A Day of Hand Tools

Tuition.......... $200.00

A Day of Hand Tools: Saturday,  April 27th,  2013, 9 AM -  5 PM

Also offered: Saturday, September 7th, 2013, 9 AM - 5 PM

Dovetail Workshop

In our Dovetail Workshop, you'll learn to cut dovetails two ways: by hand, and using the tablesaw and bandsaw (with a simple, terrifically versatile jig that you can easily make at home). A one-day, hands-on workshop devoted to this functional and sometimes frustrating joint. Why settle for the mechanical look of routed dovetails when you can learn to cut beautiful dovetails with these methods? Work on the key skills for hand-cut joints, and see how these skills can be applied elsewhere in your woodworking.

Tuition.......... $100.00

Dovetail Workshop: Saturday, May 4th,  2013, 12 -  5 PM

Also offered: Saturday, October 12, 2013, 12 - 5 PM

Shaping and Bending Curves

Mastering curves can open up a whole range of projects, and help bring your woodworking to a new level. We'll discuss layout, cutting, smoothing, and refining curves, including three dimensional curves. Then we'll move on to bending curves by laminating thin layers together. A variety of tools and jigs for doing curved work will be covered. We'll also do some hot pipe bending.

Tuition.......... $100.00

Shaping and Bending Curves: Saturday, May 18th,  2013, 12 - 5 PM

Also offered: Saturday, December 7th, 2013, 12 - 5 PM

Furniture Design Fundamentals

Moving from the idea of a piece of furniture to an actual piece requires skills and techniques. There are also tools available that can help. This workshop introduces the fundamental skills, techniqes and tools that you need to work up your ideas and turn them into successful designs. We'll also go through a number of exercises that can help explore your design ideas, including creation of a small model.

Tuition.......... $100.00

Furniture Design Workshop: Saturday, June 8th,  2013, 12 -  5 PM

Build a Roubo-Style Workbench

A good workbench is at the core of your shop. It's almost indispensable for hand work, and valuable even for those who work mostly with machines. I've just finished up my second Roubo-style bench, and I have a third one almost done. Why so many? These are the best benches I've used. They are rock solid,  with amazing work-holding abilities. This is the bench I wrote about in Fine Woodworking (Tools and Shop Issue, 2012)

You can size the bench to suit the space you have available (mine are 54" and 84" long), and you can choose and will need to provide the vise hardware (mine have Benchcrafted vise hardware, which is incredibly good).

You'll need to supply your own wood, and have it milled and cut to size before the class starts. If you prefer, I can supply carefully milled wood (ash) - price will depend on the length of your bench, but will average $1100.

Tuition.......... $ 1000.00

Build a Roubo-Style Workbench: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2013, 9 AM - 5 PM

Make a Slat-Back Chair

This workshop will introduce you to the pleasures and rewards of making chairs, in this case, our elegant and extremely comfortable Slat-Back Chair.
This intensive week-long class, will not only cover the necessary skills and techniques, but will de-mystify the process of building a chair. Discussions of chair design, structure, and comfort complement the work on bending and shaping parts, cutting the angled joints, assembling, and preparing the seat for upholstery. Finishing and upholstery will be discussed, but not done in class. Woodworking experience necessary.

Tuition.......... $1100.00

Make a Slat-Back Chair: Monday - Friday, September 9 - 13, 2013, 9 AM -  5 PM

Making Shoji

Shoji are the wood and paper screens that have been an integral element of Japanese homes for hundreds of years. Used as doors and windows,they filter harsh daylight as it enters the home and imbue a warmth to interior spaces at night.
In this two-day workshop we will make a window-size shoji that the students will take home.The workshop will be led by craftsman Craig Klucina of Plane-Spoken in Chicago, Illinois, who has been making shoji for over a decade. He will provide an overview of the shoji's history and bring samples of his work for contextualizing shoji use in the contemporary home.

Students will develop and strengthen their hand tool skills in constructing the mortise and tenon and half-lap joinery common to shoji. Layout of the lattice, known as kumiko, is a critical aspect for achieving good results. A simple formula allows for marking joints accurately. Additionally, the student will be encouraged to use handplanes to finish the wood. Shoji are traditionally finished in this way and reflect the skill of the craftsman. No additional finish is applied. After assembly, Craig will show how to apply the paper, sizing it to achieve a snare drum tightness with the wood. Finally, options for mounting the shoji will be explored, including traditional wood tracks and simpler alternative methods.
Students will have the opportunity to try using the Japanese hand plane, or kanna, from Craig's collection.
Craftsman Craig Klucina makes and installs shoji and tansu, the cabinetry indigenous to Japan, throughout the Midwest. He is a contributing writer to Sukiya Living journal and guest lectures on the thoughtful incorporation of Japanese architectural elements in the Western home.

Tuition.......... $360.00

Materials Fee: $25.00

Making Shoji : Saturday, November 9th and Sunday, November 10th,  9 AM - 5 PM

The 'Magic' Tenoning Jig

Over the last few years, I have developed a jig that allows you to produce amazingly accurate, repeatable tenon joints by hand. As an added bonus, the tenoning jig actually helps you learn to saw better freehand. This class is devoted to making and learning to use this jig. We'll build and adjust the tenoning jig to your own tenon saw, so a good saw is definitely required for the class.

Tuition.......... $225.00

Magic Tenoning Jig Workshop: Saturday, November 16,  2013, 9 AM - 5 PM