I am a novice/beginner in wood working and enjoy very much the articles and videos on this website. However, the more I read/watch, the more I realize just how much I don’t know and understand some of the basics.
How can I find a class in basic wood working in my community? I’ve searched the local community colleges with no success.
Thanks,
Matt Mealey
Replies
Here, in Salt Lake City, the school districts offer adult classes in woodworking and cabinetmaking in the evening and Saturdays utilizing the high school shops. Woodcraft also offers classes in specific techniques, mostly on Saturday mornings.
Call a local high school. Ours has open shop time to use the tools. I know you are looking for a class, but I'm sure someone will give you a hand when you need it.
Our local vocational'technical college also has classes.
Woodcraft may have somrthing also.
Good luck,
Bill
Hi Matt,
First off, welcome to Knots! There are some great people here!
I'm new to woodworking myself, and I have the same problem, Matt. There's no real substitute for working alongside someone with experience.
I've checked around at the area voc-tech programs and no luck. The nearest Woodcraft is an hour and a half away. The suggestion here to try the high schools is a good one, and I'll do that.
Why don't some of these Knots guys get a big camper and come around to our towns dispensing free advice? Knots On Tour! I promise I'd sweep the shop before they got here.
Just hanging around here and reading the posts from various members has been a good way to glean helpful information. Not as good as live- and-in-person, but good nevertheless.
--Jonnieboy
"Why don't some of these Knots guys get a big camper and come around to our towns dispensing free advice? Knots On Tour! "
That makes too much sense to actually happen. ; )
http://www.mvflaim.com
I threw it out there in passing, but thinking more about it, it really would be cool, wouldn't it?
--jonnieboy
I can envision several 18-wheelers with fold-down sides and a really-big generator to create an integrated parking lot mobile shop.As the song went, "We got ourselves a CONvoy!" 10-4, Rubber Duck. ;-)
Ralph,
I was sort of envisioning a 1978 station wagon with the "wood" sides on it. The back end is almost dragging on the ground. No A/C. Muffler tied up with a hanger. Out climb the seven experts with their wooden toolboxes, sweating profusely in their wife-beater tee-shirts.
"Hey, which way's the restroom?"
--jonnieboy
AHH good laugh. 'ceprt would be wearing a big name golf club shirt, bought at the local sally ann for a buck.
Hey now, those are some great shirts, Shoemaker, at a great price!
I remember when I had to sit in the very, very back fold-down seat of one of those very station wagons when I was a kid.
Even at the moderate speed of 75 or 80 mph, which my father thought was a perfectly sensible speed with six kids and a wife in the car, the fumes would roll in the back window like a San Francisco fog. Ugh! I would get so car-sick!
We couldn't let that happen to our experts. They'd have to keep the back window rolled up.
"Move!... That!... Workbench!!"
--jonnieboy
I guess it really is too good to ever come true.
-jb
Matt,
There is a list her on FWW of woodworking schools all over the country. Many have beginner courses. Here's the link
https://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=28165
Matt,
I just Googled houston high school woodworking and there were several schools listed. I Yahooed the same and found Houston County Hish School. Might give that a try for starters.
Welcome to woodworking and Knots, where we know it all! Well, if we don't we generally know who does. :-)
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
There's a Woodcraft Supply in Houston. Head on over, introduce yourself and ask about classes. Many of the stores conduct classes and the staff is usually pretty knowledgable about local resources.
Also, don't overlook the printed resources available. Taunton publishes some great books that you should find very helpful. I'd recommend the Tage Frid Joinery books for anyone starting out. They are very instructive and they'll serve as references well into your learning curve.
If you can't find classes, videos are the next best thing. Again, Taunton has a great selection.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
I was in your position when I attended one of those "Sows" at a convention ceter. I attended a seminar with Marc Adams as instructor. He was so dedicated to 'teaching' that I looked into his school near Indianapolis and went.
What I learned was amazing! I have since attended 8 more classed, all in difernt phases of woodworking. I am now able to prodice pretty sophisticated work with confidence.
Take a look at his offerings, sign up start after Thanksgiving:
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
I was in your position when I attended one of those "Shows" at a convention ceter. I attended a seminar with Marc Adams as instructor. He was so dedicated to 'teaching' that I looked into his school near Indianapolis and went the following spring.
What I learned was amazing! I have since attended 8 more classes, all in different phases of woodworking. I am now able to produce pretty sophisticated work with confidence.
Take a look at his offerings, sign up start after Thanksgiving: marcadams.com
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
I would second Frosty's suggestion...Marc Adam's school has to be one of, if not THE best woodworking schools in the country..well worth the time and money.
Neil
"I would second Frosty's suggestion . . ."
but he already did it himself! ;-)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
You're right, seven times.
Hey Frosty, did you get your Masters? Of the classes you took did you have a favorite?
Neil
Yes, I got my Masters - but I keep the plaque tucked away, hidden in a corner. I don't consider myself a "Master" in the true sense of the word. I make mistakes that bug me and I feel that I shouldn't.One progression I have noticed in the past year is a lack of tolerance for something I don't feel is right. I am making a demilune table with a bricklaid apron, veneered with cross banding. I have sawn up two of them and tossed them on the burn pile as I didn't feel they were up the standards I expect of myself, even though the apron is 'out of sight'.I had a small table with 'slightly curved' and detailed legs. It was in our LR for a year - but each time I time I looked at it I had the feeling the curve on the leg was not fair. I threw it on the burn pile and built a new table; though I did save and reuse the drawer.Answer to your question: I think the best class I took was the so-to-speak, 'final exam': two weeks of design-your-own project with Michael Fortune. A wonderful experience.A finishing class with Mitch Kohanek was 10.0. He is a marvelous teacher with a great approach to finishing.Veneering was an astounding experience. I can't recall the instructor's name right now but he is a regular at the school.I probably won't attend any more classes - I really want to - but I feel I must stay home and monitor my wife.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Hi Matt.... Welcome to Knots. I don't have a map of Texas in front of me, but here are the Woodworking clubs in Texas that have listed with Fine Woodworking:
Fine Woodworkers of Austin
Contact: David Petersen
Email: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.finewoodworkersofaustin.org
Golden Triangle Woodturners
Meetings at:
Center for Visual Arts
East Craft Room
400E Hickory Street
Denton, TX
Web site: http://www.goldentrianglewoodturners.org
North Texas Woodworker's Association
PO Box 831567
Richardson, TX 75083-1567
Web site: http://www.ntwa.org
Rio Grande Valley Woodcarvers
Meetings at:
Nomad Shrine Club
1044 W. Nolana
Pharr, TX
Web site: http://www.iidbs.com/riogrand
Tarrant Woodworkers Club
1804 Wynn Terrace
Arlington, TX 76010
Email: [email protected]
Woodworkers Club Of El Paso
P.O. Box 3291
El Paso, TX 79923
Woodworker's Club of Houston
Web site: wwch.org
Woodturners of North Texas
Web site: http://www.woodturnersofnorthtexas.org
It looks like there is one club in your area. Go to their website and then go to their meetings. Many clubs sponsor some sort of classes that are open to its membership. It is great to learn directly from Frank Klaus, Strother Purdy, and other big names, but there are also many great local 'unknowns' who can give you great information.
At the very bottom of the opening page for Fine Woodworking there is a list of woodworking clubs. Go to several of these club websites and see if they 'publish' their newsletters online. In New York, look at the newsletter from Northeast Woodworkers. Lots of great info there. Long Island Woodworkers (some of the earlier issues) and there are lots more.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
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