Our thanks go to Bob and his building crew for great work on our outdoor area. Soon Michele will install external power points to enable us to perform tasks outside of the main shop. It is intended to use some of the covered space for the dry storage of wood turning timber stocks.
A number of members have been active making items for sale at the open day. In the last week of this month we need to bring these items to the workshop for temporary storage, sorting and pricing. If you have not made anything yet but would like to contribute please speak to Tony or me.
The plan for the open day is to have a gazebo in front of the workshop from which sales can be conducted. We will also be looking for volunteers to show visitors our workshop and provide security for any non sale items on display.
Last week, we received an interesting gift from our resident plumber, John Pritchard. It is a small steam cleaner which we plan to attach to a chamber to facilitate steam bending of wood. Being able to bend wood beyond normal limits opens a world of opportunity for exciting projects. We hope to have a trial soon.
Good progress is being made by John Gygar and Les Arthur in getting more people active at the lathes. The metal shed recently reconfigured our small lathe and it would be good to see it in regular use.
As we progress, there is a need for additional leaders to assist supervise workshop activities. It is not necessary to be an expert wood worker to lead. What is more important is to have a modest knowledge of most equipment, an eye for safety and a willingness to commit to accepting responsibility on some fairly regular basis. To help potential leaders, we are willing to put together a small training program dealing with things such as accreditation, safety, maintenance of equipment and how to quote and deliver small contracts for external parties. If you are willing to assist through leadership please have a chat to me.
Happy wood working.
Ian Broadfoot
The first craft activity facility built by NMS was the wood workshop. The popularity of woodwork was underscored by the first survey of members that revealed that more than half wanted to try their hand at some form of working with wood. It was fortunate that the site, generously provided by Unitywater, featured a small unused brick building that was formerly a Noosa Council water treatment facility. This building was tripled in size with construction being done by members, assisted on occasions by local tradesmen.
The 85 square metre workshop was completed in 2015 at a total cash cost of about $25,000 including contributions from several members, Noosa Council and AMSA. Bunnings BBQ’s and working bees, run by members, were important in bridging financial gaps. By opening day in August, the workshop was well equipped with modern machinery, dust extraction, benches and portable equipment thanks to the generosity of members and several local businesses.
Today, ninety three members of the shed have completed the accreditation needed to become active participants in wood work. The focus of accreditation is about safe machine operation and personal safety. Woodwork skills are passed on ”shoulder to shoulder". Workshop supervision is provided through a leader's program.
The priorities adopted in the workshop are items for the improvement of the NMS, private projects by shed members and conduct of small outside contracts. The shed does not undertake work that is significantly commercial in scope. Nor is it attempting to be a manufacturing facility. As far as practical, work is restricted to ‘on site’ operations.
Currently, the workshop is open from 8 am to noon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There are no additional fees for workshop access and efforts are made to ensure all members can afford to participate.
For further information, contact the workshop co-ordinator Ian Broadfoot on 54743986.
