January 2020 meeting – Ralph Bagnall – Essential hand tools

President Tom Falcone opened the meeting by expressing our appreciation to advantage Lumber for hosting our monthly meetings. There were 66 people present including 2 first timers. He then introduced the owner who: summarized some current lumber specials, highlighted some new supplies and epoxy products, and announced an upcoming class in making river tables. He reminded us that club members receive a 10% discount on all purchases.

Announcements:

Annual Club Picnic – The picnic will be held on Sunday April 5, 2020 at the Farm Bureau building off Fruitville Road beginning at 1:00. The 2×4 contest will again be a central event.
50/50 Drawing – The idea of a 50/50 drawing was presented to the members for comment. The suggested ticket price was $5. The interest level expressed was very low.
Club Tee and Golf Shirts – Members were asked for their interest in ordering shirts for member purchase. The T’s would sell for about $10 and the golf shirts for about $20. There was sufficient interest to pursue the idea. The board will follow-up.
Club Tee and Golf Shirts – Members were asked for their interest in ordering shirts for member purchase. The T’s would sell for about $10 and the golf shirts for about $20. There was sufficient interest to pursue the idea. The board will follow-up.
January Shop Meet – The shop meet will be hosted by Craig & Mary Lou Spottswood on Monday evening January 20^th. No demonstration is scheduled for this month.
President Tom made an appeal to members to offer their ideas for meeting topics and activities. “This is your club!”

Presentation:

President Tom introduced Ralph Bagnall, the presenter for the evening. Ralph has been working with wood for more than 30 years, he has been writing articles for 20 years and has his own show on Amazon. His topic for the evening was “Essential Hand Tools”

He offered the following tools as some of his “essentials”. He explained the value and use for each and demonstrated some. While he frequently uses power tools, he finds that there are many applications where hand tools perform best. Cutting mortise and tenon joints was a specific example. He demonstrated the use of a small hand saw in cleaning and fitting joints.

Handsaw – even a basic Stanley combo saw is valuable to have. He explained the difference between the teeth on European and Japanese saws.
Block plane – another essential. He demonstrated the use of a shoulder plane.
Marking knife and marking gauge – although her had made his, he recommended those made by Lee Valley tool as good.
Winding sticks – again homemade, to use in checking board thickness
Compass and divider
Caliper

He concluded his presentation with a review of some new products. He showed some bits made by Wave Cutter that greatly eliminate “tear out” even on the back side. He also demonstrated a micro jig sled for cutting dovetails. Blade Match makes a set of arbor shims that are valuable in maintaining spacing when changing blades. Their proper use eliminates the need to recalibrate the fence when blades are changed.

More Announcements:

Following the break John Darovek made an announcement regarding the Florida state Fair and the continuing need for volunteers to staff our booth on February 9^th and 10^th.

Al Brown presented an update on staffing for the Florida Tool and Woodworking show later this month. While most slots have been filled, he could use some volunteers for the 3-6 PM shift on both Friday and Saturday.

Randy gave the treasurers report with the 2019 yearend balance. The Christmas auction netted about $600. Quite a bit less than previous years. To see the video of Ralph’s presentation, pick on this link,

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fws4G0qiDjgSfm3yuSajr2597y3qcQf0/view?usp=sharing

SHOW & TELL:

Thirteen members participated in Show & Tell.