Chuck Lickwar grew up near the Stanley company where they made their hand planes. Chuck collects them, has almost every version, and restores them for use, not for show.  With the correct and sharp plane Chucks says you can get a smoothness better than 220 sandpaper.

Lon Kelley played a video clip demonstrating how he mass produced toy cars from planed and ripped two by fours.  So far Lon has produced 475 cars for the club’s Christmas toy program. Click video file to download a 5 1/2 minute 27MB file in MP4 format.

Getting ready for the craft show in November, Norm Nichols created this plaque and  plate.   The mule deer plaque is of red oak, stained with Golden Oak stain and finished with polyurethane.  The plate, a Steve Good design, of mahogany is stained with a clear stain, and also finished with polyurethane.

Using food coloring for stain Rick Spacek crafted this ship out of spalted pecan from a pattern off the Internet.  Rick used a Steve Good pattern for the Paris, France, Eiffel Tower out of mesquite. 

Using limbs from a pecan tree, ash and some mystery wood, Larry Barron made these two bowls and a coaster set from eucalyptus.

From a pattern on the Internet Ron Kirchoff transformed a 2x6 pine into an intarsia fish.  He used different stains, some white wash and then finished in lacquer.

Cutting chunks from a four by four treated fence post, Larry Wenner’s cut offs revealed very interesting patterns.

In Mark Bolinger’s never ending quest for organization, and claiming that he doesn’t need any more clamps (we’ll see), Mark built a clamp rack to fit in a particular spot in the shop.  His clamps are now closer to his work bench – a big improvement. See more photos of Mark's clamp rack.

Mark Bolinger showed club members slides of his progress with his dust collector.  Why so much work involved? Knick-knacks on the mantle do the same thing.

Bob Wink admits to using some wood with his robot and appreciated his chair being “compared” to a Sam Maloof project.  Growing up in Cajun country Bob crafted a Cajun musician plalying his squeeze box.  The gas tank pulls a trailer with a fishing boat.  More great whimsical folk art! 

Specializing in period furniture Jack Hutchison showed club members his 18^th century spice box made of walnut, a gift for his wife.  Jack explained the many features of his craftsmanship. 

WWCH’s own Mark Bolinger, lead of the Hand Tool Splinter Group, spoke to club members about restoring Old Wood Working Machines (OWWM).  What is OWWM?  Basically it refers to woodworking machinery that was manufactured in American or Europe typically at least 25 years ago. OWWM also covers just about any old machine.  There is a lot of information on the Internet and there is an annual ArnFest held in Union, Illinois,  where folks interested in old machinery gather. 

Mark spoke about sources such as Craig’s List, classified ads and ebay.  Of interest is a process called “Ruckering” where people form a network, sort of like a human “chain” to arrange delivery of a piece of equipment.  Imagine shipping charges for a 600 pound bulky machine and you'll see why Ruckering is advantageous.

Mark provided numerous tips and advice on what to look for when acquiring an old tool.  For broken parts, reject if too severe.  Examine gears for wear, the condition of table surfaces, bearings and motors.  Tables can be cleaned of rust, minor pitting ground out but severe pitting would require a professional machine shop to flatten.  Bearings are usually not an issue, they can be replaced – look for seized bearings – more trouble. Motors can usually be restored or replaced.

Nowadays you can purchase 1-phase to 3-phase converters at reasonable prices so 3-phase motors should not be an issue unless it runs on 440 or requires high amperage.

Restoration is part of the fun for Mark, not just having a tool in the end. Machine restoration is not a one-weekend project so take your time.

Old woodworking machines are typically heavy so Mark devised a simple carriage to move a machine around the shop.  Download this one-minute video that demonstrates his carriage.

Mark provided some examples of his restoration work as you can see in these photos to the left and right.

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Photos and commentary:  Gary Rowen