Viking Wood Carvers Association
Newsletter February 2003

VIKING Chapter
     Minneapolis, Minnesota
             Vol. 29 No. 2

PRESIDENT
· Jim Forrey
 (952) 831-2758

VICE PRESIDENTS
· Jim Ayers
 (612) 721-6074
· Myron Asper
 (952) 445-7274
 
SECRETARY
· Nancy Dardis
· 952-888-3479

TREASURER
· Lew Frosmark
· 952-888-3650

PROGRAM COMMITTEE
· Jim Ayers
· Myron Asper

COFFEE COMMITTEE
· Keith Fredrickson
· Leonard Kampa

SHOW CHAIRMEN
· Carol “Swede” Bengtson
· Merle Erickson

MARCH 10, 2003 Presentation–

"Photographing Your Work" by Glenn Gordon
Glenn is a professional woodworker/writer/photographer who has written extensively on the artistic process and the works of numerous artists. As a professional woodworker, Glenn has focused mostly on furniture designs, and his articles have been in numerous woodworking publications. He will review some basic features of good photography and demonstrate how to capture woodcarvings on film. Glenn will also provide many slides to illustrate problems and solutions for getting good photographs that do justice to the beauty and uniqueness of a carving. Glenn is also considering the possibility of providing his photographic services to club members at the upcoming Har Mar show in early April. If the proper facilities can be set up, carvers can bring in their special carvings to be photographed by a skilled professional who understands creativity and wood.
 

2003 Annual Dues
They were due January 31.  Please send your check for $15.00 to Myrtle Brandvold, 9607 Palmer RD, Bloomington, MN. 55437 or bring to the March meeting. Early payment of your dues greatly reduces the time needed to publish a roster. Last year it took 5 months to finalize a roster and arrange mailing to the membership. Let’s do better this year.

The meeting of Feburary 10th was called to order by President Bob Pitts. There were 74 members and 3 guests (Dale Martin, Ralph Brown, Colton Meyen, Gunter Behrens) present. The Treasurer’s Report was submitted by Myrt Brandvold. The current balance is $3,813.75. (Full report is found in this newsletter.)

Minutes from the January 2003 meeting were approved.

The vote for new officers was approved and elected. They are:
Jim Forrey – President
Jim Ayers – Vice President
Nancy Dardis – Secretary
Lew Frosmark – Treasurer

The Digital Camera Committee concluded that the club should not purchase a digial camera at this time. Pictures will be taken by volunteers who now own their own digital cameras.

Swede spoke on the upcoming Viking Woodcarvers Spring Show scheduled for Har Mar Mall April 5th and 6th.   He reminded everyone who is interested to sign up immediately. Envelopes containing information about the show were passed out by Swede before the meeting.  If you need further information contact Swede. He hopes to have 100 tables at the Spring Show.

Merle Erickson also had some suggestions for particpants in the Spring Show:
1. Make your own sign with your name for the table.
2. Bring extra lighting for your table to show off your carvings. The mall lighting has not been illuminating enough.

Two letters were read by Bob Pitts about upcoming woodcarving events

1. Competition at the Prairie Canada Carving Show near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This is one of the largest woodcarving competitions in Canada and U.S. They will host Wildfowl Carving Magazine and the competition will be featured in their next publication. If interested, contact Larry Vanderhyde (204-661-3658)

2. An invitation was sent to Dennis Mathiason for the Seventh Annual Woodcarvers Expo in Menomonie, Wisconsin on April 12, 2003 at the Thunderbird Mall. You are encouraged to submitt a woodcarving for their competition that would fit their “A Disney Character” theme, which will be judged by the public. The cost for a table is either $10.00 or donate a carving for their auction or door prize. For those who participate, free lunch will be provided. If you have any questions, contact Jean Moats (715-664-8638 or moats@uwstout.edu) or Bob Dahlke (715-235-9039 or dahlkeb@uwstout.edu).

Venders present were:
George Effrem - Woodcarvers Store and School
Nelson-Johnson - Nelson-Johnson Wood Products, Inc.

Esther Allen anounced the Stenman’s Shallow Relief Carving Class. Cost $80.00 and will be held at the Forest Lake Senior Center in Forest Lake on June 6-9. The Stenman’s web site is found at: http://www.stenmanstudios.com/
Gen Jansen reminded the members of an upcoming Central Minnesota Woodcarvers Association's 26th Annual Show on March 15-16, 2003 at the St. Cloud Civic Center, St. Cloud, Minnesota. Contact Ken Ramler for details at 320-252-3530.

An appreciative round of applause for the outgoing officers was given.

The business meeting was adjourned and “Show and Tell” presentations were made. See listing later in this issue. Coffee Break followed.

Harley Schmitgen from Blue Earth, Minnesota gave a carve-in presentation on how to carve the human eye. Those who were interested brought tools and were given a piece of wood to practice. Jim Ayers brought in his video camera system so all could see. If you are interested in more in information or rough-outs, contact Harley at (507) 526-2777 or harley@bevocomm.net

 (Last Months – This month’s treasurer’s report was not ready)
BALANCE – December 1, 2002      3328.03
EXPENSE
        Dec Newsletter                          129.69
        Name tags                                      9.99
        Bank Fee                                        2.00
DEPOSITS                                         316.00
                                                            311.40

OVERALL BALANCE                   3813.75

EDITOR'S COMMENTS
This is my first newsletter for the Vikings Wood Carving Association. I hope you find this newsletter as informative as newsletters from past editors. I am attempting to use graphics to spice things up a bit. I hope the pictures turnout to your liking. I would like to include a section on member news. If you have carving related news to share (prizes won, new tools or techniques that you've tried, contests, classes, shows, tips, etc.) please send me an email or give me a call. And if you have any comments as to how I can make this newsletter better, let me know.

I want to take this time to thank Dennis Mathiason for all of his hard work and thoughtful inspiration as editor of this newsletter. He is a tough act to follow. I will try to keep up the same quality that Dennis has placed in his newsletters, while attempting to tryout other ideas and styles of my own.  Dennis plans to move up north, which is what he always wanted. He plans to build a house among the trees ? lots of carving inspiration.

Bill DeLong, 3816 23rd Av S, Minneapolis, MN 55407
Mike Rice, 4354 Metcalf Dr, Eagan MN 55122
Louis Nelson, 5016 Beacon Hill Rd, Minnetonka, MN 55345
Chuck Reisinger, 894 City Rd N, Hudson, WI 54016

Swede is looking for a carving book called “SWEDISH CARVING TECHNIQUES  by Willie Sundquist, Taunton Press. ISBN 0-942391-45-4. If you have this book or know of someone who has this book to ether sell to Swede or let him borrow, contact Carol “Swede” Bengtson at 952-884-4136 or SwedishGeppetto@aol.com

The Cannon River Carvers meet every third Monday of the month at the Ivan Willock Studio at 122 NE 1st Ave, Downtown Faribault, Minnesota. For more information, call Chris Willock 507-332-9901 or carve@whillock.com “… very causual, show & tell, and a new project at each meeting. We would love to have anyone stop by and carve with us .... anytime ....”

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Stephan Toman <RToman1120@aol.com>
To deal with fuzzies in basswood I have made a simple mandrel out of a quarter inch bolt, a washer, and a nut. I take a gray 3M Scotchbrite finishing strip and cut it into an equal number of rectangles about twice as long as they are wide. I fold the rectangle double, punch a hole in the middle with an ice pick, push it onto the mandrel, and tighten the nut. Using my Foredom, the square of Scotchbrite quickly rounds off. The abrasive is enough to wipe out the fuzzies without reshaping the wood. It takes a minute to get the feel for a proper pressure, but once you figure that out it solves the fuzzy cleanup problem pretty well. Be sure you use the gray 3M.(Ed note: This grade of Scotch brite is commonly sold at auto supply stores where it is used for auto refinishing projects).  Other colors tend to transfer to the wood. I know that catalogs carry pre-cut round abrasive pads, but these are much cheaper.

From: Kevin Crooks <kcrooks@terraworld.net>
If you are looking for the green pads, I suggest going to a rental store or a janitor supply place. A pad 1" thick and 20" in diameter will cost you about $6 and last a long, long time. I cut pieces of these up and use them with my Dremel to do polishing.

From: "John Groom" <jgroom@ontc.on.ca>
I make up pads on mandrels similar to what has been described. But I use a rivet for a mandrel. Cut your squares from the pads. Get a rivet with a 1/8" shaft. Place a washer on rivet, poke the rivet through the pad, and place another washer on the other side. Gently squeeze rivet with a rivet gun until the pad is held securely but not hard enough to break the shaft off the rivet. You can make dozens of these up at a time and they are ready for use when you need them.

From: Les Hastings <hastings@gisco.net>
I still use the mandrels that are made by Dremel, the split ones, solid and the tapered with the raised ridges. I use to hold the paper in place with small rubber bands. While carving in the shop after school one afternoon, one of the foreign exchange students was watching me wrap a pad with a rubber band. He disappeared, came back in about 5 min with rubber retainers for dental braces in hand. They are about 1/8" in diameter and strong as "H". No need for all the twists, just snap them on and the paper, fuzzit, or whatever is held securely. Bands are available over the counter in drug stores.

NAME                 CARVING              WOOD             FINISH           COMMENTS
________________________________________________________________
Len Kampa                  Santa Nutcracker            Beech
                                      Stinky the Skunk            Basswood                 Acrylics
Marv Meyer                Cinnamon Teal                 White Cedar           Oil Paint
                                      2 Duck Calls                     Walnut                     Spar Varnish
Duane Edwards          Ornament                           Basswood                 Acrylics                Merle Erickson Class
Duane Heng               Floss Every Day                 Basswood                 Acrylics, Oil         Enlow’s Rough out Clarence Moe’s Class
                                      Clown                                  Basswood                 Acrylics, Oil
Bernie Enright          Wood Spirit                       Cottonwood Bark    Acrylics, Deft
Hugh Salisbury         Collie                                  Basswood                  Acrylics
                                      Boxer                                  Basswood                  Acrylics
                                      Scottie                                Basswood                   Acrylics
Leo Mielke                 Cowboy                                Basswood                  Acrylics, Wax      Phil Bishop Ruff Out
Darwin Krueger        2 8” Plates                         Basswood                  Stained, Wax        Chip Carving
Vangie Krueger        Iris Relief                          Oil, Mat Spray
                                      Antique Thread Spool     Varnish
Gen Jansen                Wood Spirit                       White Pine                 Acrylics Wash, Wax
Bob Ristow                 Leprechaun                        Basswood                   Acrylics
John Sailor                Confederate Soldier         Basswood                   Stain
Dennis Mathiason    Old Wizard                         Basswood                   Aquarelle Pencil and Wax
Nancy Dardis             Spoon                                  Cherry                        Salad Bowl Sealer
Lewis Forsmark        Angel w/ Wings                Basswood                   Acrylics, Oil         From Shawn Cipa’s Carving Folk Art Book
Russell Scott             Angel                                   Basswood                   Acrylics                 From Shawn Cipa’s Carving Folk Art Book
                                     Wizard                                Basswood                    Acrylics

***** Click to see the pictures of these carvings *****

Ed Note:

**** brought in a ‘Poor Man’s’ carver’ vise. It was built from the plans found in ‘Wood Carving Illustrated’ (Christmas 1998) on page 10. The designer is Lynn Diehl. A copy of the pattern is provided in this newsletter.

Woodcarvers Store and School
3056 Excelsior Blvd., Minneapolis, MN  55416-0127 (612) 927-7491 (www.woodcarversstore.com)

Jim Abicht, Fine woodworking
Specializing in bases for carving projects  (651) 451-7217

Ivan Whillock Studio
122 NE 1st Avenue, Faribault, MN 55021  (507) 334-8306 (www.whillock.com)

Krantz Wood Sales - Carving & Specialty Woods
16748 Stanford St., Forest Lake, MN  55025  (651) 464-5632 (Evenings)

David Lindroth, Custom Cut Woods for Woodcarvers & Artists
8150 – 137th St. W.  Apple Valley, Mn  55124  (952) 432-7066

Nelson-Johnson Wood Products, Inc.
3910 Bryant Ave No., Mpls., MN  55412    (612) 529-2978 - cell phone (612) 644-4567

Chris Thompson, Carver and Instructor
(651) 457-4130

Gen Jansen, Carver and Instructor
(320) 252-3966

Bob Masse “Ruff-Cuts”
4930 Whitcomb Dr, Madison, WI  53711  (608) 271-2883

Brad Oren Sculpture Supply
Complete source for stone, wood, clay, abrasives & tools.

Rockler Stores:
Maplewood, MN  (651) 773-5285; Minneapolis, MN  (612) 822-3338;
Burnsville, MN  (952) 892-7999;  Minnetonka, MN (952) 542-0111

Woodcraft Supply
9741 Lyndale Ave S, Bloomington, MN  (952) 884-3634

Gregg McCabe, Stubai tool distributor
425 Madison St NE, Minneapolis, MN (612) 379-9342