Copyright © 2012 - The Cherry Group.   All rights reserved.       

We meet the second Wednesday of every month, at 6:00 PM, at  a secret, undisclosed location in Schenectady, NY 12304

When you have paid your dues, we’ll tell you where.

Future 2012 program ideas:

• Cleaning and Tuning your Lathe
• Using the Pendant Chuck
• Closed End Pens
• Single Tool Demos
• Spinning Top Toys

Email Don Orr with your ideas

for future programs.

This website is optimized for

Firefox and Google Chrome

04/18/2012:  Thanks to everyone who responded to the Guild Survey. Your feedback and input is very helpful and appreciated. We are now in the midst of some hopefully good changes to the Guild. We have the opportunity to add a few new members to our humble little group.  See Don’s April 17th email for details.

AUGUST TURNING CHALLENGE:

The next Guild Challenge is due in August-any type of offset/multi-axis/eccentric turning you  can devise and produce is fair game.  More info will follow.

- o -

04/7/2012:  The April Meeting is near.  This month we will be working on and with spindle gouges. Not spindle roughing gouges, but one of the workhorse tools in every turners kit. We will look at what they are, how they are used and how to sharpen them. Please bring in your own spindle gouges so we can all see what you use and how you sharpen them. Hopefully we can get everyone's tools tuned up and cutting cleanly. Feel free to bring some wood to practice on as well.

-o-

3/15/2012:   Another great meeting last night.  Several different hollowing styles and techniques were demonstrated. Thanks to all who attended and participated.  

We are working on a better way to get photos and videos of OCGW programs and Galleries onto the website.   More on this later.

Remember - the April 11 meeting is the day of the THE GUILD CHALLENGE . Work on your entry, and be sure to remember to bring it to the April 11 meeting.   While you are working on your project, check your gouges, and  bring them with you to the April 11 meeting.  Get them profiled, sharpened and tuned, and ready for the next project or Challenge.

Mark your calendar - See you there!

-o-

1/30/2012:   The monthly Guild meeting is coming up on Wednesday February 8th, 2012 at 6PM at the School of the Northeast woodshop as usual. We will be making bottle stoppers to donate to the Free Wheelchair Mission as we have done before. Feel free to bring any tools, jigs, mandrels, wood, finish, etc. that you might want to use. We have 15 stainless steel stoppers and hope to get them all done that evening. There will be assistance available for anyone interested in learning more about this fun project.

THE GUILD CHALLENGE

At the last meeting we discussed issuing a challenge as a way to get members more involved in meetings and projects. So there is now an official Old Country Guild of Woodturners Challenge. The category is Plywood. Cut up some plywood, glue it together anyway you want and turn something from it. Any type of plywood is fair game, but no more than the equivalent of a single 4' x 8' sheet (32 square feet). The Challenge project is due at the April 2012 Guild meeting. Hopefully this will give you all something to do to during these cold winter days.

 -o-

1/1/2012:       Happy New Year to All

May your 2012 be Safe and Happy and Prosperous!

-o-

11/10/2011:   Great meeting last night.  Lou DeMola hit a home run with his demo of turning a natural-edge bowl.  Curls were flying everywhere!  Pictures to follow.

-o-

9/26/2011:   At the September Guild meeting, George Guadiane demonstrated his technique for turning end-grain goblets.  Click here, or see Program/Galleries above.

-o-

9/25/2011:   Your Humble Servant, the webmaster, apologizes for the delay in updating the OCGW website.  He can say, however that the coast of Maine is still as beautiful as ever, and the price of lobster is down from last year.

-o-

8/10/2011:   Great Guild meeting tonight!

Mike facilitated a group discussion regarding topics for upcoming Guild meeting presentations.  Seven topics were chosen.  See  the Guild Meetings panel at right for details.

The group finished the Safety Project started at the July meeting.   Mike presented a demonstration of how he constructs his Plastic Pipe Collet Chuck.  Click here for pics.

-o-

7/6/2011:  Change in plans regarding the July Program.  Prompted by some recently published woodturning tragedies, our emphasis for the July meeting will be the design and construction of a safety shield to protect Guild members and guests from  possible flying turning debris.

-o-

4/14/2011:   Great presentation by Chris Stolicky last night.  His home-made, shop-built, articulated, deep-hollowing device was a big hit, as several members could be seen thinking how this device could be worked into their hobby budgets.

 Click here for photos

Click here for more photos

–o–

3/13/2011:   If you didn’t turn your clocks ahead last night, you are mighty lost today!

Spring is a mere 8 days away!

–o–

3/7/2011:  

Never fear - Spring is almost here!

Your Humble Servant, the Webmaster, is back, with an operable computer, no less.  I will make every effort to update the OCGW website ASAP, and keep it current.

The program for the upcoming March meeting is: New and interesting techniques for decorating by woodburning, and a chuck-cleaning overview.  If you need two hands to adjust your chuck, it probably needs an overhaul, and this program will show you how.

–o–

1/12/2011:    For the first time in the albeit brief history of the OCGW, a monthly meeting was canceled due to weather.   Let’s hope that it’s the last time.   Stay safe, and hire someone to shovel the snow from your driveway.  Some local teenager will thank you.

–o–

1/1/2011:      HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

2010 was a great year for the OCGW!    Great fun!  Great friends!

Great meetings!

Here’s hoping that 2011 is a  

good year for all of us.   

Best of luck to our Guild Officers

for 2011.

–o–

1/1/2011:     Several OCGW members have departed the area for warmer climes - your devoted servant The Tattling Turner included.  Think of us at the Holiday Celebration.  We’ll be thinking of you. We wish you a good winter, and look forward to being back in the fold this spring.

–o–

12/10/2010:   Another winner tonight.

Thanks, Mike, for the informative presentation on Pepper Mills.   A PDF with Mike’s notes and photos will be added to the website asap.   One click will download it to your computer.  The Nominating Committee (Don Orr and Patrick Cummings) presented a slate of candidates which were voted in unanimously by members.   Congrats to the Officers for 2011!  See the News Flash, at left.

–o–

11/10/2010:   Good meeting tonight, with a nice turnout  of Guilders. (Get it - turn-out?) Great to see everyone.  A warm welcome to Walt, our newest member.  Walt is an accomplished carver, creating ducks and loons that are fantastic. Maybe we can persuade Walt to bring in some of his work for a future Instant Gallery.     

–o–

10/28/2010:   The Haunted Hardwood Halloween Sale at Curtis Thursday, October 28 was a huge success.   Many turners, carvers and scrollers were spotted, and from the looks of the line at the checkout, a lot of wood found new homes that night.  

–o–

10/23/2010:   Your humble servant, the roving Tattling Turner, spotted Lou and Sheila DeMola exhibiting wares at the Medieval Faire (click for photos) at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany on a recent Saturday.  Interesting event, loaded with goods from many crafters, most of whom were in period costumes.  Fun day.  And the Shepherd's Pie was excellent!

–o–

10/13/2010:  Great meeting last night!     So good to see brothers Don Orr and Lou Alpy, hopefully back with us after a long summer siesta.   

Mike Kross made one of his “quick-and-easy trees”, using his patented spacing tool.  Don - The Finial King - Orr showed ScrollShow he makes a tree ornament using only his spindle gouge.  Both wonderful, as usual.   Bill Cherry ended his demo by lopping off the head of his angel - and is reportedly in hiding, awaiting any supernatural ramifications.

See the Programs/Gallery page for photos.

–o–

9/1/2010:  One of Lou DeMola’s bowls (the aromatic cedar with the occlusion-see Lou’s Gallery) is on its way to Paris France!!  It joins other DeMola originals residing now in Norway, Denmark, England, Sweden, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Cohoes and other exotic locations.  

–o–

8/11/2010:    Many ohs and ahs were heard tonight as Mike Kross gave his presentation on his new off-center chuck. Several members could be heard muttering about the many cool things that this technique could offer.   Nice Job Mike!!

Click Here for a photo of some of his practice pieces.

+++++++++

George Guadiane has added some new images to his Gallery.  Check them out.

–o–

7/17/2010:   Kudos to Jack Teffenhart for a great sharpening workshop.  It was great to see old friends (I just mean I haven’t seen them in a while) Jeannie and Bill Aldus. Many thanks to them for the carving books.    

Jan Panek has added new photos of his work to his Members Gallery.  Check it out!

–o–

6/26/2010:  Jack Teffenhart will present his “Sharpening Skills” workshop at the July 14th Guild meeting.  Bring in your dull tools, and Jack will show you how to restore that “cutting edge”.    

–o–

6/10/2010:  Thanks to Dave Nilson for his demo on bottle stoppers last night.   We had a great time, and, as usual, the Instant Gallery was a big hit.   Thanks to all.

–o–

5/13/2010:  At the May 2010 meeting, we discussed upcoming programs for future meetings.  I will post a schedule asap.

–o–

5/13/2010:  I have added an Instant Gallery page to the website. See the Menu Bar above.  With your permission, we will document the Instant Gallery, and present it on the website.  My apologies for the poor image quality.  I will try to bring a proper backdrop to the next meeting.  Please let me know if I have inadvertently attributed your work to someone else.  

–o–

4/25/2010:  Beginning with the May 2010 Guild meeting, we will add an Instant Gallery page to the website.   See the Menu Bar above.  With your permission, we will document the Instant Gallery, and present it on the website.

–o–

4/17/2010:   Unfortunately, the benefactor’s check bounced, so we are, once again, on our own.

–o–

4/1/2010:   An unidentified benefactor has bequeathed the Guild a gift of $50,000.  We will discuss how to use this gift at the April 14th meeting.  Be there, and make you voice heard!

–o–

3/28/2010:  A new page has been added to the website: Shop Safety.  Click on the word Safety on the bar at the top of the screen.

–ooo–