What's In The Newsletter?

• Presidents Report
• "The Lifter" - A Scroll Saw Accessory By Ed Bunker
• Benchtop Talk - Challenges For Woodworkers
• Vendor Discounts
• Christmas In June
• Upcoming Guild Programs In 2023
• Guild Projects
• The Art Of Marquetry

President's Shavings ...

Hello fellow members,

I'd like to give a shout out to Ryan Evans , Chris Haycox and Gary Stephens for their tremendous effort in handling the Bob Fenske tool, book and wood collection that was generously donated to the guild by the family.  In addition to weekend they spent moving the items off the property, they've organized, inventoried and given up shop space to house the items.  Look for information soon on how and when we'll distribute the collection to guild members and best honor Bob's wishes, giving the resources new homes and purpose.

Thanks also to Greg Guertin for monitoring the Facebook page and inquiries that keep us visible and providing opportunities like this.  I appreciate all that the guild volunteers do to give members a positive experience! 

While I'll miss the May meeting, I'm looking forward to seeing photos of the entries for the latest challenge.  This month will be in-person only,

Terry Nienaber, President TWWWG

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"The Lifter" - A Scroll Saw Accessory by Ed Bunker

I purchased my latest power tool, a DeWalt 788 Scroll Saw, back in September 2014.  It's a great scroll saw!  Like most scroll saws there are moments that you could use another hand ... to hold up the upper arm so you can get the blade into the real small Nr. 40 hole you drilled for those inside cuts.  The first thing that comes to mind is to grab a piece of scrap wood to put under the upper arm to hold it up to facilitate loading the project piece.  That works, most of the time, until the scrap block now gets in the way of a medium to large size projects.  So, stumbling around the Internet I came across this website describing "The Lifter" on Papas Workshop.  Checking it out, I liked what I saw.  It was made for my DeWalt 788 Scroll Saw and only 30 bucks!  So I figured I'd go to Amazon as I usually do and see if I could get it with free shipping using my Amazon Prime account.  Typed in "The Lifter" in the search box and lo and behold I had learned something else!  I never knew there were such things as women butt cheek lifters! Oh Lord, what do I do now?  I had often wondered why the young ladies in my high school days never looked like today's high school graduates.  I thought it may be in the water here in Virginia Beach.  "Butt" don't get discouraged ... just scroll past all the butt cheek lifters and you'll come across the wood workers scroll saw lifter.  Took me a good ten minutes to remember what I was there looking for!

Now, this unique device holds the DW 788 scroll saw upper arm in the full up position eliminating the need for the scrap block.  This frees-up both hands to thread the blade through the hole.  Then it is a simple matter of lifting the upper arm and releasing the latch assembly and reinstalling the blade into the upper blade clamp of the scroll saw.  It is easy, fast, simple, and reliable!  All for $30!!

 I have one installation recommendation to keep your scroll saw looking great.  Use a rotary tool with a sanding drum to expose the bolt head under the plastic switch cover. This allows the installation of the latch anchor.  See caption in the photo.  It makes for a professional look as if "The Lifter" came with the DW 788. Happy scrolling!

 (This article was written 8 years ago.  Yes still have it, still works well!)

by Ed Bunker

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Benchtop Talk: Challenges For Woodworkers

Nine TWWWG members met at Woodcraft on Monday, May 8th for a benchtop discussion.  As usual, we had a mix of show-and-tell, challenges and lessons shared.  Benchtop discussions are held at 6 p.m. on the second Monday of each month.

 Guild members discussing challenges at the May Benchtop Challenge at Woodcraft.

Vendor Discounts

Greg has been actively looking for vendors that will provide a discount to guild members for various supplies.  A basic listing of the vendor will be published in each months newsletter.  To keep this from getting too complicated for this newsletter the list will only contain the most basic information on the vendors.  To get to the real meat of the vendor discounts you will have to go to the TWWWG web site www.twwwg.com and click on the tab marked "Member Information".  Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Previous icon.  Once on the second page click on the previous link one more time.  This should take you to the article called TWWWG Vendor Discounts.

• Lowes of Norfolk
• Lowes of Portsmouth
• Lowes of West Chesapeake
• Costal Hardware Inc.
• Wurth Wood Group
• Sure Set Saw
• Yukon Lumber 

Christmas In June by Gary Stephens

On Saturday, April 29, 2023 I met Ryan Evans and Chris Haycox over at the home of former guild member, Bob Fenske.  Upon his passing the family donated all of his tools, wood, drafting supplies, books and finishing supplies to the guild without any conditions!  They wanted all of the goods to go to a good home and to help them clean out the garage and his shop.

According to Ryan, “I went over to Robert's home yesterday afternoon to scope things out. Not a ton of stuff. Maybe 15 boxes worth of "stuff", already boxed up. However, there are a few bigger bench top machines to take out of there as well as a skinny, but hefty workbench. 

What type of vehicle are you bringing? Chris is bringing his truck and I'm bringing my smaller SUV. Also, we're starting at 12 noon rather than 10am. Theoretically, we're going to 4pm (latest) , but I don’t think we'll need that much time, because there’s just not that much "stuff". Questions?”

Well, about 3 hours into the project we were still moving wood from the garage and the workshop to the front of the house.  At this point in time I said to Ryan, “you are a liar!”.  Bob had wood stuffed in every nook and cranny in both the garage and the shop.  We spent 5 hours that Saturday at the Fenske residence loading the wood and tools into the back of my mini-van, Ryan’s car and Chris’s truck.  When we left the Fenske residence in Virginia Beach there was still more “stuff” to be removed and Chris and Ryan agreed to come back on Sunday to get the remainder.  We then drove all of the "stuff" over to my shop in the Great Bridge section of Chesapeake and did the unloading process which took another couple of hours.

As my wife and I are going to Europe in a few days for the Viking Grand European trip which amounts to a 19 day trip and the fact that I did not need the shop at this time, this was a good place to store all of the “stuff”.  I spent the next week organizing the wood and tubs of tools and creating a partial inventory list.  At this point in time the shop looked fairly organized but then Chris showed up the next weekend with another pick-up full of Bob’s “stuff”.  By now the shop was getting very full and Ryan still had more “stuff” at his house.  Today, Ryan brought over his car full of more “stuff”.  Moving around in the shop is now very difficult even though I have a nice 18’ x 30’ shop.

The donation from the Fenske family of Bob’s tools and wood to the guild is of extremely high quality!  Bob was a big purchaser of high end tools and wood from Woodcraft and from Lee Valley / Veritas.  Many of these tools have never been used but those that have been used are in prime condition.  In the near future we will be getting out an inventory list of all of the “stuff” for guild members to look at and drool over.  All of this “stuff” will be given away to guild members at no cost to the members!  

One of the things that the guild board has been discussing is how to give away these tools and be fair to everyone.  There is a DeWalt surface planer, Festool track saw, orbital sander and vacuum system.  There is also a Rigid spindle sander and wet saw plus a selection of Veritas and German hand planes, some of these nearing the $900.00 dollar mark!  There are also more high end items to be given away but they are too numerous to mention in this article.  One of the suggestions on the give-a-way for guild members who are interested in the tools is a random drawing on the day of the give-a-way.  If your ticket is selected then you would have your choice of one of the high end tools and we would repeat this process until they were all gone.  After that the tools and wood would be open to all.  This is just one of the thoughts going around at this present time.

Most of you are wondering when this tool give-a-way is going to happen.  My wife and I will not be back from Europe until June 6, 2023 and I know I will not feel like making it happen that particular weekend which is June 10.  More details on the tools will be presented by Ryan and Chris at this month’s meeting.

Pictures Of Robert Fenske's "Stuff"

by Gary Stephens

Upcoming Guild Programs 2023

BLUF:  NO ZOOM AVAILABLE FOR MAY’s MEETING. Sorry for the inconvenience

The 22 May’s program will include door prizes, silent auction, “Give it a Rest” challenge results, and a presentation by our very own Chris Haycox on Inlays and Marquetry Techniques.   Doors open at 6:30 pm.  Upon arrival, ensure to pick up your member nametag from John Tirey and your door prize ticket & voting ticket from Chris Zuchristian before catching up with friends until the start of the program at 7:00pm sharp.  Cheryl will be available to register new members and collect dues.  Also, we are bringing back the silent auction this month, so bring in and donate to the guild your slightly used tools or items that you no longer need.   The silent auction will be held during intermission.  $1 gets you one ticket; $5 gets you six. Make sure you bring small $ bills. 

Before intermission, members who participated in the “Give it a Rest” challenge will present their entries to the members attending the meeting at Woodcraft.  Each participant will provide a brief description of their project (e.g. wood type, other material, joinery, finish, challenges, etc.). Descriptions should be no longer than 2-3 mins.  If your entry is too large to bring to the meeting, send pictures/videos to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Saturday evening May 20, 2023.  Ensure you include your name, cellphone number and email address, so we can contact you if we have issues downloading your presentation.  Members will vote for their favorite entry during intermission.

The featured program for the night will be demonstrating inlays (construction and insetting) and marquetry (sand shading and construction) techniques.  Chris Haycox has 50 years of experience as a woodworker and has been a Guild member, off and on, since 1988.  His inlay journey (surface decorations) began around 2010.    He will discuss everything from developing designs, construction of inlays, tools needed, and finishing recommendations.  It will be an educational presentation that may inspire you to add decorative accents to future projects. We look forward to seeing you at Woodcraft. 

Guild Projects

This month's project comes to us from Gary Stephens

This was really meant to be my scrap wood entry into our scrap wood contest but due to health reasons is was a month late.  The Sheffield screwdriver with interchangeable bits had been laying around in my shop for years so I decided to make a stand for it out of scrap wood.   The stand consists of mahogany on the ends, sandwiched by Baltic Birch plywood followed by Padauk, more Baltic Birch plywood and finally a big chunk of walnut lumber in the center.  It was finished with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal oil and urethane finish.  It now resides inside the house so that I do not have to run out to the shop to get a Philips or slotted or Robertson or Trox bit.

The Art Of Marquetry

This article was taken from the July - August 2021 issue of Fine Woorking as a prelude to Monday nights presentation by Chris Haycox on Marquetry.

Learn the double-bevel technique from a master of the medium.

Author Craig Vandall Stevens #290-July/Aug 2021 Issue – Fine Woodworking

Synopsis: The incredible marquetry designs of Craig Stevens may seem out of reach, but the way he explains the double-bevel technique makes it seem completely doable. This process ensures a perfect-fitting marquetry design. Basically, you tape the background veneer and the insert veneer together, and cut them both at once on an angled surface. That’s the simple part. It’s Craig’s artistry that sends it soaring.

Years ago, when I had the good fortune to study under James Krenov, the decorative art of marquetry caught my imagination. Marquetry linked my longstanding interests in drawing and art with the woodworking skills I was learning. Through trial and error, I developed a way of working that blended the traditional double-bevel marquetry method with the thick hand-sawn veneers that we learned to make at The Krenov School. I’ve enjoyed adding marquetry to my woodworking ever since.

Defining the double-bevel technique

Develop the drawing in stages. Stevens works on paper through multiple iterations to develop his design. He often uses tracing paper to copy the parts of a drawing he likes, then redraws the rest. With the finished drawing laid over a sheet of graphite paper, Stevens traces each line with a stylus to transfer the design to the background veneer.

I slice my own veneers for marquetry from solid stock, sawing the sheets just over 1⁄16 in. thick on the bandsaw. I like working with thick veneer because the often small marquetry pieces are less delicate when you are sawing, handling, and gluing them, and there is plenty of thickness for scraping and sanding when the pattern is complete. Sawing your own veneers also lets you use scrapwood that might otherwise go to waste. In addition, when you add marquetry to furniture, you can saw the veneers for the marquetry from the same solid stock you use for the piece itself, producing perfect grain and color matches.