The new year is bringing new opportunities for your (somewhat) humble joiner. The first news is that I have openings in my next Sharpening classes at the Woodcraft store in Grand Rapids, MI. The next two are February 16 and March 21. Both classes run from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. The format is demonstration and lecture with Q&A with the participants. I start the demo by sharpening a bench chisel to demonstrate the concept of sharp. From there the demonstration portion is controlled by the attendees. The usual items sharpened are carving chisels, plane irons, and various knives. I occasionally demonstrate improvised sharpening by sharpening a pocket knife with a piece of concrete and some scrap cardboard. The cost of the class is $35.
Coming soon...Build a piece of furniture with me. We will build an item of furniture using only hand (cordless, pancake powered) tools together. Using only hand tools we will build a complete piece of furniture the same way your great grandfather would have. I've not yet settled on a side table with a drawer, a wall cabinet or a book case with drawer storage on the bottom. Whichever project I finally decide on with include mortise and tenon joints as well as dovetail joints. It will emphasize understanding wood movement and grain structure. The class will begin by carving a kitchen spatula to learn about working with the grain of wood. It will then proceed into making the three essential hand tool bench appliances -a bench hook, a standard shooting board and a long grain shooting board. In the end you will take home a complete item of furniture, the essential hand tool bench appliances and a complete set of skills for all furniture you will make in the future and the spatula of course. The class is aimed at the beginning woodworker and teaches essential joinery, hand tool mill work and finishing techniques. The class is very applicable to power tool users as well since a complete understanding of the wood fundamentals will improve your machine work. The class will start with the spatula carving and bench appliance class on a Thursday evening and continue every Saturday for four weeks. There will be work to be completed at home after every session. More details as they develop. Stay tuned.
Bill
