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By-Laws were amended. Don Stansfield made corrections an excepted by club. Our club is carving a quilt for Sight and Hearing Organization. Still need to be finished. The 3rd Tuesday evening meeting was moved to 3rd Wednesday morning with business meeting and program. Club carving show was at Tebala Shrine in Rockford, IL. The hospital contacted Bob Hallstrom asking our club wanting some pins. The pins were of angels, pumpkins, and Christmas trees and etc. The club member did a great job of getting the carving carved and painted. Sandy Schmidt (wife Phyllis) donated some wooden pins and carving blanks to the club. There will be a bronze plaque put on the tree at Pecatonica Fairgrounds recognizing the Blackhawk Woodcarving Club at the base of the Indian. Jim Griparis constructed a podium for club meeting. The club asked Jim Griparis ifhe would build a cabinet for the club. Money donated by club members and Pete Avramopoulos of the Potato Shack was to help with the cost of lumber. Jim Griparis with Larry Christensen help we have a beautiful cabinet. December meeting is Christmas party. Refreshment and tool swap and etc. This was a sad time on December 6, 2008 Hank Osinski passed away. Hank helped work on getting some of the project under way. Like the quilt an etc. Club Officers President Bob Hallstrom Committees Librarian Marshall Field Program Committee Rich Andersen, Roger Benedict Newsletter Editor Todd Wisner Show Chairperson Don Stansfield Web Site Gordy Moscinski Membership Chair Person Dona Wisner Photographer Larry Clark December Party December Meeting & Christmas Party - A howling success! The Party Committee of Bernie Budzynski, John Skaggs, and John Wacker planned a terrific party for us. There were only reservations for 53.. However, when Bernie (ably assisted by Gary Lundquist) went in to Kenrock on Tuesday evening to set up the room for Wednesday’s party, they set tables for 72. And that was none too many seats, either. As you looked around the room during the meal, there were only a few scattered chairs empty. Lisa & Jeff Hanus came a bit late, and they had to sit apart! (Lisa brought a sweet potato cake - - it was delicious!) The food was GRE-E-E-A-A-T-T-T!!! . The committee brought in 6 Breakfast Skillets (egg/sausage/potato), delicious sliced ham, coffee, tea, juice, and complete place settings. An absolutely fabulous buffet, all arranged on holiday-red table cloths And then, there was all the potluck food that spread out over another whole table . . . with all kinds of cookies & cakes, coffee cakes, holiday breads, candy, fresh mixed-fruit bowl, doughnut holes, and that’s all I can remember. People could eat until they fairly burst. And still there was food to spare. Charity ran rampant -A 50/50 Raffle (new idea this year) collected $187, and paid out $93. Ozzie Webb won the prize, and promptly donated $20 of his winnings right back to the Club. Thank you, Ozzie! While the proceeds of the 50/50 were intended to pay for the party expenses, it turns out the Club made out like a bandit (or made out like a Porch Climber per Gary Lundquist). All because John Skaggs turned his expenses money ($60 plus) back into the Club. Thank you, John! John Winter donated a “Marble-powered-thing-a-ma-bob” toy that he had made. Beautiful craftsmanship. (that’s just normal for John) This was auctioned off with the Club to keep the proceeds. Bidding was quite spirited, heated, and lively. Dona Wisner won the toy with her $20 bid. Thank you, John and Dona. Rich Andersen brought in a bunch of twist drill bits that were surplus in his workshop. That was nice, and very thoughtful, but would you believe it ???? HE HAD SHARPENED THEM ALL. Now, that’s what I call real charity! Thank you, Rich. Last, but not least, was all the time and effort contributed to Party preparations by Club Wives. The guys didn’t have to do it entirely alone. They had help from their wives. Thank you, ladies. Your food was great, and your efforts are appreciated. A Sell & Swap Meet is a Club tradition at the December Party. We could bring anything relating to woodcarving that we wanted to sell, swap, or just plain give away. (A few years ago, Jim Griparis brought in a pair of bent skew palm chisels. One was a left-handed skew, the other was right-handed. Some of us had never even seen such tools, let alone use one.) This year Tony DeVita brought in some carving tools from the late Sandy Schmidt, as well as a sharpening system. There was also a large stock of carving wood donated by Bill Belt of Winnebago. Bill has done quite a bit of woodcarving in the past, and he didn’t want all this stock to go to waste. All but a few pieces were taken by members. Thanks, Bill. Tony Valdez got a thirty-dollar bent gouge chisel for ten bucks, and Marj Simonds got a chip-collector grid for free! Live Instrumental Serenade - There was a musical surprise visit from Bob DeVita, a professional musician and nephew of our own Tony DeVita. Bob brought in his musical saws to play for us.. While he was playing, everyone in the Party stopped talking and turned to watch him. Rousing applause followed every song he played. It was such a nice way to add atmosphere to the Party. There is something about real, live music that always makes a party more special. NOTE ti Tony: Be sure you express our great appreciation to Bob for his kind contribution to the Club Christmas Party. November Speaker John Winter, the “Tools As Canes” wood carver put on a really entertaining program about his experiences collecting logging tools. Axes, hatchets, two-man saws, etc. There was an unusual amount of audience participation with questions and comments. While John has sold his whole collection (because of space limitations in his new home) he had pictures to show what the collection included. John described some of the problems involved in collecting these things (besides the space thing). Displaying the collection took up the whole basement in his previous house. Always nicks and cuts from sharp cutting edges. Tedium of handling heavy tools to and from various programs he put on eg. - put only two tools together in one box, and it’s already too heavy. John told us about different types of various wood-cutting tools. For example, he explained the design purpose of a broad axe, an adz, a fro,. He explained the difference between a wood roof shingle and a wood shake. He also warned us to never use an axe as a sledge or maul. A splitting maul has thick sides, while an axe has thin sides to the head. The blows with the back of the axe causes the thin sides to bulge out, thus ruining the axe. The fireman axe does NOT have a sharp cutting edge for cutting. The edge is always about 1/8" wide for splitting doors, etc. Then, there was the short lecture on the fine points of how to use a two-man saw. Never “push,” let the saw do the cutting. As well as an explanation on saw tooth geometry for lumbering work. Some teeth cut, and some teeth only carry chips away to clean out the cut ready for the next pass of the saw. John explained that one of the axes in his collection was so old it had to have three new heads replaced and four new handles! Octo ber Speaker "Bring some sharp tools" were the instructions for this meeting Also, bring your imagination. We carved Valentine pins for kids in hospital wards. Stansfield provided an ample supply of rough-outs in several different kinds of hearts. Thanks, Don. It would never happen if we had to make our own rough-outs. We were admonished to take only one heart cut-out at a time - - - then, you can take another only after that first has been finished.September Speaker Rich Andersen’s program presentation on old and antiquewoodworking hand tools created quite a stir of interest. Not too surprising since many of the men in the Club are old enough to have had actual hands-on experience with some of the old style tools. Especially curious were some of the highly-specialized planes. Most of us had no idea what some of the tools might be used for. Then there was John Winter. John is an old hand at woodworking and carpenters’ hand tools. John knew. August Speaker Elaine Terrell demonstrated how she weaves baskets out of pine needles. She also showed some of her pine needle baskets, and explained how the craft works. It looks really complicated and difficult, but the results are beautiful. Elaine says that baskets like these can sell for hundreds of dollars each, depending on basket designs, decorations, and craftsmanship.
 s she uses for her baskets.
Then she demonstrated how the needles are bound into the basket shape with a
special thread. Elaine says that some of the really great Indian baskets are
woven so tightly that they are used to carry water.
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June SpeakerCarl Hicks had a lively presentation on carving canes. He brought along some samples of his work. Carl also explained his ideas on different woods for canes. May Speaker canceled April Speaker
Bob Hallstrom reported the need for carving pins
for hospitalized children. We started carving at the April business meeting.
Between the three hospitals, there can be anywhere from 50 to 75 children at any one time. We will need about 100
pins. RMH also mentioned that they have a memorial service in September for
families that have lost children in the past year . Bob went to each of the hospitals this past week, and all of them were very excited about this project. Saint Anthony has nine (9) beds in their children’s ward, Swedish American has fifteen (15), and Rockford Memorial has twenty-seven (27). That’s a total of fifty-one (51), but we will need to carve twice that number. The lady at Rockford Memorial asked if we could carve angel pins in addition to the others, because they have a memorial service the first weekend in November for families who have had children who passed away during the past year. March Speaker Roger Benedict presented a slide show of old farm silos. The photographs were handsome, artistic treatments of picturesque old silos he has seen in Illinois and Wisconsin. The pictures are from a collection Roger has accumulated over some years. Lots of folks wax rhapsodic over old barns, but this collection of silos is rather unique. Thanks for a good show, Rog. February Speaker
¬ Orville Roan, a highly-skilled Intarsia Artist, was introduced by Lou Suit for our program. Mr. Roan showed several pieces he has done. These included the 33" fish shown here, as well as a life-sized wolf’s head, a "half-size" lion’s head, and another fish. Mr. Roan works mostly in black walnut and maple. January Speaker *Tom Block presented a truly engrossing and lively program on Tuesday night, January 15. Tom and his wife, Barbara, are "lighthouse collectors." They have traveled all over the North American continent and Puerto Rico to take pictures of lighthouses. Tom's over-size full-color photo prints were breath-taking. The program was educational as well as beautiful. We learned some lighthouse history. For example, the first one in North America was built in 1716 on Rooster Island in Boston Harbor. At the end of the War for Independence, the retreating British forces burned it down. It wasn't until 1783 that they finally got a replacement built.
Press on picture to make it larger
Spherical Carving Challenge 2008 An open carving category is available for anyone attending the August 16, 2008 Wood Carving Show. This event's purpose is to place extraordinary emphasis on originality, creativity, and carving skill. The intent is to provide a tough challenge for anyone to create an original design that ignores the traditional designs recognized in carving magazines and carving class patterns. The entries shall be displayed with the traditional competition entries and judged by the same judges. Awards of ribbons and cash will be given for first, second, and third places. This challenge is open to all carvers. The requirements are as follows: 1. Must be an original of any subject matter and carving
style. Awards and cash prizes will be given as follows: First Place (Blue
Ribbon) $50.00
Pictures of the Show Tables in 2008 Press on a picture to make it larger
These are pictures of the show in Chip Chats Magazine March-April 2009
These pictures are from the Rockford Register Star July 3, 2008
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