Message from the President
This past month was a very busy one as our club is moving right along making toys for our upcoming toy drive in early November. The August 8th meeting “show and tell” was loaded with some great new toys.
Also, some of our members manned a booth for the Society of Wood Manufacturing (SWM) at the Bi-annual AWFS Fair 2023. We made numerous contacts and established relationships with industry leaders for our club, and to increase awareness of the needs of school kids’ occupational opportunities as well as making connections between the kids, the schools, and woodworking industry.
One of those relationships is with SurfPrep Sanding in Elsinore CA. SurfPrep Sanding has a reputation as an industry leader in high quality wood finishing systems, sanding belts, hand sanding pads, and is AWFS’s Visionary Award Winner for Product Innovation & Productivity in Sanding. We are proud to have the opportunity to host them for a product demonstration and Q & A session at our September 12th meeting. So, bring those projects that are giving you sanding headaches and let the pros show you how to ease the pain.
Treasurer’s Report
Club treasurer Phyllis Minert presented the treasurer’s report. There were no outstanding debts or requests for payment.
Club Business
It was a hot one in the Inland Empire, just in time for the AC to go on the fritz. But that didn’t deter 13 dedicated club members from attending the August meeting of the Inland Woodworkers. Club president Mike Trejo began the meeting with a summary of the AWFS Fair. Several IW members were there to support the Society of Wood Manufacturers (SWM) Make & Take booth, both in preparation as well as onsite operations. Mike, along with club secretary Michael Miller, vice-president Rick DuVall, Chris Thomas, Rick Reimer, and RJ Monsma helped run the booth, and club past-president Kenneth Thomas made a surprise appearance and ran the Friday raffle.
Prior to the event, Chris Thomas, Kenneth Thomas, and Rick Reimer made laser-cut “Star Wars” like space craft that were used to raise donations for SWM. The Corellian Freighter was a huge hit, as were the space fighters.
Chris also made four Corellian Freighter chip & dip bowls that were awarded as the grand prizes for the SWM daily raffle. As a result of these efforts, the club raised more than $2500 for SWM! In addition, the team made 500 wood mallets that were used for booth giveaways. More details about the AWFS event are covered in a separate newsletter. For details, check the IW website at (www.inlandwoodworkers.org).
During the fair, Mike Trejo met with several corporate executives to promote the Inland Woodworkers. One of the companies was SurfPrep Sanding, located in Lake Elsinore. They are a family-owned business that makes premium quality sanders and abrasives. Mike was a SurfPrep raffle prize winner, and brought his trophy to the meeting for everyone to admire!
Mike shared his review of the sander and showed samples of their sanding pads. SurfPrep generously donated two boxes of sanding pads, and each attendee was given one sample of each to take home and evaluate.
Mike extended an invitation for SurfPrep (https://surfprepsanding.com/) to attend an upcoming IW meeting, which they graciously accepted for September. Co-owner Skylar Faria and Marketing Manager Hannah Khalaf will demonstrate different SurfPrep sanders and abrasives. If you have a part the presents a sanding challenge, bring it to the September meeting for Skylar and Hannah to review.
Mike also met with the founder and president of RZ Mask (https://rzmask.com), Steve Torbenson. Steve originally designed masks for powersport enthusiasts (i.e., off-roaders), but expanded into other industries, including woodworking. RZ Mask has a new mask that sports multiple headband choices and dual exhaust filters, called the M3 Mesh Mask. Mike received a sample from the show, and will report his findings at the next meeting.
Mike also met with members from Harvey/Bridge City Tools (https://bridgecitytools.com), located in Montclair. They invited IW to tour their facility. Mike is currently working out the details, possibly in October or November – stay tuned for more.
501(c)3 filing status – we now have a lawyer and an accountant working on this, thanks to Chuck P for his referrals. The total price for preparation and filing will be approximately $1500. An initial motion was made to approve $1500 for the preparation and filing fees. After some discussion, Rick DuVall made a new motion to approve $1750, which would provide a buffer in case the club incurred any unprojected expenses. RJ Monsma seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed unanimously. Mike reported that the filing will take approximately 4 months and should be completed before the end of 2023.
Mike spoke with Jacque Long of the Fontana Foundation of Hope (https://www.fontanahope.org/) regarding the foundation’s 2024 contributions. As a 501(c)3, the donation process will be streamlined. More to follow.
Miscellaneous
Arlan Van Zant’s wife recently had a mini-stroke. Our prayers go out to him and his family for a speedy recovery.
Nathan Lindsey is moving to Tennessee and will have some tools for sale; more info at the next meeting. He is also looking for recommendations on how to put finger grips on his cutting boards. Any suggestions?
John Hogancamp informed us that Peterman Lumber in Fontana is rearranging their store, so all the lumber is bundled and out back in storage. They are adding additional display area, which will include new lumber offerings from Vietnam and South Africa.
Titebond will be donating glue for our toy making efforts.
The San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association (https://sdfwa.org/) invited us to visit their community shop in San Diego. They are a very active group of woodworkers – check out their website. More to follow.
Toy Drive: if you need more materials to build toys for the annual toy drive, remember to bring some toys to the September meeting and trade them for raw materials.
Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts magazine is currently running its wooden toys build-off. Have a good entry? If so, submit your pictures at https://scrollsawer.com/2023-wooden-toy-build-off/. The contest ends on September 30, 2023. According to their website, “Wooden toys can include (but are not limited to): Pull toys, vehicles (cars, trucks, trains, bulldozers, etc.), puzzles, marble racers, wooden robots, dollhouses, doll accessories, tops & spinners, musical instruments for kids and playhouses.”
Sundowners assures us that attendees at the September meeting will enjoy a temperature-controlled environment 🙂
Show & Tell
Ray Gonzales shared an interesting wobbler project that he recently completed. The pumpkin design on the left was made from birch plywood using a scroll saw. The ghost on the right was made with his bandsaw. The bandsaw generated a thicker cut that required a brace to prevent the ghost head from flopping over. Ray used a Steve Good (https://www.stevedgood.com) pattern for this project.
Chuck Petrovich shared his rendition of a Steve Good basket pattern.
He then modified the pattern by adding a rocker base and extending the length, and created a doll rocker. Chuck offered to make some of these for the annual toy drive.
Chuck also made this birdhouse, which is another Steve Good pattern.
Thank you SurfPrep for donating shirts, hats, and sanding pads for our monthly club raffle.
Next Month
Next month’s meeting will be at Sundowner’s Family Restaurant on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 6pm. SurfPrep will share their knowledge about sanding. Bring some projects that might have challenging sanding operations and let the experts provide suggestions. For those who received SurfPrep T-shirts or hats – please dress accordingly!
