Last nights meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association was an informational and entertaining one. We were treated to the seemingly endless wisdom of Mel Larsen, the Canadian representative of SIA Abrasives.

SIA Abrasives, with their head office in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, is the oldest manufacturer of coated abrasives in the world and a popular choice among woodworkers. Their noticeable yellow sandpaper is commonplace in many home workshops as well as widely used in industry applications including wood, automotive and metal.

Mel took a different approach for this presentation than he has taken in the past. Instead of focusing on the SIA product line and its use he took a broader view and spoke on wood and the steps to take to create a quality finish as well as the pitfalls and concerns.

Here, in point form, are the notes I was able to make from this fast-paced, tip-laden presentation:

Continue reading 'A Sand Storm Sweeps The AWA'

Last night’s meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association was a bit of a road trip where we visited two facilities of interest to woodworkers. First, we visited a Habitat For Humanity ReStore location and from there we went to Mill Supply, a local tool distributor.

The Habitat For Humanity ReStore is a home renovation center that accepts and resells quality new and used building materials from retailers, manufacturers, contractors and the general public. The proceeds from these goods goes towards local HFH home builds, while reducing the amount of material headed for the landfill.

Habitat For Humanity, of course, mobilizes volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Continue reading 'The AWA Goes On The Road'

At last night’s meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association we were brought back to our ‘Atlantic’ roots with a glimpse into the work of John Green, master model shipbuilder.

John started model shipbuilding at the age of 8 and has been actively building for the past 61 years. He enjoyed model shipbuilding so much that he retired at the age of 52 to do his passion full time. Although he says that he has retired it can be seen more as a positive career change since his ships sell for between $10,000 and $20,000 each with some commission pieces commanding even more! He also does repairs and restorations.

He is presently building several scale models of the Nova Scotia icon, The Bluenose which he plans on giving to his daughters.

John gave an overview of the intricate work required to create such a scale model, including the background research he does to ensure accuracy:

Continue reading 'I’se The B’y That Builds The Boat!'

Although the guest speaker was unable to make it to tonight’s Atlantic Woodworkers Association meeting we had a great ’show and tell’ and Q and A session.

One of the members brought in a project he recently completed:

Continue reading 'Woodworking Show And Tell'

We had a special treat for this month’s Atlantic Woodworkers Association meeting - the guests were whirlygig masters Barry and Kara Coutts. Whirlygig masters, indeed!

Continue reading 'The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind'

The December meeting, also known as the Christmas meeting, of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association was held tonight at Lee Valley.

The Christmas meeting has been the tradition among the AWA members to bring in (and show off :)) toys that they made. The toys are given later to the Salvation Army to distribute to underprivileged children. This year, as in the past, the toys were a varied mix and very professionally done. There were trains, trucks, games and hobby horses. I’m sure the children receiving them will be entertained for a long time with these! Take a look:

Continue reading 'Woodworking In Toyland'

The Atlantic Woodworker’s Association meeting tonight was held at our ‘club house’, a local Home Depot and the theme was sharpening techniques.

One of the members demonstrated the Work Sharp 3000. It was nice to see this in action after having posted the announcement of this new tool last month. Several members brought in tools for sharpening which gave a wide array of samples, from plane blades to carving chisels. The Work Sharp performed well on all of them giving a quick and easy sharpening. Very impressive!

Another member spoke on hand sharpening and the trials and tribulations of such. There was also discussion on various sharpening and honing options.

I was hoping to have a sharpening competition between man and machine but it was not to be.

As always, it was a great meeting. It’s nice to meet others from time to time that share a similar interest in woodworking.

Back to the shop…

This evening I visited Halifax Specialty Hardwoods with the Atlantic Woodworkers Association for a shop tour and a demonstration on their milling process. The evening was hosted by owner Darrell Vallis and his sister Cheryl Borden.

The shop was opened in early 2006 and has since then has grown from a stock of 16 species to over 40 plus a large supply of plywoods including Baltic birch. They specialize in crown moulding, baseboards, wall trim and mantle mouldings and also stock burls, pen blanks, and preturned bowl blanks.

Continue reading 'Halifax Specialty Hardwoods Tour'