Entries Tagged 'Manufacturing & Woodworking' ↓

 “Regeneration: Fine Woodworkers under 30” competition winners were announced September 16 at opening ceremonies for the Messler Gallery juried exhibition that showcases 21 of the 277 entries. Russell Gale of Asheville, North Carolina, headed the list of seven winners, earning the Jurors’ best in show Award. Winners received prizes from woodworking tool vendors and suppliers, including Woodcraft.

 The exhibition will continue through November 22 at the Messler Gallery and online at woodschool.org/wood-school-gallery/current-exhibitions.  The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, home of the Messler Gallery, and Fine Woodworking magazine are competition co-hosts. Woodcraft provided a $20 gift coupon for each contest entrant and, along with Irwin Tools and the Rohlen Foundation, is providing free round-trip shipping to the Messler Gallery for exhibitors. Winners and their category-specific prizes are: Jurors’ best in show Award, Russell Gale of Asheville, North Carolina  ($1,500 tool package from Festool USA); Fine Woodworking Craftsmanship Award, Nate Blaisdell of Somerville, Maine  (Powermatic 2800 18" variable-speed drill press or equivalent); People’s choice Award, Phillip Leonard of LaGrange, Illinois  (Jet 16" bandsaw or equivalent);  First Place, Studio Furniture, George Dubinsky of Yardley, Pennsylvania  (Jet JWP-160S 16" planer or equivalent); First Place, Traditionally-Inspired Furniture, Virginia Blanchard of Pelham, New York (Powermatic 719T Tilt Table Mortiser or equivalent); First Place, Boxes, Containers and Lighting, Brett MacLearnsberry of Poulsbo, Washington  (Jet OES-80CS oscillating edge sander); and First Place, Turning/Sculpture, Bryan Klotz of Brooklyn, New York (Powermatic 14" bandsaw). Each winner also received clamps from Irwin Tools, saw blades from Freud, compact routers from Porter-Cable, diamond honing stones from DMT, and $300 gift certificates from Lie-Nielsen Toolworks. Professional woodworker Russell Gale’s winning entry, “The Garboard Strake”, is a sideboard with bandsawn veneers (black limba outside, Japanese ash inside), drawers featuring hand-cut dovetails, custom brass door and drawer drop pulls, and sassafras drawer interiors. The piece is for sale. “It is an incredible honor to receive the Jurors’ best in show for this piece,” Gale said. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the generous prizes from all the sponsors.”  Gale is moving to a new shop in the Grovewood Studios at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville. see more of his work at russellgale.com. Phillip Leonard’s winning entry is one of six chairs he made for his parents. The chair is made of solid walnut with an upholstered seat and back and a bent lamination crest rail. a graduate of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship’s Nine-month Comprehensive, Leonard is currently a student at Illinois State University and makes furniture in his home shop during the summer. “Winning the award was a great achievement for me. I was happy my piece was so well received by the viewers,” Leonard said. to see more of his work, visit phillipleonard.com. Peter Korn, executive director of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, expressed satisfaction with the first-time competition:  “The quality of the work on display is thrilling. Visitors to the exhibition are clearly awed by the creative talent of these under-30 woodworkers. we are tremendously grateful to Woodcraft and our other ‘Regeneration’ sponsors for their generous encouragement of young people who are entering the field.” Exhibition winners will be featured in the Fine Woodworking Readers Gallery. All work in the exhibition will be permanently archived on the Messler Gallery’s Web page, and exhibitors have the option of selling their work. For more information about “Regeneration,” contact Messler Gallery/Marketing Manager Victoria Allport at (207) 594-5611 or Messler Gallery. Woodcraft Supply, LLC, is the industry leader in providing a wide variety of top quality products, educational opportunities and one-on-one guidance to woodworkers of all skill levels. For more information about Woodcraft, please contact the store nearest you, visit woodcraft.com or call (800) 535-4482. to learn about Woodcraft franchise opportunities, call (800) 344-3348, visit woodcraftfranchise.com  or email

Medina, MN (PRWEB) September 20, 2011

Rockler Woodworking and Hardware has introduced the Steam Bending Kit, a unique device woodworkers and do-it-yourselfers can use with any steam box to give any wood species enough plasticity to bend or curve to their liking. With no moving parts, the Steam Bending Kit makes it very easy to bend wood used in the construction of oval Shaker boxes, instruments, specialized molding, doors, handrails, and many other applications.

“A steam box changes the way woodworkers think about woodworking,” said Steve Krohmer, Vice President of product development. “The Steam Bending Kit allows its user to change wood shapes as part of a new design, or to match the curves of an existing design.”

The Steam Bending Kit includes a built-in heating element that heats water and the contents of the steam box to 212° F. the refillable 5.3 quart reservoir may be filled and refilled to provide continuous steam when necessary on larger projects or when bending thicker, denser wood. also included is a 10′ long steam hose that safely directs steam to the steam box, and an assembly plan that provides easy step-by-step instructions on how to build a custom steam box.

The Steam Bending Kit and plan (42826) retails for $89.99. it is available at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware stores nationwide, Rockler’s independent resellers, Rockler.com, or in the Rockler catalog. for store locations or a free catalog, please visit Rockler.com or call 1-877-ROCKLER.

Note: Hi-resolution images and text to go along with this news release are available for download at Rockler.com/News

ABOUT ROCKLER WOODWORKING AND HARDWARE Celebrating its 56th anniversary as a family-run business, Rockler Woodworking and Hardware is the nation’s premier supplier of specialty hardware, tools, lumber and other high quality woodworking products. Rockler has 29 retail locations in AZ, CA, CO, GA, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, MO, NH, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, WA, and WI – plus 60 independent reseller locations nationwide, as well as extensive catalog and internet operations.

To learn more about Rockler, please visit Rockler.com or call 1-877-ROCKLER.

Read the full story at prweb.com/releases/2011/9/prweb8810257.htm

OAKLEY — Wes Askins’ workshop is for the birds.

Four chicks scurry around a brooder under a heat lamp, and a chorus of soft clucking comes from somewhere beyond the clutter of power drills, saws and sanders.

In the center of the well-appointed workshop stands one of the latest chicken coops the Oakley resident has built, a 4-by-8 structure that can accommodate half a dozen chickens and comes with two nesting boxes where they can pile in to lay their eggs.

The design also is meant to frustrate predators with an appetite for hens and their young.

“There’s nothing worse than going out to a coop and finding all the chickens dead,” said Askins, 58, a big man who’s partial to denim overalls and ball caps with a camouflage print.

For the past 13 years, the 58-year-old entrepreneur has parlayed his woodworking skills into a cottage industry.

Although the birds don’t appreciate his handiwork (“They don’t care. They’d live in a five-gallon bucket if you let ‘em,”), plenty of owners want to give their chickens a safe place to lay their head — and their eggs.

Askins and his two employees trim and frame coops with pressured-treated Douglas fir, with siding for the walls and shingled roofs.

Smaller than conventional chicken wire, the ½-inch square wire mesh that covers the sides and floors is too small for snakes and rats to squeeze through and thwarts raccoons that would tunnel under the wood frame, Askins said.

Most of the coops are raised on legs to protect the wood from moisture, and those that aren’t have wire floors.

Coops start at $275 for a 2-foot by 40-inch model that’s just large enough for two chickens, although the most common sizes are 4 feet by 4 feet, 4 feet by 8 feet, and 6 feet by 10 feet, and range in price from $625 to $925.

But chicken lovers have been known to drop more than that on their pets: Askins once built what he describes as a “miniature cabin” for more than three dozen hens, a 15-by-20 custom chicken condo that took two men and three days to build and sold for a cool $4,600.

Primed, painted, sanded and stained, even some of his mid-size coops resemble tiny houses, which is how Askins came up with the idea for best Coops in the first place.

A woman had commissioned him to build a play house for her grandchildren but canceled the order when it turned out larger than she expected.

Askins happened to have a set of construction plans for a coop and decided to convert the project into a hen house.

He removed the skylight, added more ventilation, and sold it to a rancher in Auburn.

These days, he designs coops to be more portable because he delivers plenty to tract homes that come with narrow side gates.

And those suburban customers come in all stripes:

“We get people in beat-up old trucks that buy ‘em and people in Mercedes’ that buy ‘em,” said employee Justin Pepper.

” … from laborers to doctors,” Askins added.

“We’ve pulled into country clubs with these things,” he said, recalling one delivery to a Danville client who lived along a golf course.

Lots of stay-at-home mothers buy coops as well.

“They seem to be in charge of chicken projects,” Askins said, noting that many have children in 4-H clubs.

Other buyers are raising chickens for the health benefits associated with fresh eggs produced in a chemical-free environment, he said.

Then there are those who simply enjoy country living and have the acreage to do it.

“Chickens are the new dogs,” Askins said. “You don’t have to vaccinate them, they don’t bite the mail man, they don’t maul your kids, they don’t bark or bite, and the gifts they leave you are edible.”

Askins estimates he sells 300 coops a year and has made deliveries from Napa to Tres Pinos just south of Hollister; other customers have driven from as far as San Diego and Riverside to pick them up.

As a young man, he shod horses just long enough to realize he didn’t want to spend his career stooped over, and for years after that he laid tile until a back injury on the job forced him to quit.

All the while, though, Askins built pigeon coops on the side and even now dabbles in other ventures, repairing furniture and building birdhouses as well as miniature caskets for pets.

He also raises racing pigeons, roosters and approximately 200 specialty breed hens, selling them and their eggs.

But it’s the chicken coops that raise eyebrows when new acquaintances learn of the niche he’s carved for himself.

They can’t believe there’s a market. They just shake their heads,” Askins said of the reactions he encounters. “Who would spend $1,400 to house a two-dollar-and-fifty-cent bird?”

Contact Rowena Coetsee at 925-779-7141.

As pop music blares from a Zara store in Bangkok, Suthip Nanthavong jostles with others for bargains that might disappear in days — from stylish thin-strap t-shirts selling for 490 baht (USD 16) to racks of blue-denim jeans.

“When you’re in the store, there’s little time to think. What’s here today might be gone tomorrow,” said the 30-year-old flight attendant, clutching two pairs of shorts and a dress.

Some call it “fast fashion” retailing — the apparel sector’s equivalent to fast-food. Across Asia, global brands are setting up shops as US and European shoppers cut discretionary spending, burdened by rising prices and a weak economic outlook.

US teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co and clothing maker Gap inc , which operates the Gap and Banana Republic brands, are among them. They plan to open their first stores in Hong Kong’s central business district in a few months.

Expansion plans by Abercrombie and other big names could hurt established Asian brands such as Giordano, Esprit and Bossini, rather than high-end clothiers.

Although Asian shoppers still aspire for luxury brands, many are embracing specialty stores with higher inventory turnover and better value, especially as a new middle class emerges with more disposable income and fickle fashion tastes.

“Cheap chic” brands are known for a limited run of new designs in as little as two weeks, a model that limits the surplus of unwanted clothes on shelves.

“Consumer confidence is very high in Asia, especially China,” said Shaun Rein, managing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group, forecasting fast-fashion retail would grow as much as 15% a year in Asia.

“In the fashion retail industry, if you don’t win China, you’re going to lose the world.”

Within four years, the Asia-Pacific apparel retail market is forecast to be 35 % bigger than Western Europe’s, according to market-data firm Euromonitor International.

Asia Pacific’s clothing market led the globe last year, advancing 7.6 % to USD 452 billion, it said.

“It is a pivotal tipping point for the industry and indicative of a new world order of consumption,” said Geok Leng Loo, head of Asia-Pacific research at Euromonitor in Singapore.

Abercrombie has taken a 21,000 square feet multi-level space in Singapore’s Knightbridge mall for a store, its first in Southeast Asia.

Casual clothing chain Uniqlo, operated by Japan’s fast Retailing Co, launched a new store in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district this month, its third store since November.

“A majority of consumers in the Asia-Pacific, while aspiring to high-end luxury apparel brands, continue to look to trade up first to more ‘branded’ brands that still remain affordable,” Loo said.

Zara, owned by the world’s biggest clothing retailer Inditex SA, opened stores in Sydney and Melbourne recently, while British clothing chain Topshop launched its first Osaka store in Umeda, Japan, in may 2011.

The expansion is helping companies boost profits.

In June, Inditex reported a 10 % rise in quarterly profit as growth in emerging markets offset a slowdown in Europe. The Madrid-listed firm plans 120 Chinese stores this year.

Demand for fashion and apparel in Asian markets is expected to grow 4.7 % in 2011, led by a 10.8 % growth in China, according to consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Local brands losing share?

Increased attention to Asia from the world’s biggest fashion companies poses a threat to regional brands that gained a foothold more than a decade ago.

“Giordano, for instance, is going to have problems because it is not considered stylish enough for the mainland market,” China Market Research’s Rein said.

“It is not cheap enough. It’s lost its cachet.”

Giordano has another problem: its shares, which jumped more than 5 % last Thursday after a media report cited speculation Inditex planned to make an offer for the retailer, are no longer cheap, Reuters data show.

Giordano trades at 14.4 times 2012 earnings, compared with Bossini’s 12.4 times and Esprit’s 7.7 times against the 10.7 times of Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index.

Shares in Esprit, which reported a 21 % drop in first-half net profit in February, have fallen 37 % this year.

Casual wear maker Bossini’s shares have lost 4.3 % so far this year, in line with a 4.2 % drop on the Hang Seng Consumer Goods sub-index.

In Japan, consumers in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district have become more frugal in the past few years, a trend accentuated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Fast Retailing saw Japan sales of its Uniqlo clothing chain fall 1.6 % in may from a year ago following a drop of 9.9 % in the first half of its business year to August.

“This is why we also have to look beyond the domestic border and expand into international markets,” fast Retailing Executive Vice-President Naoki Otoma said in Bangkok on June 23.

Otoma announced plans to launch the company’s first three stores in Thailand, including its biggest in Southeast Asia, which is set to open in September.

Thailand, with its 68 million people, is an enticing market. The Thai clothing industry is valued at about 860 billion yen (USD 10.6 billion), Southeast Asia’s biggest, Otoma said .

Alfred Chan, chief executive of high-end fashion house Ports Design Ltd in Hong Kong, is not worried.

Fast-fashion, he said, taps an entirely different type of consumer. “Fast-fashion is not innovative,” he said, adding the company had no plan to change its retail strategy.

But in Australia, Zara’s arrival in April is the talk of Sydney. Shoppers lined up behind barricades when it opened and soon cleared shelves of 80 % of its stock.

Zara’s 14,000-square-metre (151,000-square-ft) store will likely hit the market share of mid-size clothing chains such as Just Jeans and Portmans, owned by Premier Investments, and privately owned stores including Witchery.

Department stores also could suffer, said Jacqueline Fernley, senior analyst at Wilson HTM in Sydney.

Myer and David Jones have forecast flat to negative sales this year and their shares are trading near 12-month lows.

“You can think through retailer by retailer, who will survive and who won’t,” Fernley said.

That could hurt Westfield — Australia’s largest mall owner — and other landlords such as Centro, which operate smaller suburban malls.

“Is the market getting too competitive? They certainly have to stay on their toes… at the end of the day who wins? The consumer,” said Song Seng Wun, a senior economist at CIMB Research in Singapore.

(USD 1 = 30.805 Baht)

(USD 1 = 80.755 Yen)

(USD 1 = 0.705 Euros)

Ellen CookLeader Editor

The first hat has been tossed into the candidacy ring.  mark Bingham, current councilman, announced at the beginning of last week’s Honeyville City Council meeting he has decided to seek reelection.“I was not going to run,” he said, “but after the demand last month to hold a referendum on the biodiesel plant, I am.  I want the word to go out that this is my referendum on the biodiesel plant.  If there are some in town that feel we, the council, did wrong (in approving the industrial rezone) then don’t vote for me.”Bingham said he has done a lot of research on this type of plant and its operation and has been told by many citizens, who feel it is a good addition to the city, to see that the process moves forward.Mayor David Forsgren gave a nod of approval to Bingham’s statement and added, “If others want a voice in city government, they have until July 15, at 5 p.m., to sign up.”Forsgren said there are several council seats up for election in Honeyville this year, including three four-year terms (Richie Aoki, mark Bingham and Craig Gardner) and one two-year term (David Lee). Candidates must apply in person at Honeyville City Hall, beginning July 1.  They must be at least 18, a registered voter of Honeyville and a resident for 12 months preceding the election.Forsgren noted, due to a recently past senate bill, if only four qualified candidates apply and there is no opposition for any seats, no election will need to be held, saving the city money on costs to Box Elder County, who will be handling electoral services.Forsgren also took the time to clear up a rumor that has been circulating through the city.  “Contrary to the rumor,” he said,  “Yvonne and I are not going on an LDS mission and Richie (Mayor Pro Tem Richie Aoki) is not taking over as mayor.”The upcoming election was not the only item of the agenda, however.  the council approved the final adjustment to this year’s budget, making sure it balanced before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.  They also reviewed the proposed budget for the upcoming year, and after some discussion on capital improvement projects and employee wages, the new budget was adopted.  the budget includes a $1.50 an hour wage hike for the three city employees.  Suggested capital improvement projects included playground equipment at the Eastside Park, as well as money for fire equipment and a snowplow.

(For the rest of this story pick up a copy of the Leader or call to subscribe at 435-257-5182.)

I am making a study in making a manufacturing company of biodiesel. I want to know the possible machines and equipment that I can use for mass production in case I make one and the possible cost for it. I currently use manual processing of extracting oil with a presser only. the business is only starting so i don't expect to get the most advanced equipment but just normal equipment that is much better than just pressing manually or mixing the oil with a blender only. I hope you can help me and give me ideas.

Alright. I'm a freshman in high school this year, and I'm always hearing that it's really great to get involved with clubs. Problem is, I can't choose! I don't do any sports that would interfere, but I am an honors and AP student, so I get a lot of homework, which is my primary obligation. so, I feel that three (maybe four if I really can't decide) clubs (each once a week) would be sufficient. I already know two of the clubs that I'm going to take (guitar club and sign language), but I have 8 that I can't choose from. Help me out?

ASTRONOMY CLUB: Learn about stars and constellations
BETA CLUB: Service honors society for students who commit to helping others
CHESS CLUB: Students learn the basics of chess or master strategic moves while playing against other students and faculty in tournaments.
EURO CHALLENGE: Academic challenge team that focuses on current events and history
OUTDOOR EDUCATION CLUB: Promotes and encourages the management and conservation of our natural resources by working on service projects and taking adventurous trips in the outdoors.
PROLOGUE: Student members create the art and literary magazine, Prologue, while working on creative writing and editing skills.
SPANISH CLUB: Club members learn about language and culture through social activities.
WOOD TECHNOLOGY CLUB: The Wood Tech Club is open to all students of all abilities. The club provides students an opportunity to explore woodworking techniques beyond the basic school curriculum.

well i think spanish club is fun! i am in it and we go like ice skating and stuff. and if you like helping people then beta club would be fun! and maybe the outdoor education club! you get to do stuff outdoors and it sounds interesting! but truthfully, its all in what you like to do!

Most students only start out in one or two clubs, so you're doing fine! Join a club that is related to your interests and/or future career goals.

I think you're the stupidest person i have met so far on here. You say you hate it when people take your ideas? Well guess what sweetheart! Yahoo answers is a place where you help and answer people questions. Give them ideas on how to solve them. The whole point of this site. I hope you don't have kids .. cause you know, that's all we need! Stupid people making stupid kids.

i completed my b_tech &i'n fresher & i'm doing piping course. topics covered r
-introduction of piping engg
-pipe manufacturing technology & types
-valves
-flanges
-gaskets
-traps
-welding
-lining & insulation
-colour coding(ANSI)
-hangers & supports
-pipe racks
-special equipments
-corrosion & its effects
-pumps & pump head calculation
-plot plan
-layouts
-process flow diagram(PDF)
-piping & instumentation diagram & exercise(P&ID)
-pump piping basics
-fluid flow in the pipe
-chemical process equipments
-drawing generation
-G.A(general arrangement drawing)
-pressure drop calculation
-pipe thickness calculations
-grade orientation & its importation
-piping system as per ASME-31.3
-MTO
-pipe design thumb rules
-3D generation
-importance of pipe stress analysis
-piping software
r they sufficient or anything more should i learn to get a job.

I would like to find out what are the charges involve in importing children clothing from the outside EU? Also what legal paperwork is involve? is it a complicated process?

It's AMAZINGYou may also want to check out
liwu.info/48925/children-clothes

Amazing! is it you want? keensearch.info/52098/child-clothes

Try the above link & have fun!
zhun.info/48901/children-clothing

Ok any purchase under $40 is import duty free, over that price and you are looking at 20%

woodworking.com/dcforum/dcboard.pl

I've attempted to sign up to this forum using my three e-mail addresses. I've rec'd NO notice of acceptance. yes, I used bona fide details about myself. Here's the kicker–to speak with someone about an issue, you gotta sign in. Do I smell Catch-22?