Save these dates: August 16th and 17th, 2024.  Why?  Lee Valley Tools and the Ottawa Woodworkers Association are hosting a free, two-day gettogether in the parking lot of the Lee Valley Tools store that will be of interest to new and experienced woodworkers alike.  Prizes, wood-objects contests, and free demonstrations all day are some of the activities that will take place. Click "Read More" below to obtain access to Lee Valley's detailed descriptions in English or in French .

In addition to in-person payment using cash or a cheque, or by using PayPal, memberships may now be paid using an ordinary bank e-transfer. Click through to the Dues page for details.

The video of OWA's January 2024 meeting is now online, posted on the 23rd.  It features a presentation by Charles Anderson, Joint VP and Program Director.  Its title is Big Project, Small Shop.   In it, Charles describes how his CNC controlled router aided in the construction of 160 whiskey sampler boxes.  The video from the meeting in December 2023 has been on line for a few weeks now.  It was split into two parts: Part 1 contained Show-and-Tell segments from members of the OWA while Part 2 was an invited presentation of the products and services available from Clarence Creek Wood Select, a hardwood supplier a little East of Ottawa.  Clicky links?  Sure.  Here's one for January's meeting (Big Project, Small Shop) , another for Part 1 of December's meeting (member Show-and-Tell) and a third for Part 2 of December's meeting (Clarence Creek Wood Select) .

In the November 2023 meeting of the OWA, Kevin Gordon recounts his adventures with a very large cabinet installation in his basement rec room.  If you appreciate precision, you'll be a fan of Mr. Gordon's work.  A theme of the presentation is how to create beautiful work while keeping cost down.  Lots of tips and tricks here, chief among them is the virtue of the 32 mm system employed for European concealed hinges.  Click the Read-More button to gain access to the actual post where you can click through to the video itself .

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 ...