We had a good meeting on Thursday the 6^th, and I want to thank everyone for their participation.

Lots of really nice show-and-tell pieces and some great lidded boxes and finials for the turning Challenge.  Lee Ketchum won the challenge for turning his Tagua Nut box with a blackwood base and finial.  Congratulations Lee!  The next turning challenge will be at our January meeting, and will be a thin-walled hollow vessel.  You have plenty of time so lets see some of your best work.

We raised $185 for the club by auctioning off the pieces Cindy Drozda turned during her demo here the week before.  Thanks to those who participated in the auction and congratulations to the winners.  You got some beautiful turnings!

Just to recap (Thanks to Laurie Anderson for keeping great meeting minutes), our Holiday Party will be on December 4^th instead of our regular club meeting.  It will be held at the St. Paul UMC CLEC building across the street from our meeting hall, in the "Mariposa Café" which is in the northwest corner of the CLEC.  The Dinner will start at 6:30pm, with a social gathering starting at 6:00pm.  The dinner is $8.00 per person, and includes everything but dessert.  We ask that you bring a dessert to share for our traditional "pot luck dessert bar."  You also get one raffle ticket with each paid dinner.

Those who came to the November meeting and renewed your annual membership dues at also earned an extra ticket for the prizes to be raffled off at the holiday party.    

We nominated our 2009 club officers - with the exception of the Vice President position, which is still up in the air.  I will continue to hold the position of President.  Thank you to all who asked me to serve another term.  I am honored.

Laurie Anderson is running unopposed for the position of Club Secretary, and Nancy Lay will continue another term as Treasurer.  We will have our formal vote at the December meeting before the party to make it official.

Jeff Wright did a bang up job on his demonstration using hand tools to make perfect miter joints.  A number of us were pretty impressed with the hand-cut dovetails on the side table he brought in as well!  Jeff showed us that with good planning and the right know-how, you can put away the power tools for a while and enjoy a more "intimate" woodworking experience.  Since many of us come from a "flat work" background, this demo was a pleasure to watch.  Way to go, Jeff.  Great job!

Wayne Baker brought in a pretty impressive Bring-Back this month.  His Tool rack and tool handles were a huge hit and helped to raise quite a bit for the club's coffers.  In fact, the winner, Bob Winter, really only wanted the hand-made tool handles, so we were able to draw another winner for the rack.  That went to visiting guest Patrick Sykes.

Steve Dicenso took home the 50/50 raffle prize this month, but I don't think it lasted too long, since Steve was the high-bidder for the Cindy Drozda Ikebana vase that was auctioned off. 

Just a reminder, you have three more weeks to register for the Florida Woodturning Symposium before the price goes up.  Right now the registration is $100.00 and goes up to $125.00 on 1-Dec.

On-site accommodations are also $100.00 per night and include all meals from Lunch on Friday through Lunch on Sunday.

You can register on line at www.floridawoodturningsymposium.com

The Florida State Fair will be held February 5^th-16^th.  Many of our members enter their work into the turning exhibits, and we usually have several winners from our club.

There are 15 different "classes" or turning categories that you can enter

Entry Fee: $2.00 per Adult entered item

ENTRY FORM DEADLINE: 5:00 PM Friday, December 12, 2008

Dates for accepting items are Friday January 23, 2009, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM; and Saturday January 24,

2009, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM.

Entries must be picked up on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, and Wednesday February 18, 2009, 10:00 AM

- 6:00 PM.

SPECIAL RULES

1. All entered items submitted must have been completed after January 1, 2007. Work must be that of

crafter exhibiting.

2. No more than two (2) entered items per class per exhibitor.

3. Entered items previously exhibited in the Florida State Fair may not be submitted for competition.

4. Entered items may be offered for sale at the option of the exhibitor; however, all entered items must

remain intact until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 17, 2009.

5. In the event the project overlaps two classes, the turner has the option of selecting the class for

competition.

JUDGING

Design - 60%, Form, balance, weight, proportion, uniform wall thickness.

Finish - 40%, Lack of tool marks, scratches, etc. and appropriate finish material.

Judges reserve the right to decide proper classification. The decisions of the judge are final.

JUDGE: To Be Announced.

PREMIUMS: $50.00, $30.00, $20.00, "Best of Show" $150.00

Honorable Mention Ribbons may be given at the discretion of the judge

(HOLLOW VESSEL) Definition: Hollow vessel - a form with a top opening smaller than the width,

containing substantial "hollow area." Vase - a hollow vessel higher than wide

1. Standard hollow vessel or vase - may contain decoration while turning on the lathe (i.e. coves,

beads, surface texture

2. Embellished hollow vessel or vase - carved, fluted, wood burned, inlay, colored, etc.

(BOWL) Definition: Bowl - top opening larger than the base, exposing the interior to view. (Wider than

high)

3. Standard bowl - may contain decoration applied while turning on the lathe (i.e. coves, beads,

surface texture

4. Embellished bowl - carved, fluted, wood burned, inlay, colored, etc.

(PLATE / PLATTER) Definition: Plate/platter - a form substantially wider than high with the surface

open to view.

5. Standard plate / platter - may contain decoration while turning on the lathe (i.e. coves, beads,

surface texture

6. Embellished plate / platter - carved, fluted, wood burned, inlay, colored, etc.

(SPINDLE) Definition: Spindle - primarily turned between centers with grain parallel to lathe bed.

7. ALL SPINDLE - Primarily turned b/t centers, grain parallel to bed of lathe

(NATURAL EDGE)

8. ALL NATURAL EDGE

9. ALL SEGMENTED or constructed: pieced together and turned with one or more woods (e.g.

maple/walnut)

10. OTHER THAN WOOD at least 50% other material (alabaster, plastics, metal spinning, soapstone,

and combinations of above)

11. MINEATURE no dimension exceeding two (2) inches

12. ALL ORNAMENTAL (done with an ornamental type lathe)

13. LIDDED CONTAINER no dimension over 4"

14. LIDDED CONTIANER any dimension over 4"

15. OTHER jewelry, toys, pens, Christmas ornaments, utensils, constructed multiple turnings,

resulting in spinning wheels, ships, wheel clocks, candelabra, reassembled turnings, wood or nonwoods

acceptable; however, 50% of project must be turned.

You can download the application at http://floridastatefair.com/pdffiles/comp-woodturning.pdf

See you at the Holiday Party!

NOW, GET CLUB APPAREL ON LINE: Click the hat to see more!