Old Business

Thanks to Dolores Cascio for a very good show report. And special thanks to Larry Clark for donating his photography costs and time for the show pictures.

New Business

Don Stansfield reminded us that he will lead a carving session at the next meeting on a Scandinavian Christmas relief ornaments……..Bring your carving tools!!

Don Stansfield---An old steer with flowers mound on a platform depicting a pasture.

Gale Terrell---Christmas painted ornament; ice- cycle with a loose ball inside.

Roger Benedict---Six jelly wooden knives carved from apple, cherry, and lilac wood

Carving tools vary in the ability to hold a sharpened edge. There are good reasons for this, which vary from factual to legendary causes. The real culprit of tool edge integrity is with the type of steel and the quality of the heat treat process control. The cleanliness of the steel ingot and process method of making the tool are additional factors to achieve a high quality tool. The most over used legend is "over sharpening that loses the temper," which is a misnomer because it is actually hardness that is lost, but rare with good quality tool steel.

The cost-effective carving tools are made generally from medium carbon steels that may follow the specs of AISI 4140, 4340, and/or 4150. These are steels alloyed with variations of chrome, nickel, vanadium, and/or molybdenum that provide high degree of toughness for mallet use, high hardness ranges, and tool edge longevity. Additional introduction of carbon and/or other alloys will be an over kill for wood carving, because the added value creates higher costs associated with steel for rugged requirements in the metal removal, forging, or extrusion industries.

The carving tool performance will vary due to the amount of carbon, combination of alloying elements, and the process quality. A tool advertised that is made by a forged process is a good bet on high quality, because a clean ingot is required to obtain crack free forged pieces, and the closely formed grain structure will help to resist mallet blows. Any medium harden carbon steel will cut wood, but only the steel with proper alloying and quality controlled processes will provide the optimum wood carving performance. The best way to believe that a high quality-carving tool is available is recognizing a reputable and well-known tool manufacturer. A good clue of an inferior tool is a noticeably low price tag and made by an unknown toolmaker. As they say, "buyer beware."

Future "Clearing off the Bench" will cover the characteristics of alloys and how they effect hardness and tool life. Included will be the effect of heat treating temperatures and quenching mediums in air, oil, or water.

Keep your tools sharp

Roger Benedict

November 15^th business meeting---Don Stansfield will lead us through a Christmas ornament carving having a Scandinavian theme. . Bring your carving tools!

December 20^th business meeting----Annual Christmas party and "tools & things swap night."

January 14^th Rockford Art Museum Saturday morning tour 10:30 AM of the Robert McCauley exhibition.

January 17^th business meeting----Guest speaker, Mickey Bowman, on stone sculpturing-----demos and discussion.

A thank you letter, from Klehm Arboretum was received regarding our carving presentations for their annual Autumn Fest. Thanks to all of you that participated.

On Saturday morning 10:30 AM, January 14^th Roger Benedict will lead club members, spouses, and friends through an excellent exhibition of "minimalism" by Robert McCauly of Rockford College. He is head of the college's art department and has exhibited in major galleries through out the United States. His work is left to interpretation, yet is easy to view and appreciate.

Please forward any club or member information for the newsletter. This should be sent to Roger Benedict during the last week on every month.

Date is set for Saturday, August 19, 2006

www.blackhawkcarving.com

"The price of greatness is responsibility."

_____ Winston Churchill