LumberJocks eMag - July 2008 Issue

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Welcome to the July 2008 issue of the LumberJocks eMag:

	From the Editor
	LJ Awards & Challenges
	Other LJ Events
	Sister Sites
	Focus on.... Pens
	Where In The World Is MsDebbieP?
	Tutorials & Other "How-To's"
	It's Very STAT-ifying
	Promoting LumberJocks

From the Editor

Hello July!

Over half the year has come and gone, leaving us with just a few more months in 2008 to finish our "to do" lists that we set out for ourselves back in the new year.

Here at LJ.com, we have already had several challenges and other events to inspire us, challenge us, and entice us to envision and create special masterpieces of woodworking art!

This month features the Summer Woodworking Awards, so get those sketchbooks out and start designing those always-inspiring entries!

I look forward to watching people's projects develop and then, of course, seeing the final results for the Awards event. And now, I'd better put away the keyboard and start designing my projects!

~Debbie

LJ Awards & Challenges

LumberJocks Woodworking Awards - Summer 2008

It’s time to get busy and creative again… Summer 2008 edition of the LumberJocks Woodworking Awards is here.

Feel free to compete in one or both of the following categories:

One Man’s Junk – … is a LumberJock’s treasure! We’re testing your creativity on this one. So, put your woodworking caps on and think of an innovative way to reuse some old hardware, reclaimed wood and/or recycled junk and turn it into something unique and special. In the description of your entry give us a bit of history on the “junk” and how it inspired you to create the end product.

Serve It Up With Class – Summer is the time to take your meals and refreshments outside. Use your woodworking skills to create a serving tray using at least 2 different varieties of wood. Use inlay, marquetry, carving, stains and/or any other woodworking techniques to turn your multi-wood variety serving tray into a piece of art!

Thanks to our great Awards Sponsors you can win some very cool prizes in each category. You also have a chance of winning a unique rosewood trophy as the Best Overall LumberJock. Excellent way of decorating your workshop, huh?

I know you’re eager to see the prizes and read all the details and rules so the last piece of information that I need to share with you is the entry deadline and that is July 31, 2008 at 3 PM CDT.

Click here to enter the wonderful world of LumberJocks Woodworking Awards Summer 2008.

Other LJ Events

LumberJocks' Picnics
Throughout the year many LumberJocks get together for what have become known as "LumberJock Picnics". The following are in the plans. If you'd like to arrange a picnic in your area, just let me know and I'll post the information in the eMag. (The more notice you can give, the more opportunities people have to make arrangements.)

SW Ontario: July 13. Host: MsDebbieP
Washington State: July 26. Host: chamoruboy

Pen Swap #2

Yes, back by popular demand is the Pen Swap, organized by itsme_timd. The first pen swap was a huge success, and has now grown to 13 participants! Be sure to watch the journey and enjoy the contributions by the woodworkers. The journey starts here.

Sister Sites

GardenTenders.com Awards
The first ever Summer Gardening Awards has been announced! "Edible Beauty" and "Indoors Out" are the two categories waiting for your entries! Read more here.

HomeRefurbers.com Awards
With the LumberJocks and GardenTenders sites having their Summer Awards events, you know that there has to be one for HomeRefurbers as well! The first HR Awards will focus on "Decked Out In Comfort". Read more here.

Focus on.... Pens

With the huge succes of the Pen Swap, organzied by our LJ members, I thought it would be a good idea to see what all the fuss is about regarding pen making.

According to information posted at Wikipedia, reed pens were the first used back at 3000 BC. By the seventh century most writing tools were quill pens although a metal tip was discovered from the year 79. The metal tip was patented in the 1800's and history, at this time, also saw its first fountain pen. From there we got the ballpoint pen, erasable pens and felt-tipped pens.

Today, woodworkers are turning their own pens using pen blanks (wood and other material) and the metal components, the pen kit. You can choose from slimline, cigar pens, and many other styles, which of course can be adapted by what you do on the lathe with the blank.

Here are some inspirations, posted by our members:

See all the projects tagged as "pen" here.
Blogs tagged as "pen" are listed here
And here is a video by Mot showing how to turn a pen blank.

WARNING: I hear that pen making is addictive, so if you haven't taken that leap and given it a try, don't say we didn't warn you!!

Where In The World Is MsDebbieP?

Tour Manager, Writer, Designer: Douglas Bordner
Host: MsDebbieP

Have you had the priviledge of having your shop "inspected"?

Check out the previous tours to see what a wonderful opportunity this is and now painless it is for the woodworker! All you have to do is contact Douglas Bordner and he'll take care of the rest!

Tutorials & Other "How-To's"

As usual, the LumberJocks have been busy over the past month sharing woodworking tips, tricks, and plans with others.

A Unique Opportunity: Cutlist Plugin For Sketchup
A special announcement first has to be made about "Cutlist 4.0", a plugin for Sketchup. It was beta-tested by some of our very own LumberJocks and is, at this time, being released exclusively to members of LumberJocks.com! WOW -- we are the first to have access to this new tool. How exciting. For more information on this wonderful opportunity visit daltxguy's announcement here. On behalf of all the LumberJocks I give a big "WOO HOO Thank you".

Blogs & Forum Discussions

FORUM TALK

using needlework with woodworking
removing stripped screws
sharpening chisels
haunched tenon joinery
making keys for mitered corners
climate control re: warping
corn cob pen blanks
cauls for panel gluing
surfacing rough lumber - without a jointer
finishing drawers
homemade tablesaw accessories

Project Photos

We BLOGGED it:

understanding plywood (Betsy)
building a row boat (Scotach)
jig for thin materials (moshel)
sandpaper tips (Betsy)
veneer on veneer (Davesfunwoodworking)
fixing a sliver "oops" (Betsy)
applying a wax finish (gizmodyne)
gluing/fitting hanging doors (ChicoWoodnut)
sharpening a cabinet scraper (Skip)
building a deck (Dick Cain)
jig for curved surfaces (Skip)
simple square inlay (Teenage Woodworker)
mortise and tenons (kem)
garden bench with table (gwurst)
coopering (jockmike2)
"Gate" tips (NapaMike)
arched table (JohnFrey)
fuming (gizmodyne)
applying shellac (gizmodyne)
flocking (GaryK)
childproof drawer (GaryK)

Project Photos

It's Very STAT-ifying

Look at us! We are 4, 789 woodworkers making 232, 511 comments on 8,330 projects, 4,956 blogs, 379 reviews, and 3,759 forum topics!

Promoting LumberJocks

Why Promote?

more activity means more advertising potential
more advertising = site maintenance fees covered
more advertising = more "perks" and services for the members

How To Help

word of mouth: talk about the site with woodworkers and woodworking companies' managers/employees
distribute press releases, flyers, etc as they are provided, for special events
place a link to LJ.com on your personal websites/blogs
use your LJ profile as part of your business website
use the badges and widgets provided, on your sites
let potential advertisers know about our advertising information
take the time to check out the company interviews posted
make a personal donation to the site
purchase items through the LJ Store
and of course, don't forget to wear your LJ t-shirt or LJ Hat!