* This class has prerequisites. See below.
Build a small, Shaker-style table to use as a lamp stand or night stand as you learn to take a project from initial idea to finished project.
This class is designed for students who know the basics of using tools but want to further those skills under the guidance of an experienced instructor.
This class includes:
You must wear safety glasses and closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair, and avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry. We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition Assistance is available - click here to fill out the simple application before registering for a class. For those who might need physical assistance, please learn about BARN's Companion Program here.
Ted Newman - Ted studied woodworking and has assisted in classes at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. He is active in BARN's woodworker group and volunteers as a safety monitor.
Make a sturdy box with hand-cut dovetail corner joints as you build your woodworking skills and learn fundamental steps common to all hand-cut joinery.
As you build a poplar box about 6 inches wide, 12 inches long and 3½-4 inches tall, you will learn how to design, lay out, and mark the dovetails, and how to cut them accurately and efficiently using hand saws and chisels. You'll also learn tricks for getting a perfect fit. Depending on the pace of the class, you will finish your box using a combination of hand and power tools. There may be time to make a lid.
Dovetails started out as a practical solution to keep drawers from coming apart as people tugged and pushed them in and out. Today, they still serve that purpose. But, in an era when there are machine-assisted ways to join wood at right angles and mechanical drawer slides, hand-cut dovetails have become a code for fine craftsmanship.
Please click here for BARN's current COVID-19 health & safety protocols.
You must wear safety glasses and closed-toe shoes. We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.
Paul Kury - Paul studied woodworking at Lonnie Bird’s School of Fine Woodworking in Dandridge, Tenn., and has been an active woodworker for more than 40 years. His preference is 18th-century furniture. Paul also volunteers as a woodworking safety monitor at BARN.
Build a unique slab bench or small table in this seven-session class.
Create a piece that highlights the natural beauty in a slab's swirling grain or intriguing color known as spalting. Preserve a live edge, rip a straight-line edge or combine the two styles into your design.
In the first session, design considerations, suitable wood and several options of styles for top and base are covered. The instructor walks you through the process of drawing up your design ideas and turning them into working plans.
Following sessions are devoted to building your project and preparing it for final finish.And the final session covers finish options and application techniques. Take home enough finish to apply multiple coats to your completed project.
Working at your own pace is encouraged. Be prepared to spend additional time during Open Studios if necessary to complete your project. Open Studio is always free for members. Non-members can use the shop during these times without additional charge while working on a class project.
This class is open to students with intermediate skills who are comfortable using the shop tools. At a minimum, you must have completed Orientation to the Woodshop, Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1 and Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 2. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar. Please see "My event registrations" in your BARN account to confirm you have completed the pre-requisites before you register for this class
A $35 materials fee included in the class fee covers a moderate amount of epoxy and other shop materials. If your project requires a lot of epoxy, you may need to pay more; the instructor will discuss this with you.
You need to supply wood for your project. You can buy wood from BARN, purchase it elsewhere or bring what you have from your wood stash. Registrants will receive information about how to select appropriate wood. The moisture issues associated with use of BARN's SawStop table saws aren't critical for this project unless your slab is thicker than two inches. You can store your wood in the shop between sessions.
"An inspirational class! So much cool stuff to practice on many slab projects to come!!" — Ryan Boone (his hall bench is pictured), www.ryanboonedesign.com
Carol Fiedler Kawaguchi - Carol is a professional woodworker who specializes in restoration of antique furniture through her business, C-Saw, on Bainbridge Island. She also makes custom furniture, including the slab coffee table in the Commons at BARN.
Learn the basic safety principles of key woodworking power tools you can use during open studio times, once qualified.
You are given a piece of wood to cut and shape in this hands-on class.
Completing this class will qualify you to use the following tools during the Woodshop Studio’s 30 weekly hours of open studio time, and classes that require certification in these tools:
You will shape a piece of wood using specific studio tools.
All needed materials will be provided.
None.
Jeanne Huber
Get checked out on the Woodworking Studio’s major power tools not covered in the Tool Safety Checkout 1 class.
Completing this class qualifies you to use the following tools during open studio time or in classes that have this as a prerequisite:
Achieve proficiency on these power tools.
If you're looking to tackle a project but want some help to develop and complete it, this guided open studio is for you.
You and up to two other woodworkers will have access to an instructor to guide your work. You will share the shop and tools with others, just as in any open studio. These sessions are scheduled on the second and fourth Sundays of each month.
This experience promises to build your woodworking knowledge while increasing confidence and skill using the woodshop. It is open to beginning woodworkers, as well as those with more experience who are seeking help with an unfamiliar process or a technical challenge, such as determining the most suitable joinery or designing a jig.
Purchase your own materials.
Ages 14 and up are welcome. (unless otherwise specified in class details, in which case omit)
View BARN’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition assistance is available. Fill out the application before registering.
For those who might need physical assistance, learn more about our Companion Program.
Ben Dykstra has been a woodworker for almost 30 years and has expertise in custom furniture and high-end kitchen cabinetry. He has worked with youth for more than 10 years and currently teaches middle school woodshop and high school technical drawing and CAD.
Learn techniques and strategies to help you custom mill wood to the precise dimensions you need.
In fine woodworking, everything starts with the wood. Before you can focus on joinery or fancy details, you need to make a board foursquare, with surfaces that are flat, straight, parallel, and square. And then you need to cut the lengths, widths, and thicknesses you need, in a way that positions the pieces where the grain direction makes the most sense.
In this class, you learn how to custom mill wood to the precise dimensions you need, including:
Wear safety glasses and closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair, and avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry. We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.
Ages 14 and up are welcome.
This class has prerequisites. Please see below.
Make two bowls 6 to 7 inches in diameter in this two-session class as you build your woodturning skills and learn some of the special techniques and insights needed for bowl-turning.
The best (and most fun) way to hone your bowl-turning skills is to use green wood for the blanks. In this class you will turn two green-wood bowls, working on smooth and efficient cuts. In the first session, you will learn the best bowl shape for a novice turner, how to safely mount the blank on the lathe, and how to use a scroll chuck and bowl gouge. You will also learn how to maintain even wall thickness, and how to treat the bowl to prevent cracking while it dries. In the second session, in addition to turning a second bowl, you will learn the basics about balancing grain and which Northwest woods are best for turning.
By successfully completing these two sessions and turning two bowls, you will have a good understanding of the process and techniques, and be qualified to turn bowls of this size independently during Open Studio time in the BARN Woodworking Studio.
While this class is oriented to novice turners, it is also appropriate and useful for experienced turners who have predominantly used scrapers and wish to acquire or improve their gouge skills.
Details:
Photograph by Joy McCallister Photography.
Instructor: Jamie Straw has been turning wood for several years, working on both spindle and bowl projects, and has taught woodturning at BARN since July 2017. She also serves as coordinator of BARN’s woodturning classes. She is past Vice President for Education and Training for the local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. Her focus is on helping students build skills progressively as they design and create their woodturning projects.
This introduction to our Woodworking & Small Boatbuilding Studio is required for anyone who wants to work in the studio.
This free orientation covers policies and etiquette in a community workshop, safety, and the studio’s leadership structure.
The Open Studio experience is discussed as well as what the studio contributes to support members’ learning and project work.
Learning opportunities to help the studio run smoothly are provided. Volunteer jobs range from serving as safety monitors, assisting on community service projects, and helping on Monday Maintenance.
If you are new to woodworking, a basic series of classes is explained to help you begin your woodworking experience while using natural and sustainable materials to create with your hands.
You will learn how our studio works and fulfill the orientation prerequisite for further use of the studio and classes.
Any materials used will be provided.
None
Jeff Williams
Dave Roe
The chair is often considered the Holy Grail of woodworking. This class will show you that it isn't really that daunting.
In this class, you build a chair that the instructor, noted Bainbridge Island furniture maker Bob Spangler, designed specifically for this class. He covers design and what it takes to make a chair that is structurally robust, comfortable, and pleasing to the eye. You work with patterns and jigs, then use the bandsaw and shaper to create parts that are accurate and repeatable (if you find the shaper intimidating, you won't have to use it). Learn vacuum forming to bend the pieces that make up the back of the chair. All joinery is mortise and tenon, made with the Festool Domino.
Everyone leaves the class with a complete chair. You will need to upholster the seat on your own, but the instructor will show you how.
If you take this class, you're welcome to reproduce the chair for your own use or as a gift, but you cannot reproduce it for sale. If you give it as a gift, Bob Spangler appreciates acknowledgement as the designer.
This class builds skills and demonstrates how turning wooden boxes is an enjoyable, creative pastime. This box can be used to hold small items - candy, rings, trinkets - or given as a gift or simply featured in your decor.
Create and finish a classic cylindrical box with a fitted lid from a single piece of stock. You will use not only familiar tools such as a roughing gouge, spindle gouge, and parting tool; but also a negative rake scraper plus a skew, which will improve the quality of the surface and provide crisp transitions. You will learn the sequence of steps that must be followed to successfully complete a box with a precision fit to the top, and how to create and use a jam chuck for finishing the bottom.
Bob Abresch is a long-time woodworker who has been turning since 2017, when BARN's facility opened. He has taken classes from several notable local turners and has enjoyed creating a variety of turned objects which, much to his surprise and delight, have been popular items at BARN’s annual bazaar.
Learn the basic features of VCarve Pro, a popular program used to make signs, engravings, intricate inlays and imported 3D shapes and models on computer-controlled routers.
VCarve Pro is easier to learn than Fusion 360, the other 3D design program taught at BARN, and can be used for projects on both the large CNC router in the Woodworking Studio and the small CNC router in the ETA Lab.
Session 1 is in the ETA studio so you can use the VCarve Pro software to design an 8x16" sign and prototype your design on ETA's laser cutter. In session 2, we meet in the Woodworking Studio to carve it on the CNC router.
Please note: To take this class, you need a laptop computer with a mouse and a working copy of VCarve Pro 11 already downloaded to that computer (you can download a free trial at www.vectric.com). The software requires a PC or a MAC that has Windows installed. There is no time during class to download the program. If you have questions or run into problems downloading the program, please email the instructor for help. If you don't have a laptop you can bring to class, you may use an ETA Studio desktop computer with the software already loaded.
Al Ebken - Al is a retired ocean engineer with many years of computer and computer-aided design experience. In the picture, he's using the Woodworking Studio's CNC router to make parts for face shields to protect against coronavirus infection.
Practice your woodturning skills or work on a project you need help with under the guidance of a woodturning instructor.
Everything from simple bead-and-cove sticks to handles, boxes, goblets, and bowls are appropriate for this guided studio time.
Whatever you're working on, whether that be a specific project or your woodturning skills.
Bring stock or notify the instructor in advance of stock you need, but do not have (paid for separately).
Jamie Straw has been turning wood for several years, working on both spindle and bowl projects, and has taught woodturning at BARN since July 2017. She also serves as coordinator of BARN’s woodturning classes. She is past vice president for education and training for the local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. Her focus is on helping students build skills progressively as they design and create their projects.
Teens (7th-12th grade), come on down to BARN for a free evening of art, friends, music, and creativity! You're not going to want to miss it. We'll have pizza and snacks and you'll get to choose from activities like cooking, woodworking, sewing, jewelry making, metal working, and more - every month is a different lineup. Come with a friend or come on your own and meet new friends!
Teen Night is so popular that we're now requiring registration to ensure that there's enough food and activities for everyone!
We're grateful to the City of Bainbridge Island for their financial support so we can offer this event for teens in our community!
These monthly meetings always offer an informative presentation on various aspect of woodworking, plus a short business meeting. It's a good opportunity to meet other woodworkers of all skill levels, learn what's new in the shop, and share your thoughts on class offerings and studio operations.
As usual, we’ll have coffee and nibbles. Free and open to all — no need to register.
Directions: From High School Road on the west side of campus, drive north on MLK. Turn right and park between the stadium and the technology building.
This class has a prerequisite. Please see below.
Get started on your woodturning adventure with this three-session beginner's class, where you will learn safety, tool control, and how to create the basic shapes involved in spindle and bowl turning. A small project will be started and completed as time permits.
By successfully completing this class, you will be cleared to use the wood lathes for spindle turning during Open Studio. While you will also be eligible to take a bowl-turning class, it is strongly suggested that you spend time turning in Open Studio a few times before you enroll in a bowl class.
In Session 1, you will learn about woodturning safety, bevel contact, and gouge technique focusing on good body mechanics - all important to building a foundation to launch your turning skills. You will use the roughing gouge during most of the class, followed by an introduction to the regular (“fingernail”) spindle gouge. Tools you will use: spindle roughing gouge and fingernail spindle gouge.
In Session 2, you will review the earlier lesson, and then focus on the spindle gouge and parting tool, learning new mechanics for turning beads and coves. Toward the end of class, you will learn how a scroll chuck and tenon work in preparation for Session 3.
In Session 3, you will increase the precision of your turning technique by making a small project such as a honey dipper, finial, spinning top, or goblet, with your own design elements. You will use a scroll chuck, a Jacobs chuck and Forstner bit.
Charles Sharpe
* This class has prerequisites. Please see details below.
Learn all the steps to building a plywood lapstrake boat as you and your classmates construct a 9-foot, 6-inch, Nutshell Pram.
The instructor is volunteering his time and purchasing all the materials since he will go home with the boat. Your class fee goes exclusively to supporting BARN programs. For a relatively low cost, given that this is a 10-session class, you will learn the full range of skills needed if you want to build your own boat later. Plus, you'll enjoy the camaraderie that comes from building a boat as part of a team.
The well-tested plans result in a lightweight dinghy that's enjoyable to row across a sheltered cove or lake, or be used as a tender for a cruising boat. It also can be outfitted with a mast and sail — but those are for later classes.
In this class, you and your classmates will get the boat to the stage where it is ready to sail with oars. Among the skills you will learn are how to:
Mike Gearheard - Lead of BARN's Woodworking Studio, a member of the shop's steering committee and a safety monitor, Mike built the nutshell pram shown in the picture and has enjoyed sailing it for many years. His brother, Larry Gearheard - Mike Gearheard's brother, Larry also is a skilled boat builder and will be assisting with the class.
Learn to use a variety of power tools to make mortise and tenon joints - among the strongest ways to connect pieces of wood.
With this style of joinery, one piece has a "tongue" (the tenon) that fits into a recess (the mortise) in the mating piece. The joint design offers mechanical strength and helps keep parts aligned while they are being assembled and glued.
There are numerous ways to create these joints, including with hand tools. This class focuses on machine methods. Gain an excellent understanding of the mortise and tenon joint with this class – how to design with it and various methods to create it. You get hands-on experience in cutting a mortise using the drill press and vertical mortiser and in cutting tenons on the table saw, band saw, and router table.
Explore equipment, tools, and abrasive media so you can make the best choices for your woodworking projects.
Do you ever get confused about which sanding tools or sandpaper to use on your projects? Do you want tips on how to remove milling marks, prepare for a stain finish, or take a surface to a polish?
This class, part of the Woodworking Basics series, explores the tools and abrasive media available in the Woodworking Studio and explains what works best in different circumstances. You can explore equipment from large to small, including your own hands.
Learning the tools and abrasive media in the Woodworking Studio.
Jeff Williams is a retired firefighter who has been involved with BARN's Woodworking and Small Boatbuilding Studio for six years, including previous stings as studio lead and instructor. While not a professional woodworker, he has 40 years' experience as a fourth-generation woodworker. His great grandfather worked on furniture restoration at Hearst Castle in California in 1925.
Explore what goes into choosing the right wood for your project – color, density, moisture content, movement, and more.
When you're planning a project, do you choose wood by color? By how hard it is? By its grain pattern? The right answer usually involves several factors, but it really depends on what you want to build.
This class, part of the Woodworking Basics series, starts with a discussion about how wood grows and how that influences the look and performance of lumber. Learn about moisture content and wood movement, and how that should influence the wood you choose for various projects. You also learn why the best option, in some cases, isn't natural lumber but a panel product such as plywood or even particleboard.
Learn what factors are at play when choosing wood for your projects.
You must have taken Orientation to the Woodshop. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
Jeanne Huber, who heads the Woodworking Studio's program committee.
The 36” Northfield is the Wood Studio’s “Big Boy” and requires separate user qualification from the other bandsaws.
Successful completion of this class, plus some supervision in your first studio use of the Northfield, will qualify you to use it independently in Open Studio.
You will learn important safety guidelines, how to inspect and tune up this big saw, how to resaw boards and how to safely cut irregular or unstable stock.
Mastering the Northfield so you may use it independently in Open Studio.
Any needed material will be provided.
This class is open to those who have completed Orientation to the Woodshop, Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1, and Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 2. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
Please login to your BARN account and click on "My event registrations" to ensure you have completed the required prerequisites before you register for this class.
Jamie Straw. Jamie has been woodworking for more than 20 years and has experience on all of the standard stationary tools of a wood shop. Her first floor-model tool was a bandsaw, which she uses for both sawing large woodturning blanks and processing dimensional lumber.
