My class with Roy

[Chuck Isaacson]

Well, last night I attended a class with Roy Underhill at his school in Pittsboro, NC. For those of you who don't know, Roy is the host of The Woodright Shop on PBS. He has been doing the show for almost 20 years. He has had s chool running for a little while now. I am not sure how. The class that I attended was about making cabriole legs by hand. It was taught by a man named Bill Anderson. He is a friend of Roys and teaches a few classes there. You could also do a hands on for and extra cost. They provided all of the tools and materials. It was definitely a hands on class. It was about three hours longs. It provided information on the history of cabriole legs as well as the different kinds that are made and what time period of pieces you would find them on. I did not do the hands on portion but I sure did enjoy watching. I still did learn a lot from just being there. Another thing that I will say is that Roy is one hell of a host. He had snacks and drinks that he was making rounds with making sure that everyone was full. He is definitely was of the nicest people too. Just a happy go lucky kind of guy. And with everything, no pics no proof. Here it is:
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All in all it was a very pleasurable experience. If I am ever in the area again, I definitely go back again. You can check out his class schedule and other offerings at his website (http://www.woodwrightschool.com/).

[Alan Schwabacher]

That is cool! Roy is the real thing. I'll bet this would get more comments in the handtool section though.

[Chuck Isaacson]

That is cool! Roy is the real thing. I'll bet this would get more comments in the handtool section though.

I thought about that, but I think that this forum get a little more attention than the other. I will post a link to this one over there. Thanks.

[Dave Lehnert]

I got to meet him a few years ago here in Cincinnati. When you meet him in person you find out he is very different on TV than in person. On TV he is very rushed.

If I remember right his day job is (was) writing manuals for IBM mainframe computer.

[David Gendron]

Good for you. It must be nice to meet in person one of todays woodworking icon! Like meeting with James Krenov, Sam Maloof, Tage Frid etc... Maybe one day!

[Jason Strauss]

Chuck,

That's really cool! I've always watched Roy and Norm on PBS and loved every minute. Two very differnent approaches, but their love of everthing wood really comes through.

Ever notice that at some point during each show he cuts himself or busts open a knuckle? I kid you not, every show. From someone's comment earlier in this thread, this all makes sense to me now - he's just rushed to fit everything into the 22 minutes of actaul show.

It's good to hear that he may not actually work in such a rushed fashion. I suppose that you can't do that type of hand tool work and actually rush it in real life.

[Mark Maleski]

Ever notice that at some point during each show he cuts himself or busts open a knuckle? I kid you not, every show. From someone's comment earlier in this thread, this all makes sense to me now - he's just rushed to fit everything into the 22 minutes of actaul show.

No, his explanation is that his director keeps shouting "cut" and he's just following instructions. :D

[Ben Galluzzo]

No, his explanation is that his director keeps shouting "cut" and he's just following instructions. :D

oh my gosh. This got my biggest laugh of the day. LOL

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chuck,

Congrats! He and Norm have done a lot to spread this hobby of ours and I would like to meet both of them!

[Chuck Tringo]

Nice, if the Army lets me move back to NC, or even any state near NC, Roy's school is definitely on my short list of WW things to do.