City: Stratford

About Our Club: I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the Stratford and Area Woodworkers and tell you a little bit about us, what we do and how you can become a part of this interesting group. We are a group of about 30 people who are interested and involved in woodworking as a profession, business or hobby. The purpose of Stratford and Area WOODWORKERS is to create an atmosphere in which members can come together as a group to enjoy learning, showing, assisting, discussing and demonstrating techniques, products and services that will further the enjoyment of all aspects of woodworking as a hobby or business.

The mandate of the Stratford and Area WOODWORKERS is to "promote and further the skills of woodworking through fellowship and education." We have a set of by-laws that regulate the way in which we conduct our business and monthly meetings. This is a “not for profit” organization and any surplus over normal expenses and a reasonable bank balance is given back to the community according to the wishes of a majority of the members. So far this year we have made donations to the CJCS Christmas Basket Fund and towards the purchase of computer programs for the wood shop at Northwestern Secondary School. We also own a number of books on various types of woodworking housed in the wood shop library. These books are available on loan to any member of the club or for students at Northwestern. Where do we meet - Northwestern Secondary School (wood shop), Room 105. When do we meet - The second Thursday of every month from September to June at 7:00 PM.

Annual membership fee - $20.00 We have a short business segment at each of our meetings and normally have a guest speaker on a topic of interest to members or tour a plant or business of interest. Our membership is very diverse, from professional furniture designers, to cabinet makers, to carpenters, to hobbyists. As a result we learn a lot of techniques and tips from each other’s experience. Normally we have a couple of local suppliers that give members a discount on purchases from their place of business upon showing them our membership card at the checkout.

One of our activities that proved very popular last year was a tour of five member’s wood shops in conjunction with our year end barbecue for our June meeting. It would be our intention to repeat this popular “Shop Crawl” event. We also circulate a list of equipment, tools or lumber for sale by members.
What we do:

• Promote and further the skills of woodworking through fellowship and education.
• Group discussions and information sharing about woodworking.
• Seminars and demonstrations from industry professionals.
• Show and tell.
• Project challenges.
• Tour of Industry wood shops and businesses of interest.
• Tour of wood shops of some of our members prior to our annual barbecue.
• Contribute and share reference books and materials with the Northwestern Secondary School shop library.
• Charity/Community work – donations to the Northwestern Secondary School Construction Technology Program and to the CJCS Christmas Basket Fund.
• This year we built 51 race cars and donated them to the Children’s Aid Society.
• Test and report back on new products introduced by retailers.
• Circulate lists of wood working tools that members have for sale.

If you would like more information, please contact Gerry Cox (President) at 519-275-3621, Larry Robinson (Secretary) at 519-273-0356, or Doug Harmer (Vice President) at 519-271-6739 or come out to one of our regular meetings and see what we are all about.

We held our annual "Shop Crawl" on Saturday June 14, 2008. We had 22 members and 4 guests participate. Our first stop was at Roger Cook's refurbished antique saw mill where Roger demonstrated how to maximize the yield of good quality lumber from a log. After touring Roger's well equipped shop we stopped at the new Factory 163 wood shop in Stratford where the Cox family are setting up a fully equipped shop where a member can rent specific equipment time and do their work at the shop. We then travelled to Alan Riehl's wood shop where Alan had a number of species of wood on display for members to try and identify. Our last stop was at the new wood shop of Charlie Koch. Charlie showed us the way he designed and set up his new shop including his custom made lumber drying system.

We had good representation from members competing in our 2X4 Challenge contest this year. Each participant was required to make something out of a piece of lumber 2X4 by 8 feet long. As you can see we have some pretty skilled members. Prizes were awarded accordingly for the 2X4 Challenge as well as other door prizes. We ended the day with a delicious BBQ and refreshments.



First prize at our 2X4 Challenge contest
Child's rocking chair

























Second prize at our 2X4 Challenge contest
Music stand

Third prize at our 2X4 Challenge contest
Turned plate













What Little child wouldn't want to ride this horse?
One of our Stratford and Area Woodworker members built this cherry and oak gliding rocking horse from lumber that he harvested and dried in his home made kiln.

The body is cherry and the stand is red oak.
The saddle and bridle are dyed leather
The bit, stirrups and accessories are solid brass
The tail is real horse hair
The finish on the horse is Min Wax with 4 coats of water sanded polyurethane.
The accessory kit is imported from England by Gordon's Woodcraft at Heidleberg






Ryan really enjoys storing his toys in this fancy personalized toy box that his Grandfather made for him. Ryan's Grandpa is a very active member of the Stratford & Area Woodworkers group. It is constructed from pine with box joints on the front. The entarsia pig can be removed if desired. The toy box is finished with Min Wax and 4 coats of water sanded polyurethane.











Stratford & Area Woodworker member Paul Jackson wins 3rd. prize with this bowl turned out of willow wood at the London Wood Show. Paul is an excellent wood craftsman and can be reached at psjackson@hsfx.ca if you would like to communicate with Paul.

















Stratford & Area Woodworker Clint Boundy built this china cabinet out of cherry wood that he harvested, cut and dried from a tree that was growing in the area. The shelves and panels are from veneer-core plywood. The hutch door inserts are cut from water glass and the hardware is from Lee Valley. It is finished with Min Wax cherry stain and semi-gloss polyurethane. The unit measures 48 inches wide by 88 inches tall. Clint's wife Alana is very proud to be able to display and store their china in this beautiful looking unit.