The Newsletter of the Lehigh Valley Woodworkers’ Guild

November  2004

Printed courtesy of HostwindowÔ 

Woodcraft store opens in Allentown.

 Monday the 13^th was a lucky day for local woodworkers when the doors of the new store opened.  Mary Winkler, the owner/operator, along with her crew of nine posed for their group picture in front of the store at 8:45 AM, and then braced themselves for the 9:00 AM opening. 

 Mary’s husband Ray had the honor of being the first customer when he bought a Porter-Cable compressor to register the first sale.  Angelo Triandafiliou and Bob Tinsman were the “early birds,” but they could not dislodge Ray who kept yelling, “Hey, I’m standing here.” (Do you think he watches too many old movies?)

 Almost everyone that showed up during the day was a familiar face and sales were brisk.  The warm and friendly atmosphere, along with the thousands of items to make woodworkers happy, kept things humming.  At 7:00 PM, the normal closing time, the store remained open to give the Lehigh Valley Woodworkers Guild and the Lehigh Valley Wood Turners Guild a private look at the store.  Refreshments were served, compliments of the store, and after much socializing and buying the store closed at 9:20 PM. 

 Mary Winkler saw the need for a venue of this type in the valley and has shown that she is a gutsy entrepreneur by putting her plan in action.  Her success will be directly proportional to the support given by area woodworkers and the customer satisfaction they derive from knowledgeable and courteous sales consultants.  All the ingredients are in place for a long and harmonious relationship and she appreciates your support.

  November Drag-in & Brag-on:

 Bill Grumbine first showed a Trumpet shaped shallow bowl of Wormy Maple that started as a flat plank.  The colors and figure patterns really stand out.

Next was a Wedding Goblet, also of Wormy Maple.

His third piece was a small Cherry Burl bowl with exquisite figure that was turned directly into the end grain.  It is difficult to imagine how Bill managed this turning without having the whole thing come apart.  It has to be a testament to either his outstanding sharpening skill or application of  a lot of Super Glue.

 Another favorite of the crowd was this small natural edge bowl cut from a piece of Slippery Elm.

Bringing up the rear was another fine example of a small bowl turned from a rectangular section through this Cherry Burl.  It is obvious that Bill has developed a keen eye for determining what will emerge from a given piece of wood.  Keep up the good work Bill.