Southern Tas "Channel" get together.

[LanceC]

(assuming it goes ahead)

No question, it will be on

[Stratman]

See you on the 11th

[LanceC]

2 days.jpg

Only two days to go.

Thursday 11 April, 7-9 PM, Margate, Tas
If you don't yet have my address, send me a PM

Here's a sneak preview of some of the attractions for Thursday evening:

• "The trials and tribulations of restoring a hand saw, and developing a new addiction" by Adam
• "Dovetails, from zero to hero(ish). What a week's worth of learning to do dovetails by hand looks like" by Lance
• "Curved panel lamination. How the figure-it-out-as-you-go-with-what-you-have-on-hand method can produce outstanding results" by Maja
• "What-is-this-timber guessing game. Using sight, smell and touch, help Lance figure out some mystery timbers he's had in a box for years" by Anyone more knowledgeable than Lance

Lance

[Treecycle]

Sounds like a great evening coming up. Don't forget, we want photos.

[yvan]

Lance,

See you on Thursday

Yvan

[Stratman]

Love it, Lance! Very clever

See you tomorrow

Regards Adam

[notevensquare]

Sorry Ladies & Gents was fully intending on making an "appearance" this evening but as it has a habit of doing life has got in the way - hope it goes off well and please keep me in mind next time one comes around

Cheers,

Scott.

[LanceC]

That's ok Scott. Our house number had disappeared again, so just put up a new one to make sure no one gets lost!

Lance

[LanceC]

Thanks to MikeF, Stratman, Yvan and Maja for making it a great evening of stories and show and tell.

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Yvan brought along an infill plane of his. We all marvelled at it's craftsmanship and weight. And the massive cutting iron! In fact, his one plane was more imposing than my entire plane collection!
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MikeF brought a collection of boxes he has made. We examined the crisp mitres of his square boxes, and oohed and ahhed at his bandsawn box with the incredible grain depth on the front (which he assured us was the easiest to make, though we remain sceptical). The three on the right are Mike's whilst the three at the back are from my box graveyard. The large one on the left front is my work in progress, and my first french polishing attempt. Mike also brought a photo of a boat he's finishing up and hopping to get in the water over the Easter weekend! Quite an achievement.
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And the one everyone wants to see, Adam's saw restoration. Pictures don't do it justice, it really is beautiful, especially the handle. And just because we were doing group shots, my saw keeping it company .
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I showed off my week's worth of learning to hand cut dovetails. Why I put my first and worst attempt in the front of the photo is a mystery . Everyone was most gracious though. I went through the papa bear, mama bear and baby bear process though. First pine which was far to soft, then thought I'd better try a harder timber to switched to spotted gum; too hard. I finally settled on Tassie Oak; just right.
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Then we went inside, where Maja showed off some of her handy work. Here everyone is examining her bathroom vanity, with curved door and lovely blackwood top (she made the picture and frame too).
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Then we finished off with hot drinks and plum cake from our garden (the plums, not the cake), and discussed magazine subscriptions with the latest FWW having freshly arrived today.
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Thanks again to everyone for making it a most enjoyable evening.

Lance

[Stratman]

What a great evening Lance, Maja, Ivan and Mike!
And what a great post, Lance. You've captured the night beautifully.
Thanks again for organising. It was great to meet everyone, and your family, Lance - and what a creative one at that!

We all had different stories and backgrounds/woodworking journeys but the same passion and commonality in the wood and the joinery.
Brilliant evening.

Regards Adam

[yvan]

Thanks Lance & Maja for a great evening!

Yvan

[Treecycle]

Sounds like a fantastic evening was had by all with some great works and talents on display including your dovetails Lance. I understand your pain with the dovetails as I also started with Pine and found it difficult to get decent faces and fits due to the softness and Tassie Oak was just right.
I hope this is the start of a long friendship for you all through this wonderful passion of woodworking.
Can you tell us who is who in the first photo?

PS. If I am reading this right and you say that Maja made the vanity and picture she is a very talented lady.

[MikeJ]

Thanks

Lance and Maja. It was great to meet some other Forum members.
We will need to do this again in a few months.
Cheers
Mike

[Stratman]

I am the scruffy looking one on the right

[LanceC]

Maja and I are on the left.

Funny story, being Tasmania, is very hard to go anywhere and not bump into someone you know, so were wondering when people turned up if we'd realise we already knew each other from another context. It turned out that none of us had ever met before. Fast forward 12 hours, and Maja was out for a walk this morning, and bumped into Matt (metaphorically, he was driving past).

Another funny story, when explaining to the kids that we were hosting the get together my 16 year old daughter asked how I knew "the people". She was horrified that I only knew them from "the internet", and had invited them to our house. Great that our discussions about internet safety were obviously effective, and gave an opportunity to have a good discussion about calculated risk, and establishing safeguards.

And the last funny (and touching) story. My eldest daughter came home whilst we were all having a drink inside, and went onto the shed to have a look at the "exhibits" people brought along. When she saw my WIP French polished box she concluded that "those people really know there stuff". Then after everyone had left, the box was still there, and she realised I must have made it, and was suitably impressed. It's nice to know I can still awe my kids.

Lance