My first year at Virginia Commonwealth University was spent in the Art Foundation program, which is exactly what it sounds like.  It is designed to give students a foundation in which to build future artistic skills.  It has a broad curriculum which is beneficial in the fact that it gives you a taste of the different departments that are in the VCU School of the Arts.

 My “plan” was to go into the Painting and Printmaking program.  It wasn’t till almost the end of my first year that I changed my mind after trying out some woodworking.  The project that really got me was when I attempted to make a guitar like instrument.  I really found enjoyment in designing and figuring out how I would actually make it.  It was two things that really pulled me in; working in three dimensions and the problem solving.  Another aspect that I was very fond of were the tools, I was familiar with woodworking tools, but not ones of professional quality.  Well that’s when I decided I need to be woodworking and not painting. 

            At the end of freshman year I applied to the Crafts and Material Studies program.  After being accepted I eagerly signed up for my first woodworking class.  The first year consisted of learning basic techniques.  First we tackled hand tools: chisels, saws, rasps, spoke shaves, hand planes, marking gauges and so on.  Our first project was carving, I made a wooden knife.  After this warm up to the woodshop we finally got into the machine room.  VCU Craft wood shop can get a little messy sometimes but it’s got the tools to get the job done. 

 

The shops tools are:

·                        (2) 10” Saw Stop table Saws

·                        24″ Powermatic bandsaw

·                        14″ Powermatic bandsaw

·                        24″ Powermatic planer

·                        18″ Powermatic planer

·                        12″ Bridgewood Jointer

·                        Frommia horizontal mortiser

·                        CMT horizontal mortiser

·                        two One-Way lathes

·                        56″ Crouch edge sander

·                        20″ Jet disk sander

·                        Boise-Crane spindle sander

·                        Sand-Rite pneumatic drum sander

·                        Safety cut panel saw

·                        router table

·                        and a 30″ Excalibur scroll saw

 

We had several more small projects to teach us how to hand and machine cut mortise and tenons and lap joints.  Our final project was to make a small scale piece of furniture.  This is when I got really excited, I felt like I was really about to be turned loose, and I was. 

My first piece was a coffee table.  It was made from red oak, and ¾” rebar.  The techniques I used were edge gluing a table top and welding.  Looking back, it was a small and very simple project but it was a huge step forward from were I was the previous school year.  In my eyes it turned out great and left me hungry for more. 

 

In the next post I will be covering my next wood course.  Intermediate wood working with Bill Hammersly, Associate Professor of the woodworking department.

 

Click here to see my first post

https://www.finewoodworking.com/item/16848/going-with-the-grain-the-life-of-a-woodworking-student-and-artist-in-residence

 

VCU’s Crafts and Material Studies Department website.

http://www.vcu.edu/arts/craft/dept/

 

My profile on VCU Crafts Dept. site

http://www.vcu.edu/arts/craft/dept/clay/gallery.shtml?album=47

 

Click here to see what I’m up to at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts

http://kentperdue.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

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