Instructors: Back Channel Staff
($80 material fee)
Last Updated: 5/20/2025
Weekends 9am-5:30pm starting July 19th, 2025 through August 3, 2025
A $100.00 deposit is required to confirm your reservation. Deposit is refundable until 30 days before the class.
A bench or sturdy workspace with a woodworking vise of some kind is HIGHLY recommended so that students are able to practice and do work at home. We have a limited number of benches available to rent at $75 for the duration of the class. The benches have a footprint of 24″x36″ or 24″x24″ and break down enough to transport in a small car. You’ll get the most out of this class if you can budget for 3-4 hours of at-home practice every week.
No prior experience necessary. However, quality hand tools are required, but not before the first night of class. Bring any tools you have and we will evaluate them for you. If you need tools, it is best to try before you buy. Any required tools can also be purchased from us, or we can direct you to worthwhile tools to buy elsewhere.
This 3 weekend course will give you the foundational skills you need to get started working with solid wood. This general, fundamental knowledge will apply to any later classes you want to take. It simply wouldn’t make sense to show up to a boat building class without knowing how to sharpen a tool.
We firmly believe this is the best way to learn a new skill. By spacing out the classes, we give students the opportunity to build their basic skills through practice. Most woodworking schools offer week-long intensives, and by 2 PM on Friday they’re patting you on the back and pushing you out the door. A great business model, but it doesn’t provide the repetition necessary for students to learn.
In this first, most basic class, we emphasize the hand tool skills which take the longest to develop. Once we’ve laid that groundwork, we will show you the safety and use of core stationary power tools, which are essential for speeding up the process of dimensioning rough lumber. An electric motor is capable of removing material quickly and getting you to size, which allows you to work efficiently, but your fine, finishing work should be done by hand.
Once you’ve learned the basics of the tools and succeeded in the practice joinery, the final project is the completion of a step stool with through dovetails and a wedged mortise and tenon. Students who are able to keep up with the project will have the opportunity to make a joinery mallet, as well.
Students will learn:
- The Importance of Acquiring Good Tools and How
- Physical Properties of Wood
- Power Tool Safety & Use
- How to Dimension Rough Lumber
- Tune a Smoothing Plane
- Sharpening Edge Tools including:
- Chisels
- Plane Blades
- Card Scrapers
- Joinery
- Through Dovetails
- Half-blind Dovetails
- Mortise and Tenon