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Volume 32 Issue 6 June 2019

WOODSHOP ADVISOR

CAPITAL AREA WOODWORKERS

May Meeting Review:

President Nichols called the meeting to order and the

club welcomed Mr. B.J. Busby, a guest woodworker

from Rushville, Illinois, who was originally invited by

Norm via E-mail a couple months ago.

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Verhulst was unable to

attend the meeting but reported a balance of

approximately $4,000 in the club’s treasury.

Old Business: President Nichols brought in a

completed box and followed up on his discussion of

the “Beads of Courage” program from last month and

informed the membership that the beads and cards that

he had ordered had arrived. Rich’s box was made of

purpleheart which was colored with a blend of

burgundy and purple TransTint dyes.

Members interested in participating in the program by

building a box should incorporate a bead into the lid

and fill out one of the donor cards. Internal

dimensions for rectangular lidded boxes should

measure about 4x6x4 inches; turned boxes need to be

about 6 inches in diameter (5 inches minimum.)

Rich indicated that the club would take as many boxes

as the members can produce and will deliver the

completed boxes to the program on behalf of the club

during his upcoming trip to the American Association

of Woodturners’ Annual Symposium in Raleigh, NC,

in mid-July.

The members were reminded that the deadline to

renew their membership is June 1. Anyone not paid

up by that time will be removed from the membership

rolls.

(Continued on page 2)

Upcoming Meeting:

Wednesday, June 5, 2019.

Social Time 5:15 to 6:30 p.m.

Meeting starts promptly at 6:30 p.m.

MCL Cafeteria, 2151 Wabash Ave

Presentation: “This Old Beam.”

Presentation Committee:

Mike Bredemeyer Bob Leffler John Little

Ben Reynolds Noah Workman

CAW Officers 2019

President Richard Nichols 502-4486

President-Elect VACANT

Past President VACANT

Treasurer Steve Verhulst 546-7529

Editor John Little 414-2657

Web Master: Michael Mitchell 416-1819

At-Large Steve Gage 306-1678

At-Large Norm Koerner 787-8795

At-Large David Kalaskie 502-2871

Website: www.cawspi.org

E mail: caw.woodworker@gmail.com

REMINDER!

Due to the scheduling of the Annual Club Picnic,

there will not be a regular meeting of the membership

in July. Please see picnic details on page 2 and plan

to attend!

Our next regularly scheduled meeting will occur on

Tuesday, August 6, 2019.

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New Business: President Nichols reminded everyone

to fill out and return one of the club’s survey forms to

Norm Koerner. The survey forms will assist us in

determining the interests of our membership and

hopefully, help us to broaden our offerings in the

coming months. Members are encouraged to consider

hosting “open shop” events in order to allow for some

hands-on activities and on-site demos. Once the

forms have been turned in, Norm will compile a

summary document for the membership.

Following the meeting, President Nichols also

discussed a recent item that was raised during the

club’s most recent Executive Board meeting. The

Board is seeking input from the membership as to a

possible change to the rotating meeting dates that are

in current use. Some members have expressed an

interest in changing the club’s meeting date to occur

on a regular schedule.

During the May meeting, two specific days were

mentioned; one being the third Tuesday of each

month, the other being the third Wednesday of each

month. Some members indicated that the third

Tuesday would conflict with ongoing obligations that

they have. These proposals were brought forth in an

effort to make it easier to remember the meeting date

and to facilitate members who are involved in other

activities that normally occur during the first or

second week of the month.

Since this issue was discussed during the May

meeting, the club’s Constitution allows for a vote of

the membership to occur in June. Please come

prepared to the June meeting to participate in this

discussion and vote to select a meeting date that will

accommodate the majority of our members.

Evening Program: The guest presenters for the

evening were Brian Frieze and Zach Patton from

Sangamon Reclaimed, a family-owned and operated

custom wood shop, located at 1315 Ottis Street in

Springfield, which is now in its fifth-year. All of the

(Meeting, continued from page 1)

(Continued on page 3)

Special Notes:

Share What You’ve Learned: If you’ve read an in-

teresting article or some other woodworking related

source, bring the topic to one of our meetings to

share. Your participation is needed.

Bring a Friend: You are encouraged to bring a friend

who might be interested in the presentation topic.

This is a good way to help expand our membership.

50/50 Raffle Items: Bring an item to be given away

during the 50/50 raffle. Most of us have unused items

around our workshops that we could part with!

Show-and-Tell: Members are encouraged to bring in

items or projects to share at our meetings. Show us

what you’ve been working on lately!

Annual Club Picnic Saturday, July 6th

Noon -3:00 PM

Rochester Community Park Pavillion 90 Wild Rose Lane — Rochester, IL 62563

(West Entrance to the Park)

Bring your significant other or a guest. Members are also

asked to bring a side dish (based on the first letter of their

last name) and serving utensils:

The club will provide fried chicken, drinks and picnic sup-

plies. Members are encouraged to bring an item for

Show-and-Tell!

A—F: Dessert.

G—L: Potato or Pasta.

M—R: Salad.

S—Z: Vegetable.

Random Thoughts.

My grandfather always said: “As one door closes,

another opens.” He was a lovely man, but a terrible

cabinet maker.

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wood used in their products has been reclaimed from

barns across the Midwest and transformed into

heirloom quality pieces by their team of craftsmen in-

house.

Brian, a local firefighter and Air Force veteran, is the

founder and president of Sangamon Reclaimed, and

his co-presenter, Zach Patton, was recently promoted

to the role of Director of Sales for the company. The

majority of the work which leaves the shop are

custom-made pieces that are built to an individual

customer’s specifications and needs.

During their start-up, Brian and his crew dismantled

thirty-eight barns over the course of two years,

salvaging the materials from those structures for

reuse. Initially, the wood was sold to a third-party in

Waverly and Brian invested the money that he made

from tearing down those barns in woodworking

equipment and building his 14,000 sq. ft. shop.

In addition to builds using reclaimed wood,

Sangamon Reclaimed also produces pieces from live

edge slabs, most notably, tables, and sliding barn

doors. Although salvaged barn wood has provided a

steady stream of projects for the company, Brian

indicates that he has kept an eye towards the future as

the company continues to grow, so as not to be

marginalized as design trends come and go.

As a veteran, Brian also works to give back to those

who served. One of the company’s signature projects

is the “Flags for Heroes” philanthropy program that

earmarks proceeds from the sale of their handcrafted,

barn-wood, American flags to organizations helping

of our nation’s veterans, including the Chris Kyle

Foundation, Honor Flight, and the Spring Street

Veterans’ Renaissance in Springfield, Illinois.

The company also has a number of commercial

clients, both locally and remote, including the Bunn

Corporation, the Dew Chilli Parlor, Free Press Coffee

House, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Austin Texas.

Many of these projects have been completed in

collaboration with local builders and designers, such

(Meeting, continued from page 2) as Buraski Builders, Michael Von Behern, Jim

Wilson Interiors, and FWAI Architects.

Show-and-Tell: : Jerry Helfrich brought in two small

Japanese tool boxes that he had made based on a

video he had seen on YouTube. Each box featured a

sliding lid that was held in place with a tapered wedge

pin.

Jim Kulavic discussed a triangular-shaped chest of

drawers that he built in his local shop and then

transported to his home in Florida. The chest of

drawers was custom built of maple and plywood to

slide into a space beneath an existing staircase. The

drawers were 30” deep and are supported by 150 lb.

rated drawer glides.

Roland Folse presented a live-edge maple slab table

on a walnut base. To compliment the live edge on the

sides of the piece, Roland used a tool similar to a die

grinder to carve the ends, followed by a torch to

accent burn the carved detail. The table was finished

with wipe-on polyurethane.

Roland also brought in a prototype of a book that his

daughter had made for him that captures a number of

pieces that he has made during his many years of

woodworking. One of the featured projects is a

bookcase that Roland identifies as the first piece of

furniture he ever built. It was constructed when he

was about 25 years old during his time at Walter Reed

Medical Center using woodworking equipment in the

hospital’s rehabilitation center.

Donald Elwood reported that he is still working on

his shop and discussed a book he recently read by

author, actor, and woodworker, Nick Offerman. The

book, entitled, “Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in

Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop,” includes detailed

projects, shop tips, and tricks, as well as Offerman’s

reflections on his career and craftsmanship.

Upon hearing about the Beads of Courage program a

few months ago, recent member Paul Cragoe

completed two boxes for the program – one made of

padauk and the other made of cherry. Both boxes (Continued on page 4)

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Photographs from the May Presentation

feature the words “Beads of Courage” burned into the lids, and will also incorporate the ceramic beads that

were recently acquired from the program.

Finally, Norm Koerner graciously brought in a box of small tools that were made available to the members for

free.

Items for Sale: Chuck Frank has a Ryobi 10” sliding compound miter saw for sale. He is asking $100. A

friend of Bill Walden is selling an older Craftsman shaper. The unit has a 1 hp motor and is also priced around

$100. New member Jerry Marsik has a Festool 5” random orbital sander for sale, priced at $90.

50/50 Raffle: The winner of the 50/50 drawing was Carl Arentzen. The prize amount was $47.50.

Brian Frieze, President and Founder of

Sangamon Reclaimed, a family owned

and operated custom wood shop in

Springfield, discusses his company’s de-

velopment and growth over the past five

years .

Brian recently received a Jaycees

“Outstanding Young Persons of Illinois”

award during a ceremony earlier this

month; and Sangamon Reclaimed was

also awarded a “Best in Show Award”

during the 2019 Home Expo, sponsored

by the Springfield Area Home Builders’

Association.

NOTE: Brian showcased his company’s work by way of a PowerPoint

presentation. The photos from the club meeting do not do justice to

the quality of the pieces shown, so the following photographs were

taken from the company’s Facebook page and are being used with

the express permission of Sangamon Reclaimed.

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Additional Photographs from the May Presentation

Additional examples of work produced by Sangamon Reclaimed include (clockwise from top left) a cus-

tom–made wrap around mantle shelf and exposed ceiling beams; a large round table; a barn-wood flag

form their “Flags for Heroes” program, and a live edge ambrosia maple waterfall table.

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Show and Tell

Jerry Helfrich discusses a cou-

ple of Japanese tool boxes

that he recently made based

on a video he had seen on

YouTube. Each box featured

a sliding lid that was held in

place with a tapered wedge

pin.

One of the boxes was fitted

to his digital caliper. Engrav-

ing on the top of the box was

accomplished using a CNC

machine.

Jim Kulavic built his triangular-shaped chest of drawers in Springfield and then transported it to his home

in Florida. The chest of drawers were custom built of maple and plywood to slide into a space beneath an

existing staircase. The drawers were 30” deep and are supported by 150 lb. rated drawer glides.

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Show and Tell (Con’t.)

Roland Folse discusses his build of a live-edge maple slab table on a walnut base. To compliment the live

edge on the sides of the piece, Roland used a tool similar to a die grinder to carve the ends, followed by a

torch to accent burn the carved detail. The table was finished with wipe-on polyurethane.

For the readers in our group, we were presented with two offerings during our May meeting. (l) A

prototype of book that Roland Folse’s daughter had made for him that captures a number of pieces

that he has made during his many years of woodworking. (r) Nick Offerman’s “Good Clean Fun:

Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop,” as recommended by Donald Elwood.

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Show and Tell (Con’t.)

As club president Rich Nichols looks on, Paul

Cragoe discusses two boxes he recently made

for the Beads of Courage Program. Both of

Paul’s boxes feature the words “Beads of Cour-

age” burned into the lids, and will also incorpo-

rate the ceramic beads that were recently ac-

quired from the program.

Rich will deliver the boxes (and all others built by

club members in the intervening weeks) to the

Beads of Courage Program during his trip to the

American Association of Woodturners’ Annual

Symposium in Raleigh, NC, in mid-July.

Three Beads of Courage boxes are ready

to make the trip to Raleigh. They include

(clockwise from top left) a box made of

purpleheart by Rich Nichols, a box made

of cherry by Paul Cragoe, and a second

box made by Paul Cragoe from padauk.

Club members are encouraged to build

additional boxes in the coming weeks as

a show of support for the Beads of Cour-

age program and children who are cou-

rageously battling cancer.

Ceramic beads and note cards are availa-

ble by contacting Rich Nichols.