Woodworking Fundamentals 1
The first in our core class set, in which we strive to set everybody out on the right foot. It's never easy to break into something new, but having a guiding hand makes learning much easier. In this class, you'll learn how to break down rough lumber, dimension it for use, cut joinery by hand, and produce a finished product.
Woodworking Fundamentals 2
The intended follow-up to Fundamentals 1, which expands upon and reinforces the techniques and ideas learned.
A-La-Carte Intensives
Most of our classes are long-form, once-weekly sessions to encourage students to practice and absorb as much of the material as possible. We recognize not everybody can dedicate a full weekday evening every week, so we offer the Fundamentals as individual weekend intensives as well.
These classes represent the same material presented in the Fundamentals 1 class, in a more concentrated format.
Students taking the first 5 (Sharpening, Hand-cut Dovetails, Tuning and Using a Handplane, Mortise and Tenon by Hand and Machine, and Dimensioning Lumber) will be invited to build a step stool at no additional cost.
We ask that anybody wishing to build the step stool at a minimum take the Hand-cut Dovetails class first.
Sharpening Edge Tools
All edge tools go dull, so it's important for any woodworker to be able to sharpen their tools. In this class, you will learn how to sharpen a wealth of edge tools including chisels, plane irons, and card scrapers.
Hand-cut Dovetails
Dovetails are a signature of fine furniture work, and a valuable skill to acquire when doing work for yourself. In this class, you will learn how to cut a through dovetail by hand, first a single dovetail, then multiple on the same piece, and finally how to cut a half-blind dovetail, a traditional drawer box joint.
Tuning and using a Handplane
The hand plane is the quintessential woodworking tool, and not as simple as it may appear. There are a hundred varieties each with a thousand uses. In this class, you will be guided through the tuning and setup of a smoothing bench plane, a Stanley #4, 5 or similar.
Mortise & Tenon by Hand and Machine
The workhorse joint of many furniture pieces, and the second keystone joint to know when engaging in any kind of woodworking. A mortise and tenon can be cut many ways, but there are certain elements that must be true for the joint to be solid. In this class, you will learn how to effectively cut a mortise and tenon join by hand, and then once the concepts are well understood, how to speed up the process with machines.
Dimensioning Lumber
In order to build fine pieces, it is imperative that you dimension your own stock. Wood moves depending on the ambient moisture, and you can't control how somebody else mills their wood. We will show you how to effectively dimension your own lumber and proper safety and use of the jig saw, band saw, jointer, planer, and table saw.
Building a hand-joined step-stool
The culmination of the fundamentals 1 track. An outwardly simple, but involved project that brings together all the previous lessons to show off what you've learned.
Note: Students are recommended to have completed Hand Cut Dovetails before taking this class.