The President's Corner - December 2012

Steve's Shavings

Hard to believe November has come and gone and another educational TWA meeting has passed. Thanks to Ed Mastin for obtaining the services of Steve Wall, owner of Steve H. Wall Lumber Co. in Mayodan, NC. Steve's presentation on lumber selection and other wood products was very informative. During his presentation, Steve conducted multiple drawings and several TWA members went home with some quality wood products.
Pete Bucki raised a few more bucks for Toys for Tots with his 4 minute auction and the 2 items he had available. Thanks to those who participated and I hope members will continue to participate at future meetings. If you have some woodworking items you no longer need, please consider a donation for the T4T auction.

Speaking of donations, now is the time to review your woodworking library and consider donating your gently used publications for the TWA Member “Book Distribution”. Remember, reuse is better than recycling. Like the auction, the TWA Book Distribution sale offsets some of the T4T costs.

Since the November TWA meeting I have been on “vacation” for a few weeks at my wife’s farm in Bladen County near Elizabethtown, NC. While “piddling” on the farm I moved a large, but diminishing, pile of tobacco sticks from a shed next to a very old tobacco barn to an enclosed area in the old “pack house.” The old “sticks” were moved to preserve them from termites and theft. I plan to use these old tobacco sticks to make some writing pens and for “ricking” (my grandfather’s term) lumber for drying. While working around these farm structures built over 100 years ago, it occurred to me the woodworking skills our ancestors, just a couple of generations ago, needed to be successful. They would fell trees, debark them, hand dress and joint the logs, and erect the barns and other out buildings. Examining the old tobacco barn and pack house on the farm demonstrated substantial joinery skills (dove tails, half laps, & bridle joints) and most of this work was done with hand tools and crude power saws. Some of the timbers used in the construction had over 25 rings per inch. I am thankful that today, unlike our ancestors, with the use of much improved hand and power woodworking tools, we can produce some nice woodworking projects without having the skills required of our ancestors. While enjoying the solitude of the farm, I am also thankful I live in the Triangle where I am only 45 minutes or less from at least 3 stores dedicated to the woodworker, several lumber yards, and only minutes from the big box home improvement stores.

I look forward to seeing you at our next TWA meeting on December 11th for our special Toys for Tots give-away Program lead by Fred Ford.

I hope each of you had a bountiful Thanksgiving and wish upon you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Now, let’s go make some wood shavings,

President: Steve Steinbeck