Key information

• 24 total hours of training

• Tuesday & Thursday evenings OR Sundays

• $950, includes all materials & supplies

• Qualifies you to use most woodshop equipment at Humanmade (Not including ShopBot or Wood Lathe).

Class description

In this multi-session training, we go beyond learning basic equipment operation and dive deep into learning a variety of skills. We want to help you build a strong foundation for your future in woodworking. Each participant will complete at least three finished projects, and also walk away with a wealth of knowledge about how to tackle projects from scratch.

In addition to these projects being fun and challenging by themselves, they were selected to give an overview of specific techniques and joints that can also be used on larger and more complex projects, such as furniture making. You will learn:

• Design: Learn how to take a simple idea and translate it into a project-ready design

• Buying wood: Learn about the wide-world of wood suppliers beyond the big-box stores. Learn the terms and process for buying hardwood from lumberyards, sawmills, and even using wild-cut wood.

• Precise cuts: How to make clean, accurate, and repeatable cuts for crafts and furniture.

• Joints: Learn how to choose and cut several common wood joints, including dados, rebates, dovetails, miters, and mortise & tenon joints.

• Sanding & finishing: Learn how to elevate your finished projects by properly sanding and sealing, and also learn how to navigate the sometimes confusing world of wood finishes.

Class outline

This class consists of 24 hours of in-person sessions which meet twice per week every Tuesday & Thursday evening for 4 weeks, or once per week every Sunday for 6 weeks. An active membership is not required. However, those with an active membership can use the woodshop in between sessions to practice and improve their skills further.

Stage 1: Hand tools & the nature of wood

In the first week we will focus on manual hand-tools, the foundation of woodworking. Even in the modern woodshop with power tools and CNC machines, traditional hand tools such as chisels, hand-saws, and hand-planes still have a place. These tools allow you to make extremely fine adjustments to joints and surface finish that are difficult to achieve with any power tool. Also, by learning to use these tools you get to observe the behavior of wood at a human pace, better understanding grain and fiber direction and how different species behave. We will make a candle holder (or air plant holder) entirely using hand tools.

Stage 2: Power tool basics

After trying out hand tools and understanding wood up close and personal, we move on to power tools. Our first project is a cutting board. Cutting boards are many woodworkers first projects, and with good reason. Inside of this simple project are many essential skills that apply to almost every woodworking project you will ever work on. We start with two totally raw, warped hardwood boards of different species, then use the jointer and planer to make them flat and square. Next we use the table saw to cut the two species into a decorative pattern and glue the pieces together. Then we use the bandsaw to cut them into a shape of your choosing. Finally, we use a hand router to ease all the edges and then sand the boards and apply a food-safe finish.

Stage 3: Practice

After learning the basics of both hand tools and power tools, we use what we’ve learned to make at least two more projects - a picture frame and a keepsake box. All together, the cutting board, frame, and box represent some of the most fundamental shapes and styles of woodworking projects. You can use the same skills learned making these projects when making furniture, cabinets, and many other wood projects large and small.

With each project we start from scratch with raw wood, and you leave with a finished project. The goal is to prepare you and make you a more confident woodworker, capable of tackling your own projects at Humanmade or your own home woodshop.