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Made a lot of sawdust today, brought back a lot of memories

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J

Jerry

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My father had a cabinet, flooring, and countertop shop. It was a family business and we all learned to run the tools and complete jobs. Our car club had a walnut tree donated to us so I invited over the retirement squad to make the trophies for this years show. We were using table saw, planer, surface planer, router, and sanders for about 6 hours. Lots of noise and memories. I heard my dad telling me to watch the grain as I was using the planer. (he is gone but taught me a lot about tools). Lots of fun with the club people and quite a lot of progress on the 130 trophies that we need. It also reminded me why I left the family business and went to college.

The really good news, nobody hurt them self today.

Jerry
 
I wish I knew 1% of all the things Dad knew. And had paid more attention when he was teaching me.

Jerry - can you share more details on the walnut tree donation? Maybe in a PM?

I've got several on my property, but have no idea how to "donate" them to anyone.

Thanks.
Tom
 
Should be easy enough. If you trust them to fell the tree (which probably depends on what it is close to), then just tell them to come get it. Otherwise, fell it first and then call :smile:

Wild black walnuts are a treat, though. You might want to consider letting the tree die from old age before donating it. Also check into what it's worth. It's bound to be worth a few hub caps at least.

Jerry, I'm envious! No woodworkers in my family. I've got a few of the tools, but I'm not very good with them.
 
One of our club members had the tree which had died about 2 years ago. He cut it up into 5 foot pieces, (could have been longer), and took it up to a mill that is 5 miles north of my house. The mill cut it up into slabs, about 1-1.5 inches thick, anywhere from 6 inch to 11 inch wide. We let them dry in my barn for about a year and then started cutting. The only bad news is we used half last year for the show and the rest will be gone this year. So we might have to go back to purchasing the trophy backs. Our car show makes all the money for the club for the year. We hand out about 130 trophies for about 300 cars. The trophy backs cost a minimum of about $7 each if you buy them, but it could go up from there if you get fancy. So volunteers from the club have a little fun and make them. By the way, the club member donated the milling costs. I donate my tools and finishing skills. Our club has a bunch of very nice people and many of them are now retired so when I put out a call for this or working on a members car, I get a bunch of them showing up and we have a good time.

Jerry
 
Nice. Sounds like you guys are the real winners here
 
We have been in the club about 18 years now. There are about 25-35 people that are real active and another 20 that occasionally come to club events. When we first joined, our kids were about driving age and they were welcomed also. It taught them something about cars and let them interact more with adults. They still show up to help with the car show even though they moved out years ago. My wife and I donate a lot of time to the club but we get to see the area with car trips and you get to know people who have led different lives. That is important so you don't get into a rut.
Next work day is mostly sanding, not as much fun!
Jerry
 
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