I’ve been wanting to try this class for a while now and this year I finally decided to take the plunge. Roy Underhill used to teach a class like this at his school and I always enjoyed the day when I’d go and ‘help’, which mostly involved watching students work and eating Roy’s lunches. When Roy stopped teaching the class, he suggested I could do something similar at my place. I never have, until now. I’m excited!
Here’s the info:
Spend a week working wood as nature intended. We’ll walk in the woods and learn about how to choose a tree. We’ll fell the tree with an ax and learn about splitting and riving it. A variety of projects will teach us how to exploit wood’s strengths and weaknesses for our benefit. Emphasis will be placed on learning fundamentals that can be applied to a variety of projects, green or dry.
Students will help pick our projects. I’ll send out a poll a few month before class including these options: Spoons, hay rakes, pitch forks, glue-free stools, firewood carriers, tool handles, fan birds, froe clubs, bowls, whimmy-diddles, sharpening and other projects useful and otherwise.
Roy Underhill will visit for an afternoon and teach us about using a springpole lathe and hewing a log for a cabin. Fun field trips could include a trip to the log yard where I buy my wood and a visit to The Woodwight School tool store where you can buy many of the old tools we’ll be using.
Amazingly delicious lunches will be provided by Seth Elliott. Class size is limited to 10 students.
GREENWOOD WEEK, September 23rd to 27th, 2019
Visit the Greenwood Week page to register.
Chairmaking clases can info can be found on my teaching page.
Splitting an oak log…
…to make a firewood carrier.
A field trip to the log yard.
Visiting the Woodwright School tool store.
Steam bending a pitch fork.
Hewing a spoon
One-piece fan bird
I’ll be on the Orange County Studio Tour this weekend and next, Nov 3-4 & 10-11th. If you’re in the area, come by, eat some cheese and watch me turn a chair leg. The shop will be open from 10-5 on Saturdays and 12-5 on Sundays.