Assistance with Local Guild procedures

L

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New member
Members,
My name is Dave Potts and I am a member of SAPFM and the South Jersey Woodworkers Guild. It is Woodworkers Guild business about which I write this evening, looking for assistance and ideas on how to spend money. Pretty easy, huh?

It seems that we are blessed with extra dues monies in our kitty and wish to purchase 'club tools' for the use of members. A quick round-about presented more questions than answers at our last meeting. I'm looking for guild or club members across the country who may have already found solutions to purchase and distribute 'club tools'.

A few questions follow:

1. What tools did your clubs buy as member assets, i.e. vacuum presses, mini lathe, a drill doctor, dies for creating wood screws and nuts (for workbench vices), or even a club workbench as examples? It seems to me any club asset should fall in the medium to expensive catagory. Tools that may get limited use in ones own shop but considerably more use between 40-50 members.

2. Did any tools really make a hit with your members?

3. How did you store, distribute, and keep track of club assets.

These questions seem to be a great place to start on this project. Any assistance with this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave Potts
[email protected]
 
I would suggest a wide belt sander. A tool that is pricey for 1 person, but great for a group to share.
 
Do you have a facility for the club?  Have you conducted a survey of member woodworking interest and tools that members have in their own shops?  Conducting a paper or electronic survey of interest and current tools owned might get your group closer to understanding what they need quicker than an open discussion about a wish list. 

If you don't have a facility, then you would be significantly limited in what you could offer for member use.  If it requires a trailer, it might not be a good choice.  Also, keeping track of who has what and tool maintenance would be huge problems.  These are things to be considered before the first purchase.  The wear and tear can be significant on loaned tools vs the ones we own ourselfs.
 
The Minnesota Woodworkers Guild has such a program. I have never used it. I would say to contact Craig Jentz for more info.
Mike

From the guild website.
The following tools are available for rental by any member in good standing from the Tool Meister, Craig Jentz

    Drill bit sharpener for standard twist and brad point bits (professional grade system)
    HVLP sprayer (American Turbine AT-3000)
    Benchtop mortising machine (Jet JBM-5, donation courtesy of Steve Holzgraefe)
    Photography light and backdrop kit (professional grade)
    Starrett 36" machinist straight edge (used for machine setup and alignment)
    Veneering kit (vacuum bag)
    Veritas power sharpening system

Rental Fee is $10 per use.

Rental Time a tool may be rented depends on demand, however it is typically at least a week or more...

The HVLP sprayer and Veritas sharpening system both require a $20 Refundable Deposit to ensure that they come back clean. The deposit will not be refunded if cleaning is required.

Contact Craig, the Tool Meister, at 651-249-5787, or by e-mail to [email protected] to reserve the equipment. Tools are to be picked up and dropped off from Craig's home, located a few blocks south of Lake Harriet in south Minneapolis.
 
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