December Newsletter - Genesee Valley Woodcarvers

GENESEE VALLEY WOODCARVERS
“In wildness is the conservation of the world” (McHail)
Newsletter – December, 2014
Meetings are held from 7 to 9 PM on the 2nd Monday of the month (except July and August) at:
The 40 & 8 Club (across the street from Gleason Works)
933 University Avenue, Rochester, New York
Web site: http://gvwoodcarvers.com/
GVW OFFICER: President: Don Buss; Treasurer: Mel Connell ; Web: Alison Currie; Show Chair: Chris Nilsen;
Membership: Anthony Filetti; Vice President: Paul Yarrows; At Large: Anthony Filletti; Newsletter: Floyd Lombardi
ANNOUNCEMENTS, EVENTS & CLUB ISSUES (2014)
 Message from our Club President Don Buss
In separate attachments you will find the latest revision of the 2015 Competition Rules for our Annual Show & Competition Event & the Carving
Seminar information! Please read it over carefully. If you wish to comment on any changes to the rules, please be prepared to do so at our December
8th meeting!
You will be registered in a carving class once Don Buss receives your application [registered in order of receipt]. Some classes have a small number
of students so list a second choice. Applications are in this newsletter, on the Web [GVWoodcarvers.com] and at the Dec. meeting.
To participate in club activities you must be a paid-up member. If you don’t renew your membership by January 1st you will be dropped from the
active membership list and the newsletter distribution. You may renew at any time but please note that membership paid mid-year still expires on
August 31 [club calendar year is September 1 thru August 31].
At the November meeting a vote on Prize Money was passed (19 yes 5 no).
Best in Class [six awards] $25
Best in Show [two awards] $50
Peoples Choice $50 [added at Executive meeting]
 At the October Meeting (October 13, 2014)
Our thanks to Al Jordan who gave a talk & presentation on “Improving the Design & Presentation of your Carving”..
Also our thanks for the Show and Tell table go out to Tony Filetti who explained pumpkin carving and showed a pumpkin with a beautifully carved
face. Rob Lucci presented a couple of his miniature caricature carvings. Alison Currie, who showed her Purple Sandpiper stick-bird, then suggested
that Al Jordan use it as a guinea pig to speak more about habitat and presentation. A simple stick-bird doesn't typically have a detailed base;
however, on a realistic bird, a better setting would have enhanced the carving overall. Don Buss showed the Tufted Titmouse in the Roselyn Daisey
"Songbird Carving" book and offered to mentor that as a winter class. Jim Butlin profiled two library books, one by Tom Wolfe for the general
carvers and "Game Bird Carving" for the bird guys. And thanks to Alison for refreshing my failing memory!
 Reminder - Bring your personal carvings for the show display table:
Start thinking about bringing your carvings from previous shows or recent projects that are not designated for the show competition for display by the
general public! The more we have to show the general public, the more meaningful this event will be for our guests!
 Reminder about raffle donations:
Alison Currie and Dave Hockenberry have begun collecting donations for the annual raffle held at the April club Show and Competition. Paul
Yarrows is traditionally the first to donate! Please join him this year by looking on the shelves and workbench, in the closets, and under the bed to
see if you have any carvings to donate. The patrons of our show would be thrilled to win a piece that you carved for a demo, used as a prototype, or
are simply tired of seeing. It would be proudly displayed and may even inspire someone to try carving and join the club! As always, carving
related items such as tools and books are also welcome. That said, hand-crafted carvings continue to be
our most sought after prizes.
 Review request from Rob Lucci:
The (attached) image of a front / side view of the caricature head that was carved by Rob Lucci, while the video playing, at Novembers meeting. He
wanted to give fellow carvers a chance to pick out / comment on the cuts that were made, good or bad. He says that he can take the criticism,
because this was strictly a speed experiment, I think I will bring a box of tissue just in case. He wanted to see what he could do in the 45 minute time
frame of the video. That being said, there are some unclean / bad cuts that he didn't get to clean up and, obviously, he didn't get as far as the author
Dave Stetson did in the video... with his 30 more years of carving experience than Rob has. Hope the presentation was informative for everyone. If
anyone has any questions regarding what was shown they just need to ask Rob Lucci or Anthony Filetti.
“Rob’s 45min challenge”

Carving Presentations:
“Lester Hall’s Cottonwood Carvings”

“Rob’s caricature carving sequence”
50/50 Raffle Winner:
Congratulations to Bob Besigel
“Phil Marra presented Don Bergdorff’s (Bowler)”
GVW 2013/2014 MEETING & ACTIVITY SCHEDULE
DECEMBER 8, 2014
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and did not over stuff yourselves with Turkey & Trimmings. Well save some room for the Pizza Social at
the December 8th meeting - Also, each teacher will present their winter carving class project & Register for your carving class choice. Class cost is
$10.00 to the club along with supply costs paid to the teacher.
JANUARY 12, 26, 2015
Carving Classes begin. There will be two meetings per month in [Jan. Feb. Mar.] for a total of six meetings. We have multiple teachers, each presenting
a separate project and teaching how to carve that project. Each project well take six meetings. Please consider teaching a class (see Don Buss).
FEBRUARY 9, 23, 2015
Carving Classes continue.
MARCH 9, 23, 2015
Carving Classes start to wind down.
APRIL 18, 2015
GVW SHOW/COMPETITION! This year we will return to NOVICE, INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED CLASSES. Some new CATEGORIES have also
been added. These new additions will be announced during the September meeting so you will have a chance to give feedback.
MAY 11, 2015
Carving Critique: Three Show Judges will critique 10 carvings hopefully giving you an idea as to what the judges are looking for during the judging
process. This will be followed by, if so desired, a private critique of your work, so bring your carvings for an individual critique by one of the judges.
Your carvings may be finished or be a work in progress. This is a great chance to see how to improve your creativity for competition.
JUNE 8, 2015
DIBELLAS SOCIAL, Presentation of Show/Competition winners. Election of officers, and end of the year summery and conversation with fellow carvers.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Dues are to be paid at the September meeting or mailed to our treasurer. Membership forms are available on our WEB SITE and
will be available at the September meeting.
Carving Caricature of a Fisherman: (published in WoodCarving Illustrated magazine/ Summer 2014 / Issue 67)
Carve a curmudgeonly caricature for your favorite fisherman by Dennis Thornton: This fun angler caricature can represent anyone in your life who
tosses line in the water. This fellow’s dour expression mirrors the face of the catch of the day. To get started, transfer the front-view pattern to the
blank and cut the perimeter with a band saw. Use the side-view pattern as guide to sketch the basic landmarks. The author marks the areas to
remove with an (X). Note: Anyone is interested in the 31 step by step detail instructions of this particular project. as presented by the author, and
do not have accesses to this edition of Woodcarving Illustrated, just let me know via email & I will be happy to email those instructions to you
with the full size pattern!
Tip: Removing Saw Marks as you go along so they are not distracting and confusing. Totally clean-up an area before moving on. As you remove the
saw marks when you’re carving across end grain, make a swooping at the end of the cut to keep from breaking the wood off.
Whittling a Branch Rooster (published in one of WoodCarving Illustrated’s Whittling Supplement magazine)
I chose this topic because I started whittling when I first joined Boy Scouts back in the mid 50’s and continued to do so through today as a counselor
for the WoodCarving Merit Badge, so this whittling project is dear to my heart. For those of you who have grandchildren, just think how you can
draw their curiosity in, about wood carving, as you produce something from a branch laying on the ground. Who knows, you may be sponsoring the
new generation of carvers!
The forked-branch rooster is a sort of mascot for branchcarvers. While it’s not the easiest figure to carve, it is useful for practicing the basic cuts and techniques used in branch carving. Plus, once you have
the rooster-carving technique down, you can “branch” out to pheasants, herons, roadrunners, and a whole pile of other critters and projects. The size
and shape of your rooster will depend on the thickness and angle of the forked branch you choose.
In addition, the success of the tail depends on the dryness of the wood. Rooster tails need to be carved when the wood has dried a bit. The dryness of
the wood is what allows the feathers to curl as they are cut. Try the following trick to help you decide when a branch is dry enough to carve a rooster
tail. When you take the bark off the tail branch of the fork, also removed the bark from another straight branch of the same wood and the same
thickness. Use the second branch as a practice and test piece. If the thin slices of the second branch do not curl when you make the cuts, you’ll know
the wood on the first branch is still too wet for the curling feather cuts of the rooster. If the wood on the second branch curls nicely, the wood on the
first branch is also just right for curling. Also, it’s not a bad idea to try a few practice tails on the test branch before doing the tail on your almostfinished rooster.
Finally, you will do a much better job of carving a rooster and have much better control if you use your pocketknife’s small blade for the carving,
except slicing the tail feathers in Step 9.
Tid-Bits & Tips:

Shop Notes Safety Gear:

Razor-sharp tools.
Aggressive bits spinning at high speeds. Dust. Chemical finishes. The potential for injury among woodworkers is high. You can’t prevent
every accident, but good equipment can reduce the likelihood and severity of injury. Find safety equipment that you like and use it every
time to stay safe.
Note: Carvers who use hand tools need different safety equipment than power carvers. The differences are noted below.

Gloves: Always wear a cut resistant glove on the hand you hold your carving with. The most cut resistant gloves are made of metal links or
chainmail, but they aren’t very flexible so it can be difficult to grip the project. Gloves made of Kevlar are more flexible but offer less
protection. To find the right glove for you, consult the Buyer’s Guide in Woodcarving Illustrated Fall 2011 (Issue 56) or on our website,
and then go to a carving store and try on a few.
If you hold your piece while power carving, it is essential that you wear a leather glove on your holding hand. I specifically recommend
leather, not an inexpensive suede glove --- suede will barely slow a carbide-point bit. DO NOT use fabric or metal link glove like hand-tool
users wear. The fabric or links will catch in the spinning bit, risking hand injury.

Thumb Guards: Protect the thumb of your carving hand with a thumb guard. Thumb guards are widely available and range from elasticbacked leather or suede guards, to latex-reinforced tapes, rubber finger protectors, or even layers of duct tape. One of the authors favorite
guards is a thick leather guard stitched with metal wire - made by BushSmarts (www.bushsmarts.com), the guard fits thumbs of any size or
shape.

Eye Protection: Hand-tool carvers may not think they need eye protection, but it’s worth considering. Chips always fly, especially if
you’re using aggressive gouges and big mallets to rough out a large project.
Power carvers should always wear eyeglasses, safety glasses, or goggles to protect their eyes from dust and chips. Eye protection is
especially important to keep pieces of metal or stone away from your eyes if a fit fails.

Dust Collection and Dust Masks: The only time hand-carvers make dust is when they sand a project, but power carvers create a lot of
dust. Use a dust collector to capture the majority of the dust. Commercial dust collectors are widely available. For a simple homemade dust
collector, attach a HEPA-grade furnace filter to a box fan.
In addition, wear a dust mask to keep the fine dust from damaging your lungs. If you choose a disposable mask, avoid the type sold for
“nuisance” dust in favor of the slightly more expensive particulate masks. However, disposable masks can be uncomfortable, so many
people upgrade to a half-face respirator that uses replaceable filters. These are more comfortable to wear, and you can choose the leverl of
protection the filter provide.
One of the authors favorite half-face masks is the RZ Mask (www.rzmask.com). Originally designed for ATV riders, these neoprene
masks are comfortable and feature washable carbon filters fine enough to trap smoke particles.
If you often spray-finish your carvings indoors, opt for a respirator-type mask and invest in filters or canisters that offer protection from
chemicals.
If there is a safety rule that can be broken, then I have probably broken it. I chose this article because I
have had my fair share of cuts and stab wounds and hope to spare fellow carvers the needless pain from cuts that is easily prevented with
the proper safety gear. My thumbs have probable paid the price the most, but I have also had punctured wounds in my hands, lap and have
also caught my clothes with a spinning power bit. I have been very lucky that none of these injuries were very serious and I finally got the
message and tired of investing Band-Aid Industry. I now wear safety glasses, gloves, finger guards and use my recently purchased dust
collector. Not discussed in this article is the need for a good carving apron with a leather front to protect from razor sharp stab wounds to
your lap or chest or that aggressive rotary power bit that could easily catch on loose clothing. I made my own carving apron, taking my
existing cloth shop apron, by having a piece of leather sewn onto it at a local shoe repair - it works great!
Don’t Forget to keep your Monthly Newsletter Interesting & Informative for all Members? –
Always on the look-out for those Pics ,Tips, Ideas & or Tidbits that you are willing to share with fellow carvers – just let me know & I will
include them in your Monthly Newsletter: Lets share them with fellow carvers, especially new carvers trying to get started & gain a
foothold on this wonderful hobby & pastime! (catch up to me at our meeting or contact me through my email ([email protected])).
“We must not forget to educate our children, not only about the macrocosm of life but also the microcosm, things
we forget everyday to observe, to feel, to understand. It is within the microcosm that beauty lies.” (Robert J. Koenke)
Floyd Lombardi, Editor ( [email protected] )
Also: Please Review the Attached Competition Rules