On May 6th we will be back in the Hillcrest Lodge in Mt Vernon, and this month’s program will be presented by four of our own members. As usual, everyone is still encouraged to bring items for our normal Bring and Brag session, then after the break, four members will each do a special bring and brag presentation. Bill Baer, our Toys for Tots chairman, will talk about the process of building a toy logging truck and will show us the finished product. Geoff Peterson creates one-of-a-kind furniture pieces and will describe his three part wood ebonizing technique including an actual demonstration. Jim Bucknell showed his unique curved four drawer case at the April meeting, and will go into all the details on how he did it. Jerry Couchman, our program chairman, will do a presentation on how he built a 300 pound 4ft by 10ft live edge Sapele dining table for one of his clients.

The Barbo furniture company has been an active business in Bellingham for most of the past 80 years. Originally started by Chris Barbo’s father and uncle, it had to close during WW II, and also briefly in 1978 when Chris’s dad decided to retire. That’s when Chris got involved. Today, Chris and his wife Holly create one of a kind pieces and repair/refinish fine furniture and antiques. They’ve even done pianos! Chris’s formal education was in music and Holly is an artist. Together, they make a great team and enjoy what they do. They plan to bring a few examples of their work and tell us more about their business. For more information on the Barbos, see their website at www.barbofurniture.com

David Selditz was one of our guest speakers three years ago, then decided to join our club. His shop has been on one of our shop tours and he recently signed up as an instructor teaching Accuracy in Marking and Measuring. He has been a woodworker since his Army days and has lived in the Bellingham area for about 8 years. Last year, he attended the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine on an intensive 9 month course that included just about every aspect of woodworking. They studied joinery, wood bending using steam and lamination, veneering, inlay, marquetry and much more. His presentation will focus on the detail work that goes into arts and crafts furniture, including plugs, brackets, and the mechanical joints used with breadboarding. He looks forward to sharing his experience and knowledge to anyone interested in taking their woodworking to the next level.

This month’s presentation will be given by our resident finishing expert, Phil Choquette, who happens to be one of our club’s founding members. Phil joined the guild in 1984 about when it was formed by a small group of local woodworkers. Phil retired from the US Navy in 1978 where he served as an air traffic controller for most of his 26 years in the service. His woodworking career goes much farther back and included a cabinet shop in Florida. Restoring and refinishing furniture eventually became his area of expertise and still is today, although he occasionally takes on other woodworking commissions. Phil plans to discuss some of the history and misconceptions of shellac and share many of his trade secrets for great finishing. We’ll even be treated to a short demonstration and get the chance to watch shellac dry!