2026 Summer BBQ/Woodworking Contest
Our contest in August was another success with good food, fellowship and a fun woodworking contest, Our contest was to make some sort of game out of wood and supply instructions on how to play the game. The toys were judged by the members and guests present. We plan to donate the toys to the local Methodist Children's Home.
“A Handheld Pie Slice Photo Prop Project”
Tumaini Cornett Media Specialist from Pye/Ingram elementary school in Macon came to our July meeting. She presented a rewards program called “A Handheld Pie Slice Photo Prop Project” that she would like to implement at her school to help encourage children to read more. When kids complete their reading projects, they get their photos taken looking through a piece of pie prop. See photo to right. She is asking our club to make about 18-20 of the 18x24” pie piece props. After some discussion, she will get us a full-size template and we agreed to cut out the props. She would like them by the end of August. We agreed to make them out of fiber board. She will then get volunteers to paint them.
For our June 2026 meeting, Steve Mellott from McDonough, GA was our guest speaker. His presentation was very informative and entitled “So you think you might want to buy a laser engraver--- Things to consider! He covered all of the many aspects of what to think about before actually purchasing a laser. He also gave detailed information on the pros and cons of the different types of lasers. There were some good questions and other info shared by our members who own lasers. To the right is a copy of Steve's presentation. Click on it to view it full screen:
Shopping for a Laser.pdfWood Planes and Finishing Projects
We had good presentations from a couple in our club at our recent meeting. Click on the below to view the presentations.
Wood Plane part 1.pdfWood Plane part 2.pdfAdding interest to your wood projects.pdf~$Heard Elementary School.pptx.pdfWe were asked by Heard Elementary of Macon, GA to make a chicken coop for their Agriculture (Ag) Department. The coop they had was small and very limited. They are the only elementary school program in Macon with that program.
Scroll through the pictures to the right to watch the building process.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) Update
Our club was asked to make some Charcuterie boards for SHP for them to hand out in appreciation to their donors. We were given rough sawn oak boards and collectively, we made 75 boards for them. Below is Brian Cornett, member of the of the Macon SHP chapter picking up the boards from one of our members. The boards were laser embossed with the SHP logo.
September 2025 Family
Wheelchair Ramp Project - Macon GA
We had the priviledge to help a local family in need for a large safe wheelchair ramp. Members of our club worked 3 days repairing and reinforcing the old deck and completely rebuilding the old ramp to meet federal safety standards.
See the slide show to the left for pictures of the build. Click upper right of presentation to view in full screen
Summer 2025 BBQ/Box Making Contest
Our August meeting was our BBQ/Box Making Contest. We had a great turnout and had plenty of food and fellowship. There were 15 box entries of all sizes and involving many species of wood. The overall winner was member Shane Gorla and his beautiful hinged box with inlays and drawers.
GA National Fair Visit
Sandy Kusuda, Jennifer Garlock and Mark Walton came to our July meeting to tell us about the woodworking competition they have each year at the fair. Sandy discussed the categories of the entries, the rules and requirements and deadlines for submitting projects. She encouraged all of our members to submit projects for competion.
Here are links to the 2025 fair woodworking related information:
Summer Woodworking Contest/Party (Click for more info)
Our August meeting will be our Summer party and woodworking contest. Each member is encouraged to make and summit an entry to be judged by the members and guests. Below are the rules for this year's contest.
Project: A hollow object that can be used to hold, carry, or store something.
Rules:
May be made out of any species of wood.
Must have access to the interior in order to place something inside AND be able to get it out.
Any finish can be used.
Finished box must fit in a standard brown paper grocery bag.
The maximum dimensions of the box will be 7" x 12" x 17"
Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP)
We were privileged to have Mr. Sterling Layton from this charitable organization come and talk to our club on February 18th, 2025. He described how they build beds for children ages 3 to 17 to ensure they have a place to sleep. The beds are possible because of generous donations from individuals and corporations, and they are assembled by volunteers. Each single or bunk bed setup includes mattresses and bedding. Since 2012, SHP has provided over 256, 000 beds for children in the US and Canada.
27 Members and guests attended our party. There was great food and fun for all. Almost all attendees won the many nice gifts members made and provided.
(Double click on rules image to enlarge)
2024 2x4ContestRules.PDFDid you know?
Click on image to for more info.
Our November meeting included a very good presentation by Bob Turner from Mohawk Finishing Products. Bob talked about many of their products that were especially applicable to woodworking. Bob shared many tips and techniques with the group in attendance. Click here to view Bob's presentation.
Bob Turner (left) and member
Doug Scharp
For our October 19th meeting, one of our members, Louie Bickett, demonstrated and discussed his woodturning techniques. During the demonstration he turned a small bowl, a spinning top and showed how to cut small rings on a wood blank with a skew. He also showed some of the other items he has made. There was good discussion during the demonstration.
Wheelchair ramp recently made for a member of Vineville Baptist Church. Old ramp was removed by volunteers from Vineville Baptist and new ramp was constructed by members of the Middle Georgia Woodworkers Association and other volunteers.
(Note: Click on upper right corner of slide show to view full screen in another window)
August 2021 BBQ Dinner/2' x 4' Plywood Woodworking Project Contest
We had a good turnout for our August BBQ Dinner and 2'x4' Plywood contest. The food was outstanding, and thanks go out to Pres Phil Hill and his wife Lynn for cooking the BBQ and fixings and coordinating the event.
There were seven entries in the 2'x4' plywood contest. See the photos for the entries. We saw plywood in all sizes from 1/16” to 3/4". The winner of the contest was Roger Moeller for his floating table and bowl. A close second was Randy Rowland and his decorative table. Thanks to all who participated.
(Note: Click on upper right corner of slide show to view full screen in another window)
Memorial Flag Case Project - Several of our teams are continuously busy making Memorial Flag Cases to be handed out for free to the families of deceased veterans, police, and fire fighters. Here are some examples. One of the flag cases was given to the uncle of a MIA Korean War Corporal whose remains were recently escorted home to Georgia.
Beads of Courage Project - The program is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen children and families coping with serious illness. Through the program, children tell their stories using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path.
Middle GA Woodworkers made wooden boxes to give to the families to store their beads. Pictured are some of the many boxes our members made for the project.
2018 Summer BBQ/2x4 Contest
Our summer BBQ/2x4 contest was held on Aug 14th, 2018. Although the attendance was low all those attended had a great time and had plenty to eat. The 2x4 only had 4 entries but they all were very good. Awards were given to 1st and 2nd place. There were only "Open" class 2x4 entries - no "turned" entries. First place went to Roger Moeller and his "Marble Machine." Second place went to Jerry Joyner and his beautiful toy cars.
