Stones River Woodworkers Club Members,
FROM THE PRESIDENT
It appears summer is here and amidst all the outside yard work and
honey do list I am trying to devote some time to my woodworking projects. Seems
like I always need that extra push to get started.
It is getting close to our annual July picnic, and we will again
repeat the silent auction which has been so successful for the club. We
need members to look at any unused woodworking tools or finished items ( bowls,
wood, etc. ) to donate to the auction. I know I will be taking some items
this year as soon as I can clear off the dust😊. Seriously
everyone has items laying around unused that others would like to add to their
shop. The date and details of the picnic will be announced when we have
it available.
The Executive Committee met Tuesday and our plans are to offer an
introductory turning / bowl class this September for interested
members. We need to work out the kinks in order to put everything
together. Details will be announced at an upcoming meeting.
Making sawdust,
Sam Clark, President SRWC
_______________
From the Vice President, Gregg Peay
The speaker for our
meeting in May will be Mark Watts. Mark started making rocking chairs and
other porch furniture over 40 years ago from his home in Readyville,
Tennessee. Mark, and his brother Tim, along with their
father, started selling hardwood porch furniture right out of high school
in 1977. After working across the southern United States, selling at
different events and sites for over 30 years, today their main account with furniture
is at home in Tennessee, the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative.
At the time Mark and Tim
got into the chair business, between Readyville, Woodbury and McMinville, there
were 27 people or companies making chairs for sale. Now that number is
less than 5 and Mark is still going strong. In 2009, Tim added hardwood caskets
to their product line, and continued to sell both chairs and hardwood caskets
across the southeast. If you've been in the local Co-op store on Middle
Tennessee Blvd, you may have seen some of Mark's rocking chairs in a variety of
hardwoods or cedar, and in different sizes from child-size to full-size.
One of their most
popular models is shown in the image below and referred to as "The Woods
Rocker", or "The Woods of Tennessee Rocker", and is constructed
strictly from lumber that is native to the state of Tennessee. Full
galleries of their products can be found at Cripple Creek
Caskets.