Forgot password
Eastern Massachussetts Guild of Woodworkers

Upcoming Guild Events

June 11, 2022 10:00 AM • Home of Jim T. - Worcester
June 20, 2022 7:00 PM •
September 10, 2022 9:00 AM • Millis, MA at a Guild member's shop
October 08, 2022 9:00 AM • Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School
November 12, 2022 9:00 AM • Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

Map of Member Locations

For in-person meetings, the possibility to carpool to monthly and FIG meetings may be of use to you.  Tom Shirley has updated the Member Map that displays members' locations on a google map.  To access the map, log in, click the Member tab, then from the drop-down list click Member Map.  User instructions can be found there.

Bevel Cut


When you’re considering a new tool or service, where do you go to assist your decision making?  There are no shortages of website locations and YouTube videos to move you from ignorant to aware, or negative to positive, or unsure to whatever.  But by now we all know that everything one reads on the Internet does not carry the authoritative information one seeks.

In the May issue, Andrew writes about customer reviews and their locations where potential buyers go for acquiring accurate, trustworthy woodworking information from actual users.  After loads of experience and research, Andrew feels very comfortable with the location of his primary choice.  Click “The Customer is King, or Maybe Not” to find his go-to resource.  Personally speaking, I'd give this article.

Andrew welcomes your feedback.

Measure Twice, Cut Once



Work Slow; It's Faster

Rob Carver

Bigger is Better.  Really?  Well, sometimes.  Cheaper?  Not always favorable in the cost/benefit analysis.  Faster?  The temptation to skip a step or dare I say not measure twice, is sometimes a difficult option to avoid despite echoes of Ben Franklin's warning that "haste makes waste".  In this May issue of Work Slower; It's Faster, Rob brings to us thoughtful support to consider our woodworking process with respect to our desire to be more productive.  In fact, being more thoughtful while working is a good first step to being more productive.  We like to use machines; why should we try to be one?

You can reach Rob for comments and additional information, click Rob Carver.

Featured Piece of the Month


Getting Started in Woodworking

A Guidebook for the Novice

By The EMGW Guidebook Team

Various members of EMGW led by Andrew Davis have been involved with planning, designing, writing, reviewing, formatting, and writing more a guidebook for beginners in woodworking.  The mission of this project has been to supply a document that would provide insight and a morale boost to someone who has an interest in woodworking but not sure how to answer the questions, how do I get started, and what do I need to know.  This all-volunteer, multi-month project attempts to provide answers to that person with a compendium of instructional and informative articles to build awareness and confidence.  That being said, I'm guessing that even experienced woodworkers will get something out of reading the guidebook.

The guidebook is by far a worthy addition to this Featured Piece column.  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.

Click here to send a comment to Andrew Davis.

Contribute to the Featured Piece of the Month column.  Click my email address to send your draft anytime and I'll begin to schedule its publication.  I can assist your organizing, formatting, and picture insertions so don't let those issues stop you from documenting your projects and revealing your work.  Content can be as detailed (or not) as you like.

Remember this column is not necessarily dedicated to furniture pieces.  Tools, jigs, processes, and other woodworking related themes are also relevant.

Old Iceland Furniture

Tom Shirley and his wife traveled to Iceland last June 2021 where they visited a traditional sod home museum in Glaumbær.  In the museum, Tom took photos of much of the old handmade furniture.  He even found an old woodworking bench and some tools including a lathe.  See the slideshow of Tom's pictures below.

Social Media

To view and access EMGW social media sites click Instagram and Facebook.  You don't need to be a member for a quick view.

Board of Directors 2021 - 2022

At the June, 2021 annual meeting the following were elected to the EMGW Board of Directors:

Tim Holiner, President (re-elected)

Ken Zoller, Vice President (re-elected)

Don Cole, Treasurer (re-elected)

Tom Shirley, Secretary (re-elected)

All candidates were elected unanimously.

Mentoring in the 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 Mentor members with their interests and contact information, click here or navigate to Members then Mentors.

Dan Sichel's Research: Economic History of Nails

Did you know that in 1810, the use of nails in the US was comparable, as a measure of nominal GDP, to household purchases of personal computers and peripherals or air travel in our modern times?  That's just one nugget in guild member Dan Sichel's recent paper that caught the eye of NPR's Planet Monkey program for an interview. 

You may remember Dan's mahogany dining table featured as Piece of the Month last year.  So you might think the interview was about woodworking -- but, only peripherally.  You see, under the guise of an accomplished woodworker, Dan has a full-time job - Professor of Economics at Wellesley College.  Dan recently wrote "The Price of Nails Since 1695: A Window into Economic Change" that was the basis of the interview.  Presented in a ten minute podcast, Dan discusses his research on what we can learn about the US economy from the economic history of nails. 

Look forward to a light treatment of a serious paper by clicking Dan's Podcast. Also look forward to another featured piece by Dan later this year.

EMGW Woodworking Exhibit at Old Sturbridge Village

As part of the 75th Anniversary celebrations at Old Sturbridge Village, EMGW participated in the OSV Woodworking Weekend on October 9 & 10, 2021 (see slideshoew below).  The Village held a Grand Opening Ceremony for the new Cabinetmaking Shop on the Common, and EMGW had a front-row seat for the festivities, under a tent where we displayed members’ work and did some demonstrations for visitors. Members may recall that our September field trip was initially scheduled to get a preview of the new shop with Master Cabinetmaker Chris Nassise. Due to COVID, we postponed that visit until the spring, but Chris invited us to show how the methods of the early nineteenth century have evolved and live on.

A variety of objects were on loan from Guild members Michael Bossin, Rob Carver, Ann Dinsmoor, Steve Hoffman, Bob McKee, Ed O’Neil, Mike Roughan, Tom Shirley, Rick Silva, Jim Tartaglia, Jim Thompson, and Ken Zoller. Most of these folks also spent time in the Village during the event, chatting with visitors and Village staff about the Guild and woodworking, distributing Guild postcards, and doing some demonstrations. Thanks to numerous members and the editing of Tom Shirley, we had a slide show running continuously to showcase some eye-catching furniture pieces. Among the visitors we met several local woodworkers and possibly recruited a few new members for EMGW.

In addition to the display items, Ann had brought a two-board sample illustrating a dovetail joint. Kids and adults delighted in exploring how the joint works. Steve supplied toys from the Toys for Tots program from a few years back. The cars and articulated creatures were a big hit, attracting children, parents, and grandparents.  

Tom demonstrated the use of handsaws, shooting boards, and hand planes to construct small boxes with perfect mitered corners, and Rob used a shaving horse, drawknife, and spokeshaves to make a Paul Sellers milking stool. All the display pieces drew praise, especially Ken Zoller’s Machinist’s Tool Chest, Jim Tartaglia’s segmented bowl and mahogany tilt-top table with its inlaid veneer top, Bob McKee’s Krenov-inspired curved-front display cabinet, Ed O’Neil’s Morris ottoman, Rob Carver’s sackback Windsor chair, and Mike Bossin’s mantle clock. We had two shaker stepstools, by Ann and Tom, and people found the comparison vey interesting as well. More than a few visitors asked about purchasing or commissioning items!

The featured speaker at the shop dedication was Brock Jobe, renowned authority on early American furniture now retired from Winterthur, and on the board at OSV. Brock has spoken to the Guild in the past. One additional surprise was a sighting and brief encounter with Norm Abram, who also played a role in the creation of the new shop.

We had a lot of fun, met many people, extolled the virtues of woodworking and our Guild, and strengthened our own bonds while meeting people from around the country and several nations.  Our OVS hosts could not have been more gracious, and (as they say) a good time was had by all. We look forward to on-going relationship with the Village.

Rob Carver


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software