General meetings are held on a monthly basis. Each year certain meetings are reserved for special topics like our Jig Night, our Auction & Swap Meet, our Super Show & Tell, our Woodworker’s Challenge, or our Christmas party.
SWWA also holds other special events including National Speakers, Saturday Seminars, and an Annual Family Picnic.
Making the basic tasks of woodworking easier, faster, and/or more accurate is the function of jigs. They may be used with another tool, be that a saw, router or other instrument. Jigs can be made from scratch and can be as simple as block that provides a common size for cutouts. It can be complicated. It can be a purchased device. Jigs can be anything. The key is that they simplify woodworking.
The April SWWA meeting is reserved for members to bring in their jigs and describe them. While the newsletter talks about each jig, being at the meeting is better.
Sometimes, the meeting is moved to another month to accommodate a particular meeting topic. This is the case in 2014 when this special meeting was in July. See more here. We won’t have this meeting in 2015 but may add back in the future.
Annual Jig Night – Generally April – None for 2015
One man’s junk is another’s treasures!
How appropriate for SWWA’s May meeting when attendees bring items to be sold in either the Swap Meet or the Auction. See more here.
Annual Auction & Swap Meet – May
Our members take center stage at the August general meeting. We have no special speaker just focus on member’s projects. Members can take longer to discuss their projects on this great summer treat.
Super Show & Tell – Generally August
Woodworker’s Challenge – November
The Woodworker’s Challenge was launched in 2006 with some pretty strict rules – the project could use no more than 16 board feet of wood or 16 square feet of sheet goods but no less than 10. To encourage participation, these rules were removed and six categories were added – Furniture, Accessories, Turned Projects, Scrolled Projects, Toys, and What-Not. Ribbons are awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and honorable mention. Our 2012 event had 39 projects from 28 different people while in 2013, we had 33 projects from 22 people! In 2014 we added a category, Carved & Sculpted Projects, and added Best in Show. We saw 44 projects from 23 people. See more here.
Christmas Party – December
We finish each year with a celebration! Gathering at a local restaurant, we fill the hallway with toys that are donated for the underprivileged children of our area. We bring door prizes. We have a great meal and recognize those who give a little more effort in support of the club. See more here.
Each August members gather for a potluck picnic. The club provides the meat and everyone brings a dish to pass- appetizers, salads, vegetables, desert. In addition to the food, we also have a member gallery so family members can see some of the great projects produced by members. For light entertainment, a woodworking crossword puzzle is also distributed. See more here.
SWWA has an abundance of talent but often we like to bring others to Syracuse for specialized training. Speakers over our 23 years included Frank Klausz, Clark Pell, Doug Stowe, and John Wilson. The Board is always looking for ideas from its members as to what speakers they’d like. For more information on past events, click here. COMING SOON
Our monthly meetings are a great place to learn but with an average of 70-80 people at a meeting hands on learning is not possible. In 2001 we began holding Saturday Seminars that are focused on providing hands on training. Over the years we’ve held sessions on bandsaw boxes, bandsaw tuning, bowl making, french polishing, hand cutting dovetails, hand plane use jointer tuneup and use, pen making, router use – both beginner and advanced, scrolling, sharpening, tablesaw safety & use, and veneering. The Board is working to schedule repeats of popular classes and new classes in 2015. See more here. COMING SOON