The Guild’s “Old Town” canoe restoration project is about to get underway at Azland Traditions in Henniker. Professional canoe builder Tom Seavey will guide interested Guild members through the wood/canvas canoe restoration process from start to finish.

The first work session for Guild members will be scheduled for mid-March, if you are interested in participating please contact Nate Carey via email or telephone. All work sessions will take place at Azland Traditions in Henniker.

The restored canoe will be raffled to benefit future Guild scholarship activities. 

Harvey Best (left) and Dave enjoy a tour of Tom's shop and check-out a customer's canoe.

Tom Seavey (left) and Guild member Dave Frechette discuss the current condition of the "Old Town".

$450.00.  Located in Durham, NH.
207-323-3134.
Doug Andersen

The year 2012 is shaping up to be a busy year for the Guild Boat Builders. Our screening of the documentary film “Charlotte – A Wooden Boat Story” was pretty well attended despite the snow covered roads. 39 hearty souls enjoyed the story of the Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway, a fixture in the community of Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard. If you would like “Charlotte…” shown in your corner of New Hampshire just let me know and that can be arranged. DVDs of the film are available, $24/per…contact me via email.

In May we have an “ultra-light” boat building demonstration scheduled to take place in Merrimack.

A generous benefactor has given a World War II era Old Town canoe to the Boat Builders group. A professional canoe builder/restorer will be leading a group of interested Guild members through the restoration process of this canoe. If you are interested in participating contact me via email to sign-up. Location will be Henniker (the only Henniker in the world I hear)…date of initial meeting TBD.

The 25th Maine Boat Builders Show will take place March 16, 17, and 18 in Portland, Maine. This is the event that will jump start your boating season, inspire you to build a boat, or at least help you shake off that cabin fever. No, I was not paid to say this!

Click  to see slides of last year’s Maine Boat Builders Show.

I have started construction of a small boat for myself. A series of articles about the project will appear in Guild publications. Anyone interested in checking my progress is welcome to stop by my shop; advance notice please.

Is there anyone interested in being a Boat Builders group co-leader(s)? We need to spread our boat related activities throughout the State and to do that I need your help. Thanks in advance for volunteering.

Last but not least for now; a very special summer activity is in the works…stay tuned!

• Al Stirt
• Alan Carter
• Andy DiPietro
• Beth Ireland
• Bob Rosand
• Charlie Sheaff
• Claude Dupuis
• David Belser
• Dick Batchelder
• Donald Briere
• Donna Banfield
• Ed Kelle
• Fred Chellis
• Harvey Fien
• Jack Vesery
• Johannes Michelsen
• Jon Siegel
• Keith Tompkins
• Marcel Durette
• Michael Kehs
• Mike Foster
• Peter Bloch
• Peter Scheffer
• Ralph Tursini
• Andre Martel

Woodcraft and Rockler have expressed interest in hosting GNHW events of demonstrations and membership drives. A great opportunity for us! We can have two to three workbenches for demonstrations and exhibits of member made items as well as a small table for literature on the Guild and membership applications. The programs would be held on Saturdays often coordinated  with a store sale event.

Would you like to help the Guild make this a Great Year by volunteering to demo a skill such as turning,  hand tools care and use in joinery, carving, finishing?

Maybe you have even better activity suggestions.  Or you want to show off that prized bowl or small furniture item you made.

Please send your suggestions for this program. And most important let us hear if you want to volunteer an activity or exhibit item to help us.

Send responses to: membership@GNHW.org.

The speakers/live bench demonstrators list includes NH Master Furnituremakers Tom McLaughlin and Terry Moore as well as Allan Breed (The Breed School), Steve Brown (North Bennet Street School) and many others, GNHW members will recognize.

The N.E. chapter of SAPFM is organizing a list of local members for exhibiting work and bench demonstrations as well

Everyone will find something of interest at this event!

May 4-5, 2012, New England Woodturning Symposium, Pinkerton Academy, Derry NH.

Just one of nearly 30 demonstrations at the 2009 Turning Symposium

Hosted by The Guild of NH Woodworkers and Granite State Woodturners.

Registration is now open!

This year, you will be able to register and pay online using the member website. Of course, you will also be able to use a check and snail mail as in the past.

• Cost is $65 (includes lunch)
• Open to members and non-members
• Register online here (credit card or Paypal)
• Or download Paper Registration Form and send in check
• Get more details — download brochure here

JoHannes Michelson

Friday, May 4, is Youth Day, allowing any student to attend free. Several outstanding turners will display their skills and we are sure will inspire young people to try turning.

Saturday will be the Guild’s Seventh Turning Symposium featuring over twenty-five presenters, an Instant Gallery and Trade Show. A must not miss event.

This is the Guild’s only paid event and even then, it only comes around once every three years. Don’t miss this one. The 2009 Symposium included 28 presenters with 350 attendees.

• Poster available for download here

The tree is pretty nice, about 15″ in diameter, and quite straight. It is still in two long saw logs. If someone wants it for carving or another purpose I’m happy to give it to them. I have a tractor with a bucket and can load it, although the butt end might have to be cut once so I can handle the weight. I could easily load pickup-length logs.

It is located in Lyme, NH, the town just north of Hanover on the Connecticut River.

I don’t plan to make it into firewood, so if I haven’t found a home for it in a few weeks I’ll likely just push it into the woods.

Lee Larson
Lyme, NH
603-795-2014
landk.larson@gmail.com

I am looking for people who would be willing to volunteer a couple of hours and put a sparkle in a young boy’s eye. The purpose of this workshop is to help out Cub Scouts whose parents or guardians don’t have the knowledge or skill set to help their Cub build and race their car. Files, sandpaper and a jigsaw is about as complex as it gets. Here is an opportunity to have a great feeling knowing you helped a young boy have a winning chance on race day.

If your interested contact Guy Senneville at either gsenn@comcast.net or 703-3705 and I will fill you in on the details. I promise you’ll be happy you did.