Learn how to use hand tools skillfully in this four-session component of BARN's Beginning Woodworking series.
Once you've taken Orientation to the Woodshop, join us to build a two-compartment tote, handy for storing or carrying silverware, garden tools, or other items. The project was specifically designed to give you experience with the most common hand tools.
You will learn to use:
All students must wear a mask to this class.
Orientation to the Woodshop (multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar)
Ages 14 and up are welcome.
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.
Tom Leurquin has been a BARN member since its opening and specializes in projects involving hand tools. After taking several hand tool courses at BARN and the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, he fell in love with the intimacy and meditative aspects of working wood by hand. His civil engineering background has helped him achieve a critical eye for detail and precision that enriches the art of hand tool woodworking.
Learn the basic safety principles of five key tools in the woodworking shop.
In this hands-on class, you will make practice cuts on wood that the shop will supply. Completing this class qualifies you to use the following tools during open studio time or in classes that have this as a prerequisite:
You will shape a piece of wood using specific studio tools.
All needed materials will be provided.
None.
Charles Sharpe
Get checked out on the Woodworking Studio’s major power tools not covered in the Tool Safety Checkout 1 class.
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
Mike Morgan
Jeanne Huber
Learn the fundamentals of the powerful and versatile table saw - the cornerstone of every shop.
We start this introductory class with the anatomy of the table saw and how to calibrate it to achieve precise cuts every time. Then we move on to skills like ripping wood, making miter cuts, and learning to make rabbets and dadoes.
By the end of this class, you'll have covered most of the cuts you'll ever make with a table saw. You'll have the skills and confidence to change blades, the know-how to ensure that your cuts are straight and square, and understand how to cut pieces to size accurately and repetitively.
This class focuses on learning techniques, not building a class project.
You must first complete Orientation to the Woodshop and Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar. Log in to your BARN account and click on "My event registrations" to confirm that you have completed these prerequisites.
Dina Madson is a safety monitor in the Woodworking Studio and a local general contractor. She has battled her addiction to wood and woodworking machinery for more than 30 years.
Dave Roe
Learn how to take a project from an idea to a well-developed plan that's ready for building.
See the steps an experienced furniture maker goes through before he's ready to build a project. Then, with his guidance, go through those steps on a project of your choice.
Day 1: View examples of the instructor's work and discuss the design steps that went into them. Learn how to go from a sketch to a detailed, scaled drawing. Using a simple class project, go through these steps yourself.
Day 2: Bring a sketch of the project you want to build. In class, develop a scaled drawing that includes joinery details so you can develop a parts list and the steps needed to build the piece.
This class has no prerequisites, but keep your skill level in mind when you select a project to plan.
John McCormack is a furniture designer, maker, and teacher living and working in Port Townsend. A graduate of the cabinet and furniture making program at North Bennet Street School in Boston, he holds a Master in Fine Arts in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design. He has written for various publications, including "Fine Woodworking," which featured his piece on "The Ultimate Crosscut Sled" on its cover. He got his start in woodworking by studying under John Kassay, author and expert on Shaker and Windsor furniture.
After you've taken Orientation to the Woodshop and Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1 and 2, join us to build a sturdy, two-step step stool of solid wood and plywood. This project is specifically designed to give you experience with the most common stationary and portable tools in the woodshop.
You will learn to safely use:
Skill level: Beginner (but see "Prerequisites" below).
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.
You must have completed Orientation to the Woodshop class plus Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1 and 2. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
Bob Mathisrud has a long work history of facilities operations, which has provided him with wide-ranging experiences in the skilled trades. He helps at BARN in many ways, including by volunteering as a safety monitor in the Woodworking Studio. Morgan Neff will assist.
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.
Explore various measuring tools, from rulers and measuring tapes to French curves and digital calipers.
Virtually all woodworking projects involve measurement and math, for everything from calculating needed materials to ensuring that parts are cut to dimensions that fit together properly.
Part of BARN's Woodworking Basics series, this class offers tips about how to lay out angles and curves, how to measure, and how to mark dimensions to ensure accuracy. You also learn basic math principles that are helpful in woodworking - and ways to cope if math isn't your strong suit.
This class is open to students who have taken Orientation to the Woodshop. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
Mike Gearheard leads BARN's Woodworking Studio.
