Owners and managers of woodworking businesses challenged by a low number of job applicants and/or high employee turnover rate are encouraged to attend free College of Woodworking Knowledge seminar sessions featuring the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America at the AWFS Fair, July 17-20 in Las Vegas.

The WCA is scheduled to participate in a pair of free seminars of the fair’s Culture & Workforce Track and one free seminar in the Teacher track.  The sessions include:

WCA – WIIFM: What’s In It For Me?
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 17
Presenter: Patrick Molzahn, director of Cabinetmaking & Millwork, Madison College and secretary of the WCA
Whether you are in education or in industry, this session will provide ideas that you can use to implement the Woodwork Career Alliance credentialing system to create and manage a training program in your school or business. The presenter, who has used the WCA Skill Standards to shape his curriculum, will demonstrate how to improve your training program and discuss how members can take advantage of the WCA’s online library of videos, educational materials and other training resources to help you accomplish your goals faster and better.

Finding, Training and Retaining Workers
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Thursday, July 18
Presenter: Patrick Molzahn, director of Cabinetmaking & Millwork, Madison College and secretary of the WCA
Where are all the workers? If only I could find someone with skills. These millennials just don’t have the work ethic we expect. Does this sound familiar? In a tight labor market, you need to get creative. This seminar will provide strategies to overcome many of the challenges you face recruiting and retaining quality employees.

Building a Training Program for Your Workers
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 19
Presenters: Scott Nelson, president of the WCA & Patrick Molzahn, director of Cabinetmaking & Millwork, Madison College and secretary of the WCA
Are you looking to create you own in-house training program? This ‘nuts & bolts’ session will show you how to get started and how you can access ready-made resources to make the job easier. The presenters will discuss how to assess new candidates on layout and measurement and how to customize your training template. Come to this session to learn:

• How to access quality training resources;
• How to develop and structure a training plan – including creating a template; and
• The benefits of doing in-house training.

In addition to those three free seminars, instructors of two WCA EDUcation™ institutions will present sessions in the Teacher track. John Stearns of the MiLL is scheduled to talk on Classroom Tool Safety, Teacher Curriculum and Resources, and How to Get Money for Your Program & Spend It Wisely. Mark Smith of Reed Cutler High School will discuss AutoCAD for the Woodworking Program and Marketing Your Program: How to Get Started.
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To learn more and register for AWFS Fair seminars, visit awfsfair.org. 

​ShopBot announces the launch of its Subscription CNC program, emphasizing a simple, straightforward service that makes it easy to put a ShopBot CNC tool to work for your business. For one monthly payment, Subscribers can put a Handibot® Smart Power Tool, ShopBot Desktop, ShopBot Desktop MAX, or ShopBot Buddy® tool into production and access ShopBot’s world-class team of trainers, web training resources, and in-house support. There are no shipping fees and no cancellation fees. Subscription terms start with a minimum three-month commitment.
 
Making CNC technology and tools accessible to everyone has been a commitment from ShopBot Tools since first starting in 1996. ShopBot continues to believe that even the ‘little guy’ should be able to successfully employ the capabilities of CNC—making small- to medium-size shops competitive in today’s market.
 
The ability to cut, drill, machine, and sculpt with precision and repeatability is not just for big companies any longer. CNC lets you produce things that cannot be made effectively by hand. The progress of modern mechanization makes the technology much more affordable, easier to master, and practical. Subscription CNC now makes it possible for just about anyone to access.
 
“This is a service of a special kind available to individuals, companies, schools, and groups interested in having production assets at hand without distraction. When the subscription has served its function for you, and you’ve developed the resources and confidence for an investment, then you can cancel the subscription and build-out with equipment—now with a better understanding as to what you need,” Jeanne Taylor, ShopBot’s Director of Sales and Marketing, explains. There is no long-term obligation or cancellation fee. Subscribers can trade-up or down on tool size as necessary.
 
Subscription CNC is not a sale or a financed-sale. Subscription CNC is different from leasing. Lease and rent-to-own programs are good, but they create a sales transaction rather than a partnership. ShopBot has 20+ years of experience in providing CNC tools to businesses and individuals alike—something that is readily apparent by the success of over 10,000 ShopBotters. “We know how to deliver the goods, the tools, the training, the support, and the resources to be productive and creative,” adds Taylor.
 
Subscribers will be shipped new or ‘good-as-new’ tools. ShopBot will continuously refurbish and recycle tools within the program and after these tools become heavily used, they will be offered to communities in need. Prolonging the life-cycle of products is the best way to get a full life out of all the things we make.

ShopBot Tools Founder and CEO, Ted Hall summarizes, “Just like a traditional tool sale, we take responsibility for delivering tools that work and keep working. Subscription CNC is a new kind of accessibility that can help a small shop, program, a group, or an individual jump-start their work. It is our plan for making CNC even more obtainable to anyone who wants to make use of it.”
 
Visit the ShopBot website for details on ShopBot’s Subscription CNC program: www.shopbottools.com/SubscriptionCNC
 
ABOUT SHOPBOT
ShopBot Tools celebrated its 20th year in 2016 and continues to live their mission of making digital fabrication tools widely accessible and user-friendly. ShopBot's CNC routers deliver the power, precision, and reliability of tools traditionally costing thousands of dollars more.
    
ShopBot is one of the largest producers of digital fabrication equipment for small-to-mid sized manufacturing, DIY, and education markets. The company also provides unparalleled support for its user community with forums, production support services, and specialized training classes. All ShopBot tools are designed, built in, and supported from ShopBot’s Durham, NC headquarters.

When Oregon State University and the TallWood Design Institute (TDI) needed a machining solution to support creativity in their new A.A. “Red” Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Laboratory, they turned to Biesse Uniteam and its high performance Uniteam UT work center. When the new lab opens on May 14th, the UT machine will be used for student education, industry training, technical demonstrations, and applied research.
 
A partnership between Oregon State University’s Colleges of Forestry and Engineering and University of Oregon’s College of Design, TDI is the nation’s leading research collaborative focused on the advancement of structural wood products and mass timber design. “There are several large-scale CNC machines on the market that allow manufacturers to work with mass timber products such as cross-laminated timber (X-LAM) and glue-laminated beams (GLU-LAM),” said Iain Macdonald, Director of TDI.  “But essentially what we saw with the Uniteam UT machine was that it had the best all-round flexibility. This is really important for what we do - every project is unique, and we will be dealing with everything from scaled-down mockup buildings and product prototyping to full-scale structures for testing.”
 
Macdonald previously managed an R&D center for the wood products industry in Canada, and experienced some frustrations with the more limited capabilities of other machines. "When architecture students and practicing architects came to our workshops, they were all fired up to try out innovative designs and be very creative. They were sometimes disappointed when we had to tell them about the constraints of those machines.”
            
Macdonald said the experience of Emmerson Lab users is likely to be quite different. “Our new Biesse Uniteam UT machine will cut mass timber panels, straight beams and curved beams, so it will help us push the boundaries of what can be done with wood. We are really looking forward to being able to use all the capabilities of the machine to do some cutting-edge research projects, help industry understand what the technology can do, and show designers how the fabrication process works. To fulfill our research and development mandate, the UT machine was clearly the best solution for us".
            
According to Mike Johnson, Biesse Vice President of Sales, the Uniteam UT’s design has a unique advantage. “The Uniteam UT has the flexibility to quickly set-up for machining of both straight and curved Mass Timber or Laminated Beams, while also having the capacity to machine CLT panels up to 10’ in width. It combines a fast automatic clamping solution with a powerful 5-Axis electro spindle able to perform machining operations to the highest possible standards. The Uniteam UT machine is ideal for manufacturing companies requiring flexibility in fabrication as well as the needs of a research, training, and design institute like TallWood.”
           
Made possible by $6 million in funding from California-based Sierra Pacific Industries and named for Sierra Pacific's co-founder, the new lab has two missions. Half of it will be dedicated to state-of-the-art fabrication. The other half will house a structural testing facility, designed for building up to 3-story structures using mass timber products and destructively testing them for seismic strength, structural strength, and other characteristics. The 15,000-square foot advanced materials lab is one part of an $80 million investment to create the Oregon Forest Science Complex, that also encompasses the 80,000-square foot George W. Peavy Forest Science Center.

WalzCraft is excited to announce the addition of a new versatile gray stain to our extensive line of finish options for custom cabinet components. The new Stonehenge V3 Combination Stain is a medium gray tone that covers most of the woods natural color and highlights the darker grain. Stonehenge is available on Birch, Cherry, Maple, and Red Oak Wood Species.
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WalzCraft manufactures custom cabinet doors, drawer fronts, dovetail drawer boxes, cabinet components and millwork for custom cabinetmakers and cabinet refacers throughout the United States and Canada. Founded in 1982, WalzCraft has built a reputation for producing a High-quality product, at a competitive price, with a short delivery cycle, while offering a vast array of options from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located at 2600 Hemstock Street in La Crosse, WI.  http://walzcraft.com

Elias Woodwork has announced the launch of their newly redesigned website www.eliaswoodwork.com. The completely revamped website features a streamlined and simplified design, improved functionality and enriched content areas to help industry professionals find the products and options available that will meet the needs of their cabinetry or millwork projects.

With improved design, content navigation and product selection, their new website will improve and increase user engagement with new search and filter features that give users the ability to quickly identify the product options they are looking for. Whether looking for technical information or product photos to help get inspired for the next project, the new site is designed to drive users to their objective.

“We are excited about our new website with a fresh, modern look and new features that make it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for. Our goal was to create a funnel driven website that caters to a wide range of professionals across several industries. The new site is also a key component in our marketing strategies and aligns our digital platform more closely with our future goals and branding. As we strive to improve every aspect of our on and offline presence, significant projects like this not only demonstrate pride in our company, but shows our commitment of excellence for our customers, partners and friends,” says Jeremy Funk, Sales & Marketing Manager.

Since 1983, Elias Woodwork has been manufacturing cabinetry and millwork components. Over the years they have made themselves known for their vast product selection, high quality finishes and competitive prices. As a lean manufacturer, Elias Woodwork can cater to a wide range of industries across North America and internationally. From Tenon, Miter and Slab cabinet doors, drawer boxes, moldings, refacing material, custom AOS Elite (Assemble On Site) cabinet boxes and decorative accessories, they can manufacture nearly any wood product for a new, remodeled or refaced kitchen, bath or millwork project.

SawStop, the world leader in table saw safety, today announced a “Free Upgrade” offer on new Professional Cabinet Saws. Between March 1 and April 30, 2019, in the United States and Canada each customer who purchases a new Professional Cabinet Saw will receive one of two available accessories: the Overarm Dust Collection OR the Integrated Mobile Base, each worth $249 USD ($365 CAD).
 
SawStop Professional Cabinet Saw continues to set sales records, and SawStop saws are always the same price. The company rarely holds promotions, but CEO Matt Howard said offering the free upgrade was important. “We all know there are things we should do to be safe, but we don't always do them. If by offering this upgrade SawStop has helped someone make the decision today to protect themselves, we will count the promotion a success.”
 
This offer expires on April 30, 2019. The Professional Cabinet Saw is available through authorized dealers both in stores and online. Find more details at www.sawstop.com/upgrade.
 
About SawStop:
SawStop is the world leader in table saw safety. Each SawStop saw stops the spinning blade on contact with skin. The company’s saws are designed to minimize saw-related injuries and the costs associated with them. 

KCD Software, a leading provider of professional custom woodworking and design to CNC software for the cabinet and closet industries, announced today the launch of its newly designed website at http://kcdsoftware.com.

The completely revamped website features a simplified and streamlined design, improved functionality and enriched content areas. It’s designed to support cabinet and closet making professionals to make well informed decisions about their custom software technology needs and goals.

“We’re excited to provide visitors with dynamic product and industry info, along with helpful tools like our simple: Get the Right Software Fit product finder – 5 questions to help match your custom business to the right software product,” says Executive Project Manager, Ken Frye. “The new site empowers professionals to try the connectivity and tools they need to ramp up and streamline their custom businesses.”

Visitors to the site can also find clear and easy to understand software tutorials and training videos, solutions-based product information and industry articles and trends.

KCD Software has manufactured powerful and easy to use design to manufacturing software for custom builders, renovators, cabinetmakers and closet makers for over 30 years. They continue to invest time and resources into the ongoing success of their customers providing innovative software solutions, free updates, no annual maintenance fees, free phone support, trainings and one-on-one customer assistance.

Visit http://kcdsoftware.com today.