We’ve always wanted to teach longer courses as part of our curriculum. In January 2011 we did a very successful trial run of the three month Foundation Course. This course gives any budding woodworker a very solid grounding in the array of hand tool skills he or she needs to develop as a furniture maker, or (dare we say it) as a maker of Gypsy Wagons.

The last couple of months have seen the publication of two books that have reinforced our belief that every woodworker should start by learning how to use hand tools properly.

The first book - Jim Tolpin’s “The New Traditional Woodworker” is both a meditation on woodworking and the reference for the first two weeks of our class. Jim teaches this part of the course and contibutes to many other segments.

The second book - Chris Schwarz’s “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” - is a provocative reflection on the minimal set of hand tools needed to make almost anything out of wood. It is also a paean to the ingenuity of traditional craftsmen and for the preservation of the hand tool tradition.

The focus of the Foundation course is on traditional methods of woodworking, traditional joinery and on wood as a material.

We will teach working with machines as that part of the course which focuses on stock preparation and a few operations that are best suited to machines.

This class is open to novice woodworkers and to more experienced woodworkers who would like to broaden (or simplify) their approach to woodworking.

What do we mean by novice? We think it means that, in the traditional sense of term “novice”: you have decided to commit to learning new skills; you have a growing sense of passion for the craft of working with wood; you have a responsible and ethical approach to life; and a strong sense of limitations of your own knowledge.

We believe that this course can change your life. The course will give you woodworking skills that will last the rest of your life whether you make furniture for fun, rebuild your kitchen or plan to finish that gypsy wagon.

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Our Philosophy Behind the Course

Traditionally woodworkers learnt their craft working as an apprentice in the Master Craftsman's shop doing the grunt work and learning by assimilation over many years. Our approach is a little different. We're making the assumption that you're smart; are developing or already have a passion for woodworking; and can devote three months to intensive learning.

This course will drill deep into the basics, giving you a firm foundation in understanding wood as a material, and then gives you introductory training in a wide range of techniques and working with it. This training will show you that many of the "advanced" techniques in woodworking are relatively straightforward, building on basic techniques you’ll have learnt in this class. We hope that this will be catalytic in encouraging you to further explore and develop those techniques after you graduate.

For the most of the course we'll be pretty heavily focused on developing your skills using hand tools. Each day will include a half-hour practice session. Developing your hand-eye co-ordination is a fundamental part of becoming a woodworker. Just like a musician you need to practice.

This course is not about building a perfect piece - it's about building the perfect attitude. The "Oooh - that's neat - I can see how can apply that to...." is the perfect reaction to a demonstration or presentation.

While it is important to us is that you develop an understanding and  appreciation for the standards that make woodworking great, we don’t want you to get bogged down in a drive for perfection.

When we were starting the school we had long discussions about how to position the School. I (Tim) argued for Excellence in Woodworking. Jim (Tolpin) with the older and wiser head argued for "Pretty Good Woodworking" and that is where we have ended up. We teach and encourage pragmatism but we don't push you for perfection - that has to come from you.

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Course Overview:
The next course will run from Monday January 9, 2012 through Friday March 30, 2012 - twelve weeks.

The Workshop is fully available to students Monday through Friday - we will, however, be teaching other classes during the weekends.

The course will be split up into three blocks:

Fundamentals of Woodworking (Weeks 1-4):

The course starts with introduction and orientation day followed by a four day session on green woodworking.  Taking you back to the origins of woodworking by working directly with the tree. Our Green Woodworking course will give you an idea of what you will do. Plus we will have a tree that needs to be felled (or has been already felled) and we'll involve you in the process of turning that trunk into lumber.

The topics and projects covered during the second and third weeks of the class are included in Jim’s “The New Traditional Woodworker”. We’ll go through the basic skills to ensure that everybody is grounded in the basics of hand tool use, sharpening, wood selection, layout and markup, lumber preparation, and basic hand joinery.

During this section of the class you will make bench tools that will last the rest of your woodworking career. Plus you’ll build a small saw bench or tool tote.

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Basics of Hand Tool Furniture Making (Weeks 5-8):

Our goal in this section is to further build your confidence with hand tools and to deepen your understanding of the basic principles of woodworking.
We introduce you to more advanced forms of hand tool joinery and to the safe use of woodworking machines for lumber preparation.

You’ll focus on the techniques for the design and construction of a small solid wood side table with a drawer or a small toolbox or jewelry box. In the design process we’ll look hard at the traditional virtues of proportion and how small details can make the difference in final design.

We delve further into additional skills you’ll need in the shop: the basics of design, lumber selection, glue ups, clamping and an introduction to finishing.

We'll also look at the traditional techniques for adding detail and interest to design - such as beading and chamfering to create shadow lines. We'll include a section on making tools to create these details.

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Building Your Tool Chest (Weeks 8-12)

For the bulk of this section of the course you will build a tool chest - building on the skills you’ll have learnt so far, requiring you to use some more advanced techniques and being rigorous about planning your work.

During this section of the course we’ll include demonstrations and lectures on other woodworking techniques - like steam bending, stack and bent lamination, relief carving, finishing techniques and more.

In this section of the course we plan to draw on various local craftsmen to supplement the faculty. We’ll have some folks lined up before before the course starts and we’ll work with you (the students) to identify other woodworkers to drop in and teach sections of the class.

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Tools:
We offer two tool lists for this class. The first taken from Christopher Schwarz's "The Anarchist's Tool Chest" is a great list of tools but has no specific recommendations (manufacturer or models). Our list of tools is a simpler subset with recommendations - we'll merge the two after the next Foundation Class (Fall 2012). 

If you have tools on either of this lists please bring them along. We recommend not buying tool sprior to the class but suggest that use the school's tools and let that experience guide your purchasing decisions.  The sooner you use your own tools the quicker you'll gain mastery of them.

 

Hand  tool list  - from The Anarchist's Tool Chest

Check here for the tool list

(Both links take you to Google Docs - in a new Window)

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Prerequisites:

We prefer that you have some experience of woodworking before taking this class. If you have no woodworking experience - we’d like you to produce evidence of strong practical skills and problem solving ability (we can do this in a phone call). We're looking for the right attitude.

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Course costs:

Tuition Fee: $6,700
Class size: Minimum of 6 students and a maximum of 10 students
Payment: We ask for a non-refundable $200 deposit at the time of registration. The balance must be paid prior to the start of class. We will contact you to collect the balance.
Course textbooks: We recommend that you read the “The New Traditional Woodworker” and the “Anarchists Tool Chest” before taking the class.
Materials fees: Are on a pay as you go basis. Wood is available from the School’s stock and from Edensaw. We expect that the materials cost for the course to be between $200 and $500. Most of that difference will depend on your selection of wood.
Accomodations:
This course runs during the off-season in Port Townsend. Vacation rentals and house shares can be picked up in town.

Accommodation is available will be available at Fort Worden in the former Youth Hostel. The monthly rental (for Winter 2012) will be $400 per person / per month plus taxes There’ll be some small extra cost for linen.

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Scholarships:

The School fund-raises so that we can offer scholarships for the Foundation Course. Our ability to offer scholarship depends on us having funds available and requiring that students meet the conditions that donors attach to the funds.

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Next Class

We ask for a deposit of $200 to ensure your place in the class.

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Future Intensive Courses:

We've seen a lot of interest in the Foundation class since it started running and we've made the decision to run the intensive courses on a regular basis.

If you'd like to let us know more about your interest - please fill out this questionnaire. Or contact  us - (360) 344-4455 or email.