MAROOCHY QUAYS’ RESIDENT WORKSHOP IS TOP OF ITS CLASS AND HAS JUST ABOUT EVERY PIECE OF WOODWORKING MACHINERY AVAILABLE FOR RESIDENTS TO USE.
Woodworker Ron Stewart finds it handy for his creative works.
“We have a radial arm drop saw, circular bench saw, two bandsaws, a thickener-planer, two linisher belts and sanding disc, a lathe, drill press, scroll saw, even a cold-metal cut-off saw and grinder, plus an array of cordless hand tools at our disposal,” Ron says. “It’s every woodworker’s dream.”
Ron, a retired electrical designer, together with wood joiner Paul Jones, and jack of all trades Eric Cross, committed to neighboring Swans Soccer Club last year to provide Australian hardwood bases for their end of year trophy presentations.
“We bit off more than we could chew,” Ron said. “We committed to 540, but the end of year deadline was totally missed so we scaled back to 100 and focused just on the under-12 teams.
“We were relentless, but the reward of seeing the smiles on the young players was more than satisfying as the first trophies for the 2023 season were awarded.”
Ron, Paul and Eric were lucky enough to obtain recycled Tasmanian oak offcuts from a local staircase manufacturer who kindly donated it for the project, but none of this would have been possible without a tool induction from another resident.
“We owe it all to Bob Densley who’s a retired manual arts teacher,” Ron said. “Bob spent months of his time educating and giving more than 50 residents inductions on the tools so we could all safely use the machinery.”
With their commitment to the club ongoing, the workshop residents are looking forward to creating more trophy bases and Ron will incorporate his artistic talent towards other projects including for the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens where he is a volunteer.
Read more about Ron’s involvement here:
friendsofmaroochybotanicgardens.org.au/rons-image