Greetings to all!

Lots to cover in this update so let’s get started:

Thanks to Lee Ketchum for his great demo on hollow spiraled candle sticks.  Super job – especially for a first demo!  Lee was well prepared, had good visuals, and we all learned a lot.  Pics to be posted to the website this weekend.

Our dear friend and long-time member Don Baker called me last week and said he has some gorgeous ambrosia maple from large logs that he will mill to any size/dimension.  This includes bowl blanks or lumber.  Widths up to 27” diameter.  He is asking $7.50/bd ft. No bark, no cracks, and end-grain sealed!  I priced ambrosia maple on line today and it is going for a little over $10.25/bd ft on the internet, and slightly higher than that locally. I have not personally seen the wood, but if Don says this is special, I believe him. And the price is very good.

Don is also asking if anyone is interested in going in on a purchase of end-grain sealer.  Don says he has a new source and this stuff is much better than anything else he’s had or has seen on the market.  A 5-gallon pail is $53 if he can get 5 people to make the buy with him (we need to buy 25 gals to get that price).  That’s just over $10/gallon (less than ½ what you would pay at the store).  If you are interested, please be sure to come to the meeting or let me know as soon as possible.  You can call Don directly if you have any questions or want to get some of the Ambrosia Maple.

Next meeting, Thursday October 2^nd.

Demo TBD… looking for a victim volunteer. 

Challenge:  Doug Brown's son ( Levi(?) won the wall-hanging challenge in September for his wall sconce, and selected a “Frisbee” for this month’s challenge.  Since we had some feedback from some members who don’t want to literally “throw wood away,” we are going to expand the Challenge to include platters.  Please keep in mind Levi’s selection of a “Frisbee” if you can, but we will allow any platter in the challenge as well.

WoodSale:  I will have some wood for sale in the shop after the business meeting/before the demo. 100% of all money collected will go to the club.  This will not be an auction, this will be a sale, and all logs and blanks will be priced. We will have small <8” logs bundled in 2-packs or 3-packs, and larger logs and blanks available for individual purchase.  I have rosewood, camphor, catalpa, sweetgum, and several other species.

DROZDA DEMO

We have confirmed with Cindy Drozda for Friday, October 31 through Sunday November 2.  Full day of demos on Friday and Saturday, Hands-on Workshop on Sunday.  Depending on the number of people we book for the workshop, we may do a half-day demo on Saturday morning, followed by an afternoon hands-on workshop, or a hands-on workshop Friday and Sunday with a full day of demos on Saturday.

We will set up our website to take reservations by credit card soon, and open it to all local clubs at the same time to be fair to everyone. 

I will have more details next week

CRAFT SHOWS

We will participate in the craft show at St. Paul United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 18 in the CLEC building across the street from our meeting hall.

We have 20’ of space (2 booths), plus tables and electric provided.  Setup is at 8:00 that morning.  All dues-paying members are welcome to display their crafts.  As always, the club appreciates but does not require a “commission” on your sales.  10% to 15% is suggested.

Saturday, October 25^th we will have one booth (10’ x 10’) at Largo Heritage Village for the Heritage Jubilee.  Setup is at 7:30am.  We will be providing our own tables.  No electric.  All dues-paying members are welcome to display their crafts.  As always, the club appreciates but does not require a “commission” on your sales.  10% to 15% is suggested.

ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2009

We will be discussing these topics at our next meeting.  We only have two meetings left before our holiday party, and we need to nominate officers at the October meeting for elections in November. 

FLORIDA WOODTURNING SYMPOSIUM

I would really like to see our club well-represented at this year’s symposium.  The cast of demonstrators may be the best we’ve seen in years!  We have three members of our club (Holly Allbright, Paul Vedder, and Ron Wheedon) who are very active on the Symposium committees and we owe them not only our gratitude, but our support by coming out to this great event.

This year’s list of demonstrators includes:

Stuart Batty
Bobby Clemons
Jimmy Clewes
John Jordan
David Barriger
Raymond Ferguson
Barrie Harding
Richard Morris

You can click on any of their names to see a brief profile. 

Go to http://www.floridawoodturningsymposim.com to register on line for the event.  Register before December 1^st to save $25 off of the admission.

Lots more to discuss at the meeting.  See you all on Thursday October 2^nd.

Have a great week.