2001: A 2x4 Challenge
By Fred Baldwin

There was a strong group of entries again this year, which once again demonstrates the creativity and ingenuity of the members of the Pacific Woodworkers Guild. Well done!

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Novice Category

Harry Taylor presented a 3-foot guitar – and it plays – made from western red cedar. He used bowls to form the sides with the wood at approximately 1/16 in. thickness. The only problem he hasn’t quite solved is how to keep the strings super tight by only using pieces from the 2x4. The finish was varnish. He estimated that he spent 4 months on its completion.

Henry Schultz made 2 clamps, roughly 4 feet long, from maple. One end featured threaded screws for tightening, with holes drilled (for dowel pins) running the length of his clamp.

Stuart McKenzie made a wall cabinet with two small drawers from Ash. His hinge system was fantastic as the doors opened and closed so easily and his joints were unbelievable. A nice piece. Oil finish rubbed out with Bees wax.

Bill Fox took us back to the 30’s with an old fashion radio made with rounded strips (they were steamed) of oak. Min wax antique was the finish. And with a touch of fan fare he played a song from that vintage. Of course hewas the only one who knew the song...

Gordon Bednard used cedar to fashion a two-piece portable camp chair with curved back and seat. The idea came from a project he did for the girl guides and this is a real winner for those who like camping. No finish was used, as he prefers the weathered look.

Intermediate Category

Steve Hansen, using zirocote, built some old fashion tools including a plane, mallet, scratch awl, wedges, and miter gauge. As he described the tools he made, he noted that the overall shape of tools hasn’t changed in centuries. All were finished with shellac.

Gordon Bednard - a busy woodworker this year -also put an entry in this category. He used maple to make a three-legged music stand. The bottom piece was constructed as a 4-sided tube to allow his daughter to adjust the upper stand to suit. Finish was clear Danish oil.

Expert Category

Art Liestman, who I’m sure really wants to be a musician, presented three Daxaphones made from maple. A Daxaphone is a rectangular box with a sound hole on top and a small wooden strip is attached to the top to create vibration and hence noise. He then seconded his wife Jan and Lou Hafer to join him and play - well they kind of can carry a tune... They already have their first gig lined up as they have been asked to play at our opening at the Gallery in Deep Cove.

Marco Berera, using maple, made a business card printing press. The detail here was just incredible. The idea for the press came form an article he read in the Vancouver Sun, and then he did his research on the net. He used a Guttenberg press as his model. As he took the pieces out of a box - all were numbered as over 100 pieces comprised this press - Marco explained how he cut, lathed, joined etc the pieces. Macro estimated he spent 150 hours making this press and in addition he didn’t use glue. All joints were either doweled or pinned. The finish was brown maple satin, lacquer sealer then semi gloss lacquer.

Phil Laliberte, using yellow cedar built a wind-mill - would you believe - that was all of 7 feet high. The base was three sided and the vanes were close to 4 feet in diameter. In addition, the cam for the vanes was offset so that as they turned a pumping action is created which would draw water from the ground. He mentioned that the three things that dominated the west were barbwire, the six-gun and his inven-tions or was it the windmill. To show us it worked he placed a large fan on top of a stepladder for wind and presto the vanes started to turn - we never doubted you Phil.