Milwaukee Area Woodturners

Newsletter for August 2020

August 2020 MAWT President’s Letter

Hi fellow members,
The August demonstration by yours truly was making wood rings with the lathe. I hope your interest was piqued by the demo. Whether it’s making a solid wood ring, a ring with a metal core or a beautiful inlay with crushed stone, I hope I was able to show members a hint of what is possible with some wood and the lathe. They are quick and easy to make and it is possible to start making them for basically zero expense. So give it a try – I look forward to photos in the upcoming Virtual Show and Tell Gallery.
Unfortunately, our webcams don’t show the true color and detail of these rings. I have attached photos of the completed pieces that I made during the demo, including the bentwood ring design that I didn’t have enough time to complete. The pictures and information about the materials and tools used during the ring making demo are in another post.

Important news about the club:

The Milwaukee Area Woodturners club is now a legal 501c(3) corporation – that means we are a legal, tax-exempt, non-profit organization. Although the club was originally founded about 15 years ago to be a 501c(3), the founding members never went through the process of actually filing the proper documentation. So back in March and with the Board’s backing, myself along with Barb Nelson, filed all of the appropriate paperwork and registered MAWT with the Federal and State agencies.

New Committee:

The club has a new committee known as the “Closing Up Shop Committee”. The idea was proposed by Dan Meylink after the January meeting by attorney Aaron Foley who talked about wills, trusts, directives and distribution of assets. This committee will provide guidance and advice to members or their families with shutting down their shop and the dispersal of equipment and tools for health reasons or death. The committee will not be directly involved in the valuation or selling of someone’s assets. These services are entirely free and up to the member or members’ family whether to use them or not. Dan is the chair of this committee and will be assisted by Barb Nelson. The committee would like to have another member help out – perhaps someone with a little more knowledge of tools and equipment. Please contact Dan for more information – dmeylink@gmail.com.

We Need Volunteers to Serve:

The club is going to have several openings at the end of 2020 as members resign or have finished their terms. Openings include:
  – President
 – Treasurer
 – Two Board positions

Other openings include:
  – Program Coordinator
 – Website Manager
Remember…it is the members that make this club great. To continue providing the services and programs the club is involved in, we need your help to give back a little bit of your time and help keep MAWT active.
Please volunteer…otherwise these positions may be left vacant and we will not be able to provide vital services for the club.
Contact Ron Zdroik ( ronzdroik@mawturners.com) or Tony Rozendaal ( opa@opaspens.com)

Demonstration Volunteers:

MAWT is all about education, as noted in our mission statement: “Our mission is to…provide members a place to share their knowledge”. We need fellow members to volunteer for the monthly demonstrations. Contact Tony Rozendaal at opa@opaspens.com if you can help out or have questions about the procedures of doing a Zoom demo.

MAWT Ongoing Programs:

Turn for Troops – contact Carl at cjbrust1@gmail.com to mail you a kit of 15 pens. Return finished pens (with your name on the bag) to the MAWT mailbox at Woodcraft.
Empty Bowls and Beads of Courage – Continue turning these bowls and vessels. Just hang onto them and bring them when we start meeting at Woodcraft.
Virtual Show and Tell Gallery – Tom Hipsak is coordinating the Virtual Show and Tell Gallery. Submit your latest projects with photos and descriptions to Tom at thipsak@wi.rr.com. Make sure the photos are high resolution and sent as an attachment to the email.
Stay safe and healthy, and continue turning!
Ron Zdroik
President – Milwaukee Area Woodturners

Posted

in

,

by

maw-admin

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply