August Meeting

 

Stones River Woodworkers Club

Monthly Meeting Minutes – August 26, 2025

Attendance: 40, (including the speaker)

Speaker: Matthew Vick

Subject: Chair Making

 

1.    President Sam Clark called the meeting to order at 6:36 and led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance.

2.    Visitors:  Bob Miller – Enjoys wood carving

3.    Nashville Fair:

a.    We have a booth for the upcoming fair starting on September 5^th and continuing through September 14^th.

b.    Mike and Ginger Fondren are in attendance and available to answer any questions about the fair and the process for volunteers.

c.     A signup sheet for volunteers was passed around.

d.    You get a parking pass and free admission to the fair for volunteering.

e.    Tables and chairs are available in our booth.

f.      Robert Woolfolk and Sam Clark will be there to set up on Friday night.

g.    Jeanne Altstatt will set up and do scroll-saw demonstrations.

4.    Classes:

a.    Volunteers are needed to teach classes and share our knowledge and skills.

b.    Teach others how to create a project that you have previously completed.

c.     It can be something from a past Show-and-Tell, or something that you have personally gained skills and knowledge in.

d.    The club will assist in any way possible.

 

5.    Show-and-Tell:

a.    Alex Marshall               Shaving Brush with sentimental value for the veteran recipient.

b.    Gregg Peay                   Segmented Bowl from the class taught by Gene Casto.

c.     Glenn Littlepage          Wooden Jars.

d.    Ken Hodges                  Domino set made from Costa Rican Ironwood.

e.    Marvin Miller              Fluted irrigation handle

f.      Mike Hargrove            Komiko Japanese art and scroll saw, dinosaur skeleton/puzzle also made on the scroll saw.

g.     Terri Goodrich             Bowl turned by Doug Pelren that was made from Mulberry tree in her yard

h.    Max Lastfogel              Segmented bowl, also from Gene’s class

i.       Barry Maier                 Scroll saw figures, a miniature porch swing, Cell phone stands all made on his scroll saw

j.       John Bell                       Turned Salt and Pepper mills, scroll saw ornaments

k.     Bob Miller                    (Visitor) Wood carving of a tree that he is working on

l.       Sam Clark                     Maple tissue box holder with walnut splines

6.    Gregg Peay talked about an email scam that has been plaguing the club over the past few weeks.

a.    Apparently someone found our newsletter or meeting minutes online and sent emails to all of the club officers other than the president, Sam Clark, and the treasurer, Larry Counts.

b.    The email appeared to be from Sam Clark, and it asked each of us individually if we could use a personal Venmo or Paypal account to pay an outstanding invoice for about $1,000.00.  The email stated that the club did not have those types of accounts, and if we would pay the bill, Larry would write us a check to compensate us for the expenditure.

c.     Mary soon discovered that it was a phishing scam and warned the rest of us before any damage was done.

d.    I, (Gregg Peay), have personally received 3 more similar emails, all showing that they are from “Sam Clark”, and each with a different email address, (that is not Sam’s actual email address), and with a different domain name.

e.    Be aware that the Club will never ask anyone to pay any bills in this manner or over email.

7.    Jason Moore introduced our guest speaker for the evening: Matthew Vick who spoke to us about his journey in learning chair-making and building and creating custom chairs and famous reproductions of chair-makers.

a.    Matthew learned wood-turning in high school and fell in love with the art and creativity that it brought out in him.

b.    Matthew is fond of recreating stylish chairs from the 1940’s through the 1960’s, often originally produced by renowned artists and craftsmen.

c.     Matthew stressed two essential rules that he always follows:

                                                             i.      Joinery first, always.  A strong, beautiful joint is essential.

                                                          ii.      Short Grain will get you Keep all joints at least 2 inches from the end of the member in order to keep the joint from failing.

d.    Wedged tenons provide the strongest joints.

8. The next regular meeting will be on September 24^th.

9.    The informal monthly breakfast meeting at Hardees on Old Fort Parkway will be next Tuesday, September 2^nd, at 9:00 am.

10.  Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm.

September News

 Stones River Woodworkers Club Members,

We are in busy times. A big “Thanks” to all the members who are supporting our SRWC Booth at the Nashville Fair. I hope they sell a lot of their handiwork.

I am finally able to get the August 26^th Show &Tell and Meeting Minutes with this Email. Both the S&T and Minutes are attached in Word and PDF for you.

VP Jason Moore found us a great presenter in Matthew Vick. His woodworking presentation was inspiring.

In Show & Tell, we are seeing more nice segmented bowls show up after Gene Casto’s Segmented Bowl Class. Thanks Gene.

There is a lot of great woodworking being displayed in our Show & Tell. Thanks to all who bring their handiwork in to show us. It is nice to hear Members tell us how they make their projects but also give us tips on how they overcome “challenges” and how we can avoid them.

Our next meeting is on September 23^rd, so mark your calendar.

Lou Ferraro, Newsletter Editor.

“Work smarter, not harder.” This saying is definitely true when it comes to woodworking. There’s no need to try to muscle through a project if there’s a smarter way to do it. – Anon.

AUGUST NEWSLETTER

 Stones River Woodworkers Club Members,

Our next meeting is Tuesday 26 August 2025. We will gather from 6 PM to 6:30 PM. at St. Marks United Methodist Church; 1267 N. Rutherford Blvd. Murfreesboro, TN.  From 6 to 6:30 is set aside for fellowship checking out the Show & Tell projects and asking questions from our members on how they do some of their woodworking. There will be place-cards available on the Show & Tell tables for members with projects to display to Print their Name and a few words to describe the project (Wood, Process, etc.). This will help provide better information to everyone when the Show & Tell pictures are sent out.  The meeting will start at 6:30 PM.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Sam Clark

This has been a HOT summer, and I have been lax working in my shop.  Seems as if the grass and outside maintenance has taken up most of my free time.  I am starting to make some items for the Fall Festivals.

Speaking of festivals and craft fairs the Nashville Fair is only 2 ½ weeks away and time slots are starting to fill.  The Nashville Fair starts September 5^th and ends the 14^th .  Mike Fondren, a SRWC member, has arranged for an artisan and craft booth to be made available to our club.  Currently there are no other woodworking clubs or woodworkers with a booth at the Nashville Fair. This presents a great opportunity for us to display, sell and promote the SRWC to others. There is ample security at the arts and craft building for leaving items overnight. Please get with me as we need help manning the booth and as a bonus you can sell anything you bring (you keep the money).  This is a well-attended event and an excellent opportunity to promote the club to potential new members.  Special note: The Nashville Fair is held in an air conditioned building and security is provided for anything left in the booth.  Our tables will be covered as well.

You can contact SAM CLARK at 615 - 440 - 8300. Let Sam know what dates you can be at the Nashville Fair at The Fairgrounds.

From the Vice President

Jason Moore

Our guest speaker will be Matthew Vick. Matthew started his passion for woodworking as a young teenager learning to turn pens from a gentleman at his church. Eventually he would find himself at Tennessee Tech University where he would further his education and receive a bachelor’s degree in fine woodworking. There he learned joinery techniques, fine furniture building, chair making, turning, and hand tools. After graduating he worked as a traditional timber-framer for 6 years and is now currently employed as a custom cabinet maker. Matthew will be doing a presentation on chair building.

______________________________________________________________

Here are some links to more information about the Nashville Fair:

https://www.nashfair.fun/p/about/map

https://www.nashfair.fun/p/about/hours--directions

Lou Ferraro, Newsletter Editor

“The smell of freshly cut wood and the sound of tools on timber create a symphony that resonates with the soul of a woodworker.” – unknown