• Next broadcast’s topic
• Join us Wed 12/26 when We’ll be talking bits and blades with Dave from Infinity

Photos
Link: https://picasaweb.google.com/104086274409588105054/ChuckBenderSBermudaDovetails?authuser=0&feat=directlink

embed:

Chuck Bender's Bermuda Dovetails

Farewell

It’s been a bit more than a year to the day since I stepped into my role with the MWA, and we’ve grown quickly. I’m proud of the achievements we’ve made, and my part in them:  developing networks on all major social media, relationships with sponsors, guests, donors, and publications, organizing events around the country -and more than a 10 in the Boston chapter, pulling together a biweekly video podcast with great guests, streamed and recorded live, and contributing to the woodworking community, and more.  I like to think I’ve added quality and value to all aspects of the organization.

The time has come for me step back from my duties with the MWA and to re-focus my priorities, on my family, growing my business, continued learning, growing my skills, and contributing to some other organizations. Thanks to all who've supported my work, and I wish the team the best in moving it into the future.  

For anyone wishing to stay in touch, you can still find me on twitter @mansfinefurn, on Facebook, Google+, or just send me an email!

Thanks for the Memories!

Nick

Woodworking is a Community

One of the core beliefs here at the Modern Woodworkers Association is that woodworking is a community. We don't care what kind of woodworking you do, what kind of tools you use or what you build. As long as you love working wood, you're our neighbor.

We're all a great big woodworking community.

I mention this in light of Google's new addition to Google+: Communities.

In the MWA Community share your projects, ask questions or just chat woodworking.

I won't go into too much detail here, but Communities are a new way to share on Google+ based around common interests. When you post within a community, all the community's members can see and comment on your post, even if you haven't circled them. While it's not the best place to share birthday greetings to your cat, it's a great place to talk about a shared passion . . . such as, I don't know . . . woodworking.

Who wouldn't want to be in a Community with these galoots?

There is already a great general woodworking community on Google+ started by David Bennett & Tammy Capistrant. There is also the Modern Woodworker's Association Google+ Community. You can join as many communities as you like, so please, join both and share. We want to see what everyone is working on and keep the woodworking community growing.

By the way, to anyone who already joined, please check that you're still in. As we want everyone to join in, we've made a change from the original MWA G+ Community. It's now public. Unfortunately, this meant we had to delete the original private community and start over. So if you were in and we deleted you with the original community, we're sorry. Please sign up again and join in.

A Christmas Classic...

This originally appeared on Tom's Workbench back in December of 2009... Hopefully, this will get your woodworking selves into the holiday spirit!

Twas some time before Christmas, when all through the shop
I was just so darned busy, I thought I would drop!

The gift list was hung by the workbench with care.
“If we don’t ship these soon, they’ll never get there!”
I in my apron, glue bottle in hand,
was prepared to work hard, to make my last stand.

Sanding and planing, the dust it did blow,
covering the shop floor like the new-fallen snow.

I struggled and sweated as I wiped off my brow.
“I’m sure I can’t do this… no way or no how.”

Project pieces lay about, both tennon and mortise.
“If I progressed any slower, I just might be a tortoise.”

When what in my offended nose did I smell?
“I can place that aroma!  I know it so well…”

When in swang a monkey, hanging high by his tail.
“I’m here to help – together, we won’t fail.”

Of course, it was Iggy, the trained Shop Monkey.
He looked very dapper, his smell was quite funky.

With tool belt cinched tightly around his middle.
He looked young and  strong – as fit as a fiddle.

He was 20 inches tall, all covered in fur.
I guess it’s there so, if cold, he wouldn’t say ‘brrr…’

With eye protection on and boots on his feet,
his shop working outfit was completely complete.

“Now, what’s on this list? Something for father and mother…
We’ll finish this job, don’t you worry, my brother.”

But, raising my hand, I told the monkey to hush.
“They’ll all look simply awful if we get in a rush.”

“Not to worry, pal,” said the monkey with glee.
“We’ll get this job done, just you wait and you see.”

And, with fur and tools flying, working hard was a must.
“You know all these tools, in your skills you must trust.”

“Don’t overthink your joinery, lay out and do cut.
If you don’t get a move-on, I’ll just kick your butt.”

With motivation a-plenty, I set out to work.
“You do a good job, Tom, just don’t be a jerk!”

With project pieces cut, the work was quite simple.
I was happy it worked! You could just see my dimple.

The monkey and I, we worked at the bench.
I was no longer bothered by his terrible stench.

The tools sprung to life, and I was in awe.
Iggy shouted quite loudly, “On router and saw!

On sander and chisel! On spokeshave and plane!”
Our work was quite orderly, the pace was insane!

Together we worked, and with our combined project attack,
there, on the bench, sprung to life nine tiny wine racks.

(A note to my relatives: Right now, shield your eyes
or I will be blowing the big Christmas Surprise!)

The plans we had gotten from our friends there at Wood.
The project looked sweet, the fit was quite good.

From a stack of work pieces all perfectly milled,
from just a plain drawing, these projects distilled.

The frames are held fast with the mortise and tennon.
Try as you might, there’s just no way to bend ‘em.

I sanded the pieces, then applied the finish.
Iggy said “You work faster than Popeye on spinach!”

A coat of shellac, a wipe on finish made them pop.
The look amazed both of us, our jaws they did drop.

Eight tiny wine racks, made of maple and sapele.
(That’s a wood from Africa, not Brazil or New Dehli)

Eight were the same, but there was this one
made of dark wood –  it  looked nice – I had some.

The bottle supports are all of curly maple.
In Iggy’s workshop, that wood is a staple.

And riding on each was a bottle of wine.
Most of them cheap, very few of them fine.

The eight sapele projects they lined up to follow
the dark wooden wine rack, with a red foil on bottle.

The scene it reminded me of old St. Nick’s Sleigh
with Rudolph’s red nose a-lighting the way.

Iggy said, “We got them together, of that there’s no lie,
just try not to touch them ’til the finish is dry.”

“We now need a cheesy photo… go get the missus!”
“What if she won’t?”  ”Well, go ply her with kisses!”

And so, in a flash, she came with her camera to snap.
She took some pictures, then went back in for a nap.

Iggy looked pleased as I reviewed the shots on the camera.
“That was some hard work.  Now, how ’bout a banana?”

And as I handed Iggy a big golden bunch,
he said, “At least – this time – you fed me lunch.”

And, as he swung to a tree and disappeared from sight,
Iggy shouted, “Get  to the post office now, not later tonight!”

Guilds can join!

Local woodworking clubs and guilds have been a great resource for woodworkers. Since most of us work in the seclusion of our own shops, it's great to get together every so often to share tips, swap tools and tell tall woodworking tales. The only problem? You typically just have the same members showing up time after time. That's great for building camaraderie, but not so good for getting new viewpoints or sharing what your club is doing as a group.

That's why the Modern Woodworkers Association want to know about you! If you are a member of a local woodworking club or guild, simply click the Join MWA tab. Once you do that, it's a simple matter of letting us know what you are up to! Send us your website address so we can list your group among our membership. If your group has a newsletter, shoot us the link, and we'll let folks know what's happening in your guild or club.

As we gather additional guilds and members to the Modern Woodworkers Association, we can go to woodworking stores, tool manufacturers and others as a large group to see what kinds of deals we can negotiate for members.

Another advantage is that you will have a built-in network of woodworkers around the country - and internationally. So, if your travels take you away for business or fun, you can get the woodworking lay of the land before you travel.

How much does it cost to have your guild or club join the Modern Woodworkers Association?  It's absolutely free.

So, why wait?  Resolve to become a more connected woodworker in the New Year!

MWA Podcast Episode 19 - Andy Chidwick of Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking

Check out this episode as we speak with Andy Chidwick of the Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking. 

• Blog post that piqued our interest
• Steve Taylor’s post about WIA 2012 Midwest classes (@Torch02)
• http://taylorgarage.com/2012/11/wia-midwest-2012-the-classes/
• Ian’s Leg vise experiments (@woodcanuck)

• Goings on in the MWA
• Boston Lie-Nielsen Meetup

• Andy Chidwick Interview (@chidwickschool)
• -The Sawdust Tour (Festool sponsored national roadshow)
• -The Woodworking Shows
• -The Woodworking Coach/ videos/ plans/ membership
• -Museum of the Rockies Exhibit
• -Chidwick School of Fine Woodworking/ Woodworking Vacations