Mike Wendt demonstrated proper tree felling on a Saturday, March 29 field trip. It was quite a thrill to see a 24 inch diameter Black Walnut tree hit the ground. About twenty MAWT members went home with some beautiful Black Walnut to turn. Mike shared some great information on how to safely use a chainsaw and fell a tree. His handout on the details are posted on our website under Resources and is also shown here:
Tree Felling and Chainsaw Safety MAWT 2025
Ron Zroik organized a clean up of our space and equipment at Woodcraft. There were eight other MAWT volunteers and they made short work of the cleaning and organizing. New shelving units were assembled and put in place for the Bardenhagen wood donation which will be picked up prior to the next meeting.
Board News
MAWT is in need of one or perhaps a committee of members to volunteer to be the program director. This position entails recruiting and organizing monthly demonstrators for our meetings. The programs for 2025 are mostly set so work would be for 2026 programs. Contact Kevin if you have questions or are interested in helping out. Without demonstrators we have no meetings.
The board was made aware of an opportunity for MAWT to promote the club and demonstrate turning at two events. They are Germanfest and Folk Fair. One or both of these events could replace our outreach that had been done via the Woodworker show which is no longer held. Let someone on the board know if you have interest in working on these events.
Meetings
Stuart Batty presented an IRD (Interactive Remote Demo) from his studio in Colorado for our April meeting. The topic was cutting without torn grain on bowls and spindles. Stuart is an exceptionally talented turner and educator and this program was fantastic. He presented a lot of great information on how to safely and efficiently turn wood. There was something for everyone from beginners to experienced turners. A recording of Stuart’s presentation is on the Videos page.
The May meeting will be our Extended Show and Tell. The longer time gives members an opportunity to get into a little more detail and or show more than one or two items. Start thinking about what you plan to bring in to share with the club.
AAW Symposium
AAW offers a $40 discount to each member of our chapter to attend the symposium with a full registration. This discount is not available for less than the full three day registration. A separate email with the code went out to members only. AAW has extended availability of the early bird discount to April 25.
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