I had the good fortune to spend the last week learning to carve with Bob Yorburg at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in Franklin, Indiana. Bob is a great carver, with particular expertise in carousel and amusement-related art, and a superb teacher, but I wanted to talk more about the school than the particular class. (Bob did take six of us from complete novices to being able to produce passable appliqués of flowers, shells, fruit, ribbons, and the beginnings of acanthus in five days, in my own case a near-miracle!)

The school is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. It is huge, occupying 4-5 large (~100x200 ft) steel buildings, and far better equipped than any place I've ever been. My jaw dropped when I walked through the doors. More amazing to me was that I'd never heard of the place prior to being alerted to the course I took by the instructor. I don't see many references to it on this site, so I thought I'd bring it to your attention. Their catalog and web site are well worth a look.

There were several classes in progress while I was there. Twenty turners were each working on their own Oneway lathes in one room with Jimmy Clewes as the instructor. They produces a range of projects from colored and textured platters to calabashes to wooden drinking jugs. Another set of folks were building period reproduction serpentine front chests using hand tools wherever it mattered with Jeff Headley and Steve Hamilton. Another class was making small boxes with intricate marquetry. We were free to go from class to class during breaks and such to learn a bit and watch what was going on.

They run a couple of hundred classes and workshops every year, ranging from a single day to a couple of weeks. Examples of the work of both the students and instructors was everywhere in the buildings. The range of instructors is really first rate, people from around the world who are the experts in whatever it is they do. They've recently added a new building for CNC machines, and will start construction on a "hot building" for metal and glass work.

The school is run by Marc and his family with a dedicated staff who have been there for years or decades. Everything about the place runs flawlessly, from the personal and friendly registration process, to the hot muffins that get delivered to your class from time to time, to the class assistants who make sure that the teachers can focus exclusively on teaching, taking care of all the technical and background tasks. Every machine is perfectly adjusted, has a sharp blade and works as you might hope it would. They don't accept any sponsorships, so have machines that range from Powermatic to Felder and Festool, selected to be the best for their students.

The people are just fantastic; friendly, accommodating, and scarily competent. If you'd like to up your game or just take on a really challenging project with expert help I'd suggest you have a browse of their catalog. (No, I'm neither on the payroll nor getting a discount, just enthused!)

I didn't take many pictures because I was too busy and having too much fun, but I've attached a couple, including my first carved shell (still needing a lot of cleanup). Mar is a big Disney fan, and has done all the Mickey Mouse cartoon posters in marquetry. I attached a picture of one that I particularly liked.


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