| "A Well-stocked shop is a woodworkers' playground" |
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Editor's Note: The following article, written by Village Store supervisor Katie Van Leuven, is from the March 2009 edition of Sun City West's Rec Center News The Village Store is located in the R.H.Johnson Recreation Center Many of the items made by Woodworking Club members are available for sale in the Village Store. Katie continues her Big Adventure series of articles to provide you with insight into some of our chartered arts and crafts clubs. She has been visiting some of those clubs and will share her experiences with you through this series. |
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I set out with my reporter’s notebook and camera in hand this past August to visit the Sun City West
Woodworking Club, located at Kuentz Rec Center in a stand-alone building behind the main club rooms. I checked in at the front
counter and was met by Ray Peterson. Ray and I began our tour in the saw room, fully equipped with table saws, rip saws, lathes, radial arm
saws, panel saw – it was a woodworker’s dream come true. The 6,000 square-foot building holds $250,000 worth of equipment to keep the
club’s 854 members busy all year long. They can construct everything from kitchen cabinets to bottle stoppers, and everything in between. |
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| We walked from one area to the next talking with the workers who were busy creating. I was a little worried about sawdust as I have really bad allergies, in fact I even brought a mask to wear if need be. Much to my delight, the saw room was as clean as it could be. There was no dust flying at all.The central vacuum system has vents on the top and bottom to keep dust from polluting the air. We landed at the lathe area, which interested me. | |
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I watched a new member, Ken Richards, take a square block of wood and turn it into a round piece of wood. It was destined to be a table leg, or baseball bat or salt and pepper shakers. That looked really fun and it created lots of saw dust. We caught Dave Boulet working on a ring bowl. That bowl started as a flat piece of wood and was cut into rings. The final product is a useful, beautiful bowl. So cool! We then passed by the large saws (radial arm saw, chop saw, panel saw). These tools are used for large items like doors and table tops; and believe me, straight cut is the key. We proceeded to the lumber room where members can purchase common woods at competitive prices. It was stocked with quite a bit of wood, and reminded me of the lumber department at Home Depot. |
| The tools and machines in the wood club are all owned and maintained by the club. I found this out as we entered the tool room. There were all kinds of tools that the members can check out and use at home or in the club. This place is a wonderland! We then proceeded on to the assembly room where all of the folks – men and women, yes, I said women – were participating in the joys of woodworking. What a pleasure to watch them working. Anyway, this area is where the wood parts are glued, and there is no sanding allowed. It’s kind of like the old “clean rooms” when the first computers had to be kept in a clean, cold environment. | |
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Oh, let’s get back to the assembly
room. There is a table and chairs for coffee and chatting, along
with lockers to store items so they don’t have to be toted back and
forth. I recognized a lot of faces in this room. Many of the
members participate in charity giving and make toys for various
organizations in the Valley. They have made toys for Luke Air Force
Base to be sent to Iraq. If you need a kitchen drawer repaired, they
have a guy who does that too! You can contact the wood club for
information. We intruded on the board having a meeting in their awesome meeting room, which is stocked with books, magazines, DVDs, and videos for members’ use. |
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The assembly room houses the scroll saws, which also looked like fun. You can cut wood with a pattern and make very intricate designs. I liked that. I stopped and talked to Howard Peterson, who was working on his segmented bowls. They start as a big block of different woods that are glued together and then put on the lathe to create a gorgeous piece of art. They are absolutely amazing. I really appreciated all of the time that the fellows spent showing me around, especially Ray Peterson. I did a little wood working when I was in junior high, and that thrill came back to me as I toured the facility. To think that all of the wonderful pieces we get to sell in the Village Store start out as trees is amazing. Thank you, members of the Woodworkers Club, for your hospitality. If you are interested in joining this fine club, call 546-4722. |