The July meeting was held on July 9 at Millworks and the August meeting was held August 11 at Woodcraft. Our guest in July was Bob Zauke and our guests in August were Rod Gibson and Bob Perot. We send a warm welcome to all three of you. A hardy welcome is sent out to Steve Konrad, our newest member. Welcome to the club Steve!

The July demo was a discussion about chucking methods led by Keith Zimmerman. The August demo, by Dick Coers, was a demo of his Jet mini-based Rose Machine.

The President's Challenge for September is to turn a doorstop.

The 2009 Officer elections will be held at the November meeting in Bloomington.

Fall 2008 President's Letter
From Angelo Iafrate...

When I was a newbie on the AAW board of directors, I made the error in judgment to call American Woodturner a magazine. I did so more than once, and each time I was corrected: “You should call it a journal. It is not a magazine!” OK, it looks like a magazine to me but if it’s not a magazine then what is it? What is a journal?

After giving it some thought it occurred to me that a journal is a diary as someone goes through life. I kept one while in art school. Mostly it was a pictorial journal, intended to track my likes and dislikes in the shapes and colors in the world I saw. It also kept track of random thoughts throughout that time. Then it struck me! That is what the American Woodturner should be!

Once I made that connection, it was easy to see that our journal should be a written and pictorial record of the woodturning journey through time. This eureka also gave me some insight into what was being talked about in some of the threads on the website.

Beginners want more “beginner” articles. Pros want more critical essays on design or other hot topic issues. There are vocal minorities on both sides of the spectrum but little input from the vast majority in between. I consider myself someone in between.

In an effort to understand what constituted “beginner” articles I asked for a list on the forum. Boy! Did I get one! When I asked for people to write, only one person stepped up and offered to help. Thank you John Lucas! It is my plan, after my tenure on the board, to start writing about some of these suggested topics.

I also think that people who are new to turning want more information than they could ever assimilate in any one turning session. It’s only natural; I was the same way when I was first smitten by woodturning. I believe, too, that to become good at anything it is important to inform your subconscious by reading to be sure you have a frame of reference when you encounter a similar turning condition in the shop. It helps! It does not substitute for real time at the lathe; that is where you create the shapes that will form muscle memory and the skills you need to progress.

Not every article in American Woodturner will strike a familiar chord with all members. An article can satisfy some of our 13,000 members some time and others another time. Can we try to be sensitive to the needs of beginners? Sure we can! And we do!

Angelo Iafrate
President AAW

It's time to start making plans for next year's symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 26-28, 2009

Baby Fold (Normal) - John Katzke reports that the Baby Fold in Normal is asking for donations of ornaments for Christmas trees the organization sells to raise money. Each tree is "pre-decorated" then raffled off. Please keep the Christmas spirit alive all year by making two or three ornaments that are 2" -5" tall and weigh under 4 oz. Bring them to the Peoria Woodcraft store and they will be on display throughout the year.

Details of the requested ornaments are as follows:
• Each ornament tagged w/ makers name, wood types used, and value.
• Have them marked " Baby Fold/John Katzke"
• Deliver after March 15, so John has time to set up display area.
• Price them appropriately so that the Baby Fold has an idea of their value

Clinton Apple and Pork Festival - September 27 - 28 in Clinton Illinois. Contact Jerry Sievers for more information

Sugar Grove Harvest Festival - October 18 in Funks Grove Illinois. Contact Jerry Rhoads for more information.

The July tool raffle winners were Lee Gale, who won a block of Cherry, Frank Kobilsek, who won some Sand Glove products, and Jack O'Bryan, who won some Sealing Wax. The August winners were Harold Levin, who won a Maple blank, and Tom Tonozzi and Terry Quiram, whos both won a General Finish product.

The Show-n-tell and President's Challenge winners were Roger Alexander, Joe Landon, Dick Coers, Keith Zimmerman, Roger Alexander, Jerry Sievers, Harold Levin,

The following members shared and discussed their work with us:

July Dave Kraft Harold Levin Roger Alexander Bill Patton Dennis Belcher Frank Kobilsek Terry Quiram Keith Zimmerman Dave Bloom Jerry Sievers Larry Moreau Dick Coers

August Jim Meizelis Joe Landon Tom Tonozzi Harold Levin Dave Kraft Keith Zimmerman Terry Quiram Larry Moreau

See photos of our members showing their work at the July and August Show-n-tell.

The July demo was a discussion about chucking methods. The discussion was led by Keith Zimmerman. He showed examples of several types of chucks including screw chucks, scroll chucks, jam chucks, and collet chucks. Dick Coers shared an example of a pin chuck. Also discussed was a vacuum chuck. Each chucking method was talked about, including the pros and cons of each. It was a lively discussion and a lot of great information was shared.

The August demo was done by Dick Coers. Dick brought and showed us a Rose Machine of his own design that was created out of a modified Jet Mini lathe. He showed how the machine was set up and explained the concept of how the machine works. This demo was a great introduction to the popular world of ornamental turning.