Statement from Mary Lacer and the AAW Board of Directors (8/10/10)

On June 21, 2010 the AAW Board of Directors requested the resignation of its Executive Director, Mary Lacer. This has created quite a controversy within the AAW, with many members unhappy with the decision of the Board of Directors. In retrospect, the Board of Directors agrees it could have handled this situation better, and regrets the divisions within the membership this has created.

Mary Lacer’s supporters, who have adopted the name the Member Action Group (MAG), have launched a proxy initiative to recall the Board of Directors. Both Mary and the Board of Directors recognize this effort is dividing the AAW membership. Mary and the Board have agreed to stop the proxy drives and to cancel the August 28th Special Meeting. Mary and the Board have reached a mutual agreement so the AAW and its members can move ahead in a positive way. Mary has accepted the Board’s offer for her to fill an advisory position to help with the training of the next executive director.

The Board acknowledges that Mary Lacer was not involved in any financial wrongdoing. The Board of Directors simply wishes to move the AAW in new directions.

Mary Lacer, AAW President Tom Wirsing, and the entire Board of Directors, hope that everyone on both sides of this controversy can “bury the hatchet”, renew damaged friendships, and get on with the business of sharing our passion for woodturning.

Tools Explained

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat
metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and
flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which
you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere
under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and
hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, ‘Oh
sh–!’

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation
of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor
touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board
principle… It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable
motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal
your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt
heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer
intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various
flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease
inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch
wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground
after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle
firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops
to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the
trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside
edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile
strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under
lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on
your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips
screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used
to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering
your palms.  Also see Pry Bar.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or
bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays
is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts
adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of
cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on
contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector
magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for
slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: (A personal favorite!!) Any handy tool that you
grab and throw across the garage while yelling ‘Son of a BITCH!’ at the top
of your lungs.. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

Hope you found this informative.