Eastern Massachussetts Guild of Woodworkers
Mission

The Eastern Massachusetts Guild of Woodworkers (EMGW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of excellence in the woodworking community through the sharing of information in the art, technique, and business of woodworking. We aspire to these goals in order to promote and foster interest in our craft for both the aspiring and skilled woodworker.

Upcoming Guild Events

January 10, 2026 9:00 AM • 96 Holton St. Brighton Ma. 02135
February 14, 2026 9:00 AM • 74 Apsley Street Hudson Ma. 01749
March 14, 2026 9:00 AM • Lincoln-Sudbury High School, 390 Lincoln Road Sudbury, Ma. 01776
May 09, 2026 9:00 AM • Mike Bossin's Shop, 916 Pleasant St, Norwood MA

Upcoming Non-Guild Events

October 09, 2025 • Currier Museum, 150 Ash St., Manchester NH 03104

Another Special Member Discount

We just received notice of a discount from a new vendor. Here is a chance to purchase a variety of shellac finishes at Shellac Finishes (shellacfinishes.com), especially catalyzed shellac-based wood finish at a discount.  You can find various sizes and shades of pre-mixed solutions, dewaxed flakes, and associated finish supplies on the Shellac Finishes website. To gain access to the discount be sure to log in, then navigate to the MEMBERS sidebar tab and click Special Member Discounts

More Website Updates


A few website updates are worth mentioning.  Two TWIG session were added: October TWIG session entitled "Sharpen This by Chris Schwarz" and the November TWIG session entitled "Getting Started with Hand Tools".  Also added is the November meeting and presentation at C.B. Fisk, Inc.  Videos can be found by clicking the GUILD VIDEO LIBRARY sidebar tab and then the respective sublink.  You must be logged in for access. 

    Invitation for Featured Piece of the Month Articles

    Thank you to the contributing members for responding with your recent Featured Piece of the Month articles.  As a result, there are some really fine articles about woodworking pieces coming in the next few months.  However, there is never an overflowing supply in the queue, so please send in your work to me.  Thank you.

    Open Committee Positions

    Committee Positions. (Rob Carver)  We are still in need of volunteers to team up with committee members already on staff.  Committees are short staffed so please consider joining a committee in order to ease the effort to maintain successful outcomes.  Any amount of time you volunteer is helpful.  Here are the ways you can become a bigger part of the guild. One of the most rewarding ways to connect with other EMGW members is volunteering to help on a committee. Many tasks are very light lifting and can be fun and lead to long-term friendships.

    • Newcomer Committee: Make a phone call or otherwise contact a new member after they join, and become the first person they meet. We'll provide guidelines for that first conversation. newly elected VP Mike Bossin is the person to contact.
    • Program Committee: Help plan the Saturday programs a year in advance. We meet about quarterly on Zoom for 60-90 minutes. Shape the substance of our meetings and make personal contact with cool presenters. Let Rob Carver know if interested. 
    • Presenters: Long-time guild members remember the good old days when more presentations were given by guild members. Is there a topic or technique that you are willing and able to present to the group on a Saturday morning? Don't be shy. Raising your hand is another huge way to help the Program Committee.
    • Development Committee: We're starting to get more serious about fundraising and soliciting & collecting tool donations for auction. Mike Bossin is leading the charge. Anyone is welcome, and people with backgrounds in non-profit finance or marketing/advertising are especially welcome. We anticipate needing to gather and move tools, so a truck and healthy back are assets.
    • Nominating Committee: Developing a pipeline of on-going leaders is an essential need for any voluntary association. For many years, we've had a fantastic single-proprietor operation handling this function and it is now time for transition. Can you recognize talent? Talk to Rob.
    • The AV team can use another person to help with sound at our events, so we need a person with know-how about portable sound systems and amplification, who might also be a substitute when one of the three-person crew has to miss a Saturday session.

    Tool Swap at Woodcraft Woburn and Walpole.

     John LeJeune reports the photo  (L to R) of Ray Tice, Vic Kelman, Carl Tappan, Michael Bossin and John LeJeune is from the Woodcraft of Woburn October 25, 2025 Tool Swap.  They are standing in front of our new wood banner that Vic Kelman made with her wood burning tool for guild events such as these.  Other items on the table are recent guild projects. (Shaker stool, wavy cutting board, hand made brush and dustpan and hand carved owl and bear.  Additional volunteer/participants at Walpole Woodcraft on 10/18/25 were Dan Sichel, Cindy Forkner, and Matt Forkner.  Money raised from the tool sales from members and the public totaled $443.00. There are still some tools left if members are interested.  Thanks to all who participated and who bought tools. The event has also yielded the recruitment of several new members. We welcome them to the guild. 

    Slideshow of Recent Monthly Meetings with Presentation

    Mike Mascelli on Staining and Finishing

    Woodcraft - Walpole, MA

    December 20, 2025

    Credits Tom Shirley

    Visit to the C. B. Fisk Organ company

    Gloucester, MA

    November 8, 2025

    Credits Tom Shirley

    October Guild Meeting at Wolf Tree Wood
    in Dracut, MA
    October 11, 2025

    Credits Tom Shirley and Linda Smith


    Bevel Cut

    My Library

    by Andrew Davis


    Like many woodworkers who wonder about what to do with their scrap pieces, many also wonder about how many woodworking books to keep.  Andrew was one of those woodworkers until he took the plunge to do something about his overstocked woodworking library.

    In his latest Bevel Cut article My Library, Andrew writes about his winnowing decision process.  While his process is logical and ordinary, Andrew puts on his humorous and self-deprecating style along for the read.

    Enjoy reading My Library. I wonder how many of you will look at your books the same way.


    Isn't it about time you send Andrew a shout out with some feedback.

    Measure Twice, Cut Once - Wisdom From the Shop

    Tried and True

    by Rob Carver


    Sometimes woodworkers are confronted with unintended issues. And sometimes woodworkers find ways of solving those problems in unintended ways using resources that were unintended for woodworking.  By now you've figured out that one such resource is blue tape. 

    The Fine Woodworking magazine section on Woodworking Tips is full of these creative solutions.  Rob is keen to highlight blue tape as an example of a woodworker's creativity and open-mindedness.  For more read Blue Tape.

    You can reach Rob by clicking Rob Carver.

    Cape Cod Subgroup

    Six of the eleven members of EMGW's Cape Cod subgroup met July 25 2024 at the home/workshop of Josh Shapiro in Chatham. We got a tour of Josh’s well-equipped shop which he assembled over the past 8 months, starting with an empty room.  Josh buys used equipment exclusively and shared with the group his tips for buying equipment on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and other venues.  Contact Andrew if you are in or near the Cape Cod area.  - Andrew Davis

    Pictured from left to right are Steven Contin, Walter Henry, Andrew Davis, Josh Shapiro, Mike Walter, Rob Aronson.

    Mentoring in EMGW

    Mentoring in the Guild takes many forms.  Everything from a brief conversation or email on a particular technique to a full-blown cooperative effort to build an entire piece.  Most mentoring occurs informally among members.  However, the Mentor Program provides an easy way, especially for new members, to get involved in mentoring.  Members listed on the Mentor Program page of this website have expressed a willingness to help other members in a variety of ways.

    To read more about the Mentor Program, click here or navigate to About Us then Mentor Program.  To see the list of Mentors with their interests and contact information  click here or navigate to Members then Mentors.



    Featured Piece of the Month

    How I Made This Chair

    by Bob McKee


    It's been a while since we've heard from Steve McKenna.  Steve has designed and built some extraordinary pieces for sale often appearing in this column.  Apparently, he's been busy with more extraordinary pieces.

    In the world of professional woodworkers, requests for custom pieces sometimes come from outside one's forte.  Steve has made several types of chairs mostly in the style of Sam Maloof.  You can see the Maloof influences in this chair but when you read the article you will see at the outset he had to depart from his usual structural base design to satisfy his customer's request.

    With that, Steve takes you on his "adventure" (his word) of making this chair.  The story begins with a redesign, continues with different stages of shaping, joinery, finishing, and ends with a happy customer ending.  Perhaps not Hollywood material, but if this chair feels like any of his earlier chairs that I have sat on, it was worth the adventure.

    Let the adventure begin, read How I Made This Chair.

    Click Steve McKenna to send your comments.

    We are always looking to fill the Featured Piece queue.  Please consider submitting an article.  Remember this column is not necessarily dedicated to furniture pieces.  Tools, jigs, processes, and other woodworking related themes are also relevant. 

    The Woodworkers' Bookshelf

    Review: Adventures in Wood Finishing by George Frank

    by Dan Sichel


    Given Mike Mascelli's inspiring presentation on wood finishing, it was decided to leave Dan Sichel's book review of George Frank's Adventures in Wood Finishing in this newsletter for another month.  This is one of the books that Mike recommended during his presentation.  The book is available at online used book outlets.

    On a different note, Dan has some health matters to take care of in coming weeks so the Woodworker's Bookshelf column will be taking a break for a time.  While Dan is on the mend, his book reviews can be accessed from the RESOURCES tab in the website sidebar.

    Of course, feel free to submit suggestions, turn in your own review, or simply give a shout out – just email Dan Sichel.

    Map of Member Locations


    For in-person meetings, the possibility to carpool to monthly and FIG meetings, and other group gatherings may be of use to you.  Tom Shirley has updated the Member Map as of November, 2025 that displays members' locations on a Google map.  This is private information, so to access the map you must be logged in.  To interact with the map, simply click the map above.  You can also click Member Map from the Member Map dropdown list.  Once there you can pan, zoom in and out, and click a pin to see the member's name and location.


    Starting out in Woodworking? EMGW Members Compiled a Guidebook for You

    Considering getting into woodworking?  A team of members of EMGW has written a guidebook targeted for new woodworkers and a refresher for other woodworkers.

    The guidebook is complimentary.  It can be viewed and downloaded for your reading pleasure.  We hope that reading the guidebook will engender interest in woodworking and membership in our guild.  Click here for a priceless copy.

    Considerable work has already gone into renewing older and securing new discounts from various sources.  To review the list on the website you must first login then click Members and then Special Membership Discounts.

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