For years, the OWA has not met face-to-face.  We held a 2023-24 season opener as an in-person meeting on Saturday, October 14th.  Rob Suarez demonstrated the use of Lee Valley's combination plane, while Don Duchesne briefed us on the history of the Stanley 45, 50, and 55.  And there was a special surprise for the members.  On a lark we recorded the meeting.  The footage -- Should we say bittage? -- was then edited, blended with Don's slides, and uploaded to YouTube.  If you would like to view the video -- it's about an hour -- just stomp here .  (You may have to click READ MORE first.)

When we announced a hiatus in our meetings last year at about this time, the Ottawa Tool Library (OTL) reached out to us with a proposal that we somehow partner to keep the OWA going.  Thanks to the OTL we were able to meet in person on a masked small scale, and thus keep our activities going.  For that, the OWA cannot express enough gratitude for the boost that the OTL provided. The OWA members who still hang on, the clingers, strive to resurrect the OWA.  A step in that direction has been to secure a meeting place large enough to house a re-built membership.  Namely, Lee Valley has offered us their seminar room, the place where they hold workshops, tutorials, and the like.  Time slots are limited; the only one available was Satruday afternoons from 2 to 4 PM.  Don created a monthly schedule of meetings for the first Saturdays of each month.  The only exception is the very first meeting coming up on October's second Satuday, the 14th, to skip past Thanksgiving weekend. So

Day after Halloween and we're still in for a treat:  Our guest presentation is by Alex Low, a native of Ottawa who practises fine woodworking and boat building.  Alex was recently featured in a YouTube vignette published by Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement .  Some of his splendid work can be seen at his web site .  So, be sure to join in on Tuesday, November 1st at 7 PM. As usual members will receive their invitations by personal email.

Our feature presenter in our first Tuesday of October meeting is none other than Jack Forsberg, host of the Great Canadian Rust Junkie Fest held almost annually at the Wadkin Temple.  Jack comes to us unscripted, ready to talk about anything, any time, any place.  He makes a living working wood, and is well apreciated for custom commercial doors.  Known for his passion for industrial shop equipment and its restoration, he is your goto resource for "they don't make them like this any more" restorations.  Want to prepare for this meeting?  Bring questions, about anything. Look to your email box for an invitation to Tuesday's Zoom meeting, October 4th at 7 PM.

Our 22-23 Season Launch takes place on Tuesday the 13th of September at 7:00 PM.  The remaining 9 meetings from October to June are held on the first Tuesdays of each month, but in September we give it an extra week to let parents recover from the beginning of the school year.  As has become the norm, members will receive Zoom invitations by email.  On tap this month we have: Wayne's World Wayne Richardson moved homes recently and thus had to tear down his previous shop to rebuild a new one.  Working with an experienced perspective of what works and what doesn't, he will take us on a tour of his new, almost finished, woodshop. Norman's Book Norman Pirollo has published an ebook entitled Quiet Woodworking , featuring, as you might guess from the title, working with handtools.  A little of Norman's background and a photo of the book's cover are just clicks away. Kevin's Gate Our Turn What we did this summer.  The prior three presentations form a gateway to th

This is the title of our own Norman Pirollo's new book, Quiet Woodworking.  In it he shares some of his experience-earned methods in woodworking with handtools.  In his own words he says this: "...my new book on the dichotomy of hand tool woodworking in a modern world.  Discover how hand tools create a quiet, peaceful, dust free woodworking experience.  Attain a more fulfilling, better quality of craftsmanship.  I delve into how my furniture pieces are created using hand tools.  I discuss how we need to maintain a tradition of working with hand tools in today's environment where technology permeates our lives at every turn.  Hand to eye coordination and tactile feedback are two benefits of using hand tools in woodworking.  I make a compelling case of introducing hand tools into woodworking.  Available through my website www.woodskills.com   180 pages. (eBook)"