Celebrate our First Full Year on December 11th

Please join us at the School on December 11th in a celebration of our First Full Year.

We've had a lot of fun getting the School up and running. More importantly we've really enjoyed working with our students and getting to know them. Plus when we stand back and scratch our heads (not a pretty sight) we are kind of gobsmacked (a fine old British expression) at the great reception we have received.

We're also really pleased with the 2009 schedule. We've managed to persuade wonderful array of woodworkers to come teach at the school.

We'll open our doors at 5:00pm. Please come and join us for a glass of wine or beer and some snacky stuff.

And the Stump the Stooges challenge is still open.

We look forward to seeing you on the 11th.

Images from the Hollow Surboard Class with Paul Jensen

We'll update the site with images on a daily basis. If you're interested stop by and see the progress. Its happening this week - November 17th - 21st.

Images from Bonnie Klein's Basic Woodturning Course

Bonnie Klein taught our first turning class on November 6th and 7th, 2008. The class was great fun - see for yourself.

(Click on the link in the lower lefthand corner of the slideshow box to go to the Gallery and see full size images.)

See us during the Art Port Townsend Studio Tour October 11-12th

The school is part of the Art Port Townsend Studio Tour 2008. The doors will be open from 11:00 - 4:00pm both days.

Jim Tolpin and I will be there to meet you and answer questions. We'll have a display and demonstrations of hand joinery. There will also be some short displays of Coopering Techniques.

Helga Winter - Turning Bowls

Helga Winter creates this stunning bowl by turning green wood (wet straight from the tree) and then letting it dry. She then decorates the bowls by staining or painting them.

Helga will present her work and techniques as part of our "The Art and Craft of Working with Wood" presentation series on Thursday 9th of October at 6:30pm.

The free presentation will take place at the school.

Port Townsend School of Woodworking
Building 315, Fort Worden
Port Townsend, WA 98368
360.344.4455

Directions:
Enter Fort Worden by the Main Gate. At the four way stop go straight. Bear left behind the Copper Canyon Press Building. The school is the large concrete building on the right - set back into the hillside. Park in front of the school or on the flat.

Help....

We realize that as part of our mission in starting the school there is an implicit goal in helping the Woodworking community around us. We can do this by promoting the art and craft of working with wood and sometimes we need to help more directly. I got this email from John Marckworth this morning. If you can help please do:

"Some of you may know Jerry Smith, cabinetmaker. His shop was recently broken into, and most/all of his portable power tools were taken. He was uninsured for the loss. He will replace the day-to-day equipment out of pocket, but can't hope to get back above water for some time. I know we can all relate to what a blow this is, and how difficult it will be to recover.

Mark Sabella has undertaken, completely on his own initiative, to give Jerry a hand in replacing his Festool Domino. He is asking fellow woodworkers to chip in $20 (no more) towards the replacement cost. We hope you'll consider joining us. Also, please spread the word to our fellow woodworkers.

You can contact Mark at 385-1551, or me at 316-9480."

Success in Smallish Increments

We'd like to thank John Edwards for all the effort he put in to the Woodworking for Kids Program at the School. It was a great start - the kids who came had a great time and we learnt a lot about running a kids program. The major lesson we learned was to step back and let John do it. John has a wonderful way with kids, the patience of an elephant (or is it memory) and, now, a wonderful array of kid scale tools.

John has attracted the attention of the local "Y" (YMCA) and will be running an afterschool woodworking program when he returns from a well earned month in Thailand. Check in back here is a few weeks and we'll have posted a link to John's new website.

John will be back at the school at Halloween as part of the Fort's celebration. We'll have the school open and will invite the kids into make Spiders, Ghouls and other things that go bonk in the night. Just don't let Susan know - or she'll be there with her poker.

We're also hoping to get John back between Christmas to New Years to allow overwrought parents to let the kids come and make sawdust each day.

The Art and Craft of Working with Wood

We've renamed the Free Lecture / Presentation Series to "The Art and Craft of Working with Wood". This new name really reflects what we're trying to do with the series. Some of the presentations share the joy of working with wood for Art or to create homes. The homes can be on the ground, in a tree or on wheels

We need to work on timing a little... Kim Kelzer gave a wonderful presentation of her philosophy and work last week. Little did I know that it was going to be the same evening as Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC when I asked Kim to give the presentation back in May. A small but enthusiastic audience got a whirlwind tour of Kim's life and work. Many thanks Kim!

I'm envious of the speed and intensity of Kim's new work. She certainly challenged me to think about how to work faster. Catch Kim's new work at the Museo in Langley on Whidbey Island from September 6th through 28th.

Next up Jim Tolpin on making a Gypsy Wagon (house on wheels) and then Jake Jacobs on Treehouses.

More details here.

Port Townsend Woodworker's Show - Call for Entries

John and Jim ran the Port Townsend Woodworker's Show from Mid Nineties to the early Oughties but family life got in the way. In 2006 the SplinterGroup formed and resurrected the Show. The new Show (fondly headlined by the Leader as "Woodworker's Show Knot Dead") runs on the first weekend in November with setup occurring on the Friday before. In 2006 we got about 1500 visitors and were in the range of 1800-2000 in 2007.

The show is sponsored by various companies around town which keep the cost of exhibiting in the show to $35 at the basic level. The Premier Exhibitor level is $100 and gives woodworkers the opportunity to have a web page on the SplinterGroup's website and an entry plus picture in the Show brochure.

Entry to the show is on a first come first serve basis. There are a few restrictions on what can be displayed:

• Work that is new to the show - please don't submit work that has been shown before
• No work from kits or purchased plans please

The School is a sponsor of the Show and we would like to have some alumni work on display is possible. So if you've attended a course and would like to show some work please let us know and we'll incorporate into our booth. So feel free to email us if you'd like to show your work.

This years show will be held on the 1st & 2nd of November starting at 11:00am both days. The show stays open until 8:00pm on Saturday to coincide with the Port Townsend Art Walk. The show is open until 3:00pm on Sunday.

More details here.

Woodworker's Club Starting in Port Townsend - Next Meeting September 9th at 2:00pm

We're delighted to share the news that a Woodworker's Club is starting up in Port Townsend. Dave Weeding and a bunch of friends have decided to start up the club. We're helping out by hosting one of their September Meeting. In Dave Weeding's words:

"Our next meeting will be on Tuesday September 9 at 2PM. We will meet at the Port Townsend School Of Woodworking at Fort Worden. We'll have a little social time, and discuss current projects. Tim Lawson, who is one of the founders of the school, as well as an instructor, will conduct a mini seminar on router jigs and fixtures."

You can reach Dave at (360) 385 9986 or by email.

Woodpalooza - Whidbey Island Woodworker's Guild Show August 22nd - September 7th

The Whidbey Island Woodworkers Guild presents the 5th Annual Woodpalooza on Aug. 22 through Sept. 7 at Bayview Corner Cash Store, 5603 S. Bayview Road, on South Whidbey. Map here.

The show will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 22 and daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 23 to Sep. 7. This free exhibition will showcase recent works by 20 guild members.

Images from the Greene & Green Class

You can find full size versions of these images in my Picasa gallery here. I'll leave the gallery up there for about a month.

The magic router bit for rounding over the ebony spline inlay is: Amana #51572 bullnose.

If you have any comments about the course please feel free to post them as a response to this entry.

Woodworking for Kids - starts 19th July 2008

We're running a Woodworking for Kids program starting on the 19th of July. More correctly John Edwards is running it for us. John used to run a kids program when he lived in Southern California (that was many moons ago). Since then John has been has been hard at work in the construction industry and raised a couple of kids.

Just after we opened up the Power House - John asked is if he could run a kids program. We were delighted to accept his offer. The program starts on July 19th. There are two classes each weekend day until the 24th of August.

From 10-12:00pm there is a class for 6-9 year olds and then from 1-3:00pm there is a class for 10-14 year olds. The classes will be held under a tent outside the school. We provide tools and materials.

The cost per class is $15. Pre-registration is encouraged. Drop-ins accepted if there is space.

Full details here

Timberframe Construction: Charles Landau

Free Lecture 6:30pm Thursday, July 10, 2008

Charles Landau, founder of Timbercraft Homes

"Timber framing is a simple but elegant building system consisting of large wood posts and beams fit together with interlocking joinery and secured with wooden pegs. As in any post and beam structure the timber framework supports its roof by transferring roof loads to principal posts and onto the foundation of the building eliminating the need for load bearing interior partition walls. The result is a strong, self supporting timber structure in which heavy timbers frame large, open living spaces.

This talk will place the modern craft of timber framing in the context of its historic development and describe some of the unique features of the contemporary timber-frame building system. Examples of recently constructed timber frame residences and public buildings will demonstrate the flexibility and energy efficiency of modern timber frame structures. It is my hope that the strength and beauty of the buildings you see, will persuade you that the future of timber framing promises to be as rich as its past and that if you choose to work in this field you will be inspired to design and build buildings that stretch the existing aesthetic and structural boundaries of timber frame construction."

Charles Landau founded Timbercraft Homes (based in Port Townsend). Charles sold the business several years ago, now in retirement (and no less busy), Charles will share his love of Timberframing in this presentation.

The Machine shop is open....

The machine shop is up and running. Our thanks to the volunteers who helped us clean it up and take out the old piping and radiators. Our thanks also to the Parks Maintenance staff who painted the shop.

We've added a heavy duty electrical service and started to move saws, planers, jointers and more into the space.

We've taught our Introduction to Stationary Tools course, over the last weekend in June, in the new shop. The students worked with us to get many of the big tools tuned up and running smoothly. It was amazing how much better the table saw worked!