TEST NEWSLETTERS
Month, Year
This Month’s Meeting: May 15, 2025 at the Fred Maytag II Scout Center, 6123 Scout Trail, Des Moines
Join us for the May Des Moines Woodworkers General Members Meeting!
The program features Matt Amue of Area515 maker space. Matt will introduce the membership to the many ways woodworkers can use 3D printing in their shops. 3D printing allows you to design and make dust-collection fixtures, tool accessories, knobs, brackets and infinite more possibilities. If you haven't heard of Area515, it is a cooperative in Des Moines that provides a space for all types of crafting and construction, from leatherwork to woodworking to auto repair and much more. It promises to be an enlightening program.
Stay around after the presentation for Show and Tell. Bring a project and get entered in the gift certificate drawing. And of course, there will be cookies to go with the coffee. Craig Ruegsegger, Program Chair
Saw Dust from the Prez
I’ve been plugging away in the shop. With actual plugs.
First, my daughter’s refinishing project needed a replacement for the plastic wood over the screw heads that had to come out to disassemble the small table to start the refinishing process. We cleaned up the counterbores and then cut 3/8 tapered face-grain plugs to better disguise the screw locations.
Secondly, the project for the Rustic Wall Shelf class, offered through our DM Woodworkers Association (thank you, instructor Phil Huber), called for covering the screw heads with square plugs, end-grain showing this time, a classic square peg in a round hole challenge. I finetuned the end of a long blank with a plane and sandpaper, cut a plug loose with a craft saw and mini miter box, toothpicked glue around the edges of the hole, and tapped in the plug with a vintage plastic mallet.
I needed twelve plugs, so I got some practice shaping them to fit. Plug fitting reminded me that getting better at something requires doing it more than once. Also, that first attempts seldom produce all-time bests and that’s OK. Skills will grow (can I get an Amen?) if we ... just keep plugging away.
And speaking of plugs, check out the information in this newsletter about our club’s 40th anniversary celebration and picnic at Jester Park on Saturday, June 21. Also, I’m seeing lots of excitement around our new venture of making wood projects to sell at the State Fair. Ken Rummer, President
Other Items
Club Calendar: Click on this link for upcoming events.
Program Ideas:
Education: Click on this link for details on upcoming classes, Classes — Des Moines Woodworkers Association
Summer Tours: Join Us on Our Club Summer Tours. Please sign up for the tours using the provided links so we can provide a head count to our hosts.
TREE HUGGERS on June 7, in rural Maxwell. They will be demonstrating their sawmill and talking about the many other tree- and lumber-related services they provide.
The demo starts at 11am. Tree Huggers will provide lunch at 11:45. The address is 31533 640 Avenue, Maxwell Iowa.
Please use the driveway on the north side of the house that takes you to the Big Red Shop, which is where parking will be. Wear comfortable shoes and casual clothing, and bring a folding chair for lunch, and hearing protection for the mill demonstration.
Sign up by Thursday, May 29 at https://www.dmwoodworkers.org/events/treehuggers-tour.
DOBSON PIPE ORGAN BUILDERS on Saturday, August 23 the club will tour Dobson Pipe Organ Builders in Lake City, Iowa, a manufacturer of organs used in churches and concert halls around the world. They have just rebuilt their facility after a devastating fire a couple of years ago, so we will get to see not only how these magnificent instruments are built, but also their new state-of-the-art facility.
The tour starts at 9:30am. Please sign up at the link below before Friday, August 15 to help us provide a head count to Dobson. https://www.dmwoodworkers.org/dobson-pipe organ-builders-signup.
We will plan to have lunch in Lake City after the tour for those who want to. To carpool, please plan on meeting at the Ankeny Hampton Inn, just off Exit 89 (Corporate Woods Dr) off I 35 by 7:30am. Park in the easternmost part of the hotel lot as highlighted in red in the photo.
Preferred Vendors–click for a list of preferred vendors who offer discounts to DMWA club members: LINK HERE