woodworking groups near Philly (Montgomery county)?

[Bob Riefer]

I've been trying to find some groups near to me so that I might be able learn from those with more experience, and make new friends with a shared hobby etc. So far, my emails and calls to seemingly defunct groups have gone unanswered.

So... Do you know of any active woodworking groups in my area? I'm in Montgomery County PA, which is west of Philadelphia.

edit: Although I'm currently interested in machine based woodworking, and would prefer to find a group that is like-minded, I would of course happily partake in any type of woodworking group.. hand tools, turning etc.

edit 2: If no groups that you know of, but you are in the area and interested in mentoring a motivated woodworker, I'm definitely open to that as well.

Thanks,

Bob R.

[Bob Riefer]

No one in this area is a woodworker? I promise, I'm a nice guy :)

[Rob Cunningham]

Bob,
There's the Montgomery County PA Woodworkers Guild listed here on the creek, but it doesn't seem to be too active.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/group.php?groupid=20
I don't know of any other groups in our area. With working two jobs my time is pretty limited, but if you had a specific area of interest, perhaps we could get together sometime and make some sawdust.

[Ron Conlon]

Hey Bob-

I had the opportunity to take a week-long class with Jeff Lohr a few years back. He's a professional furniture maker located in Schwenksville and also teaches a class called Practical Woodworking. It was exactly what I needed to get involved with woodworking.

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks for responding guys, I sent you messages privately to see if there are any opportunities to get together in the future.

I checked that sawmillcreek group mentioned above and tried contacting group members without success. Perhaps we can revive it?

Also, I did take that course from Jeffry Lohr last year and really enjoyed it (REALLY enjoyed it), and we have become friends with Jeffry and Linda - they live 4 minutes from us!

[Rob Cunningham]

There's also The Philadelphia Furniture Workshop which offers classes. I've taken a few classes there. Mario and Alan are both great guys as well as great teachers.
http://philadelphiafurnitureworkshop.com/

[Bill Kobie]

A friend of mine suggested this class to me last week and said he is VERY good and not to expensive,He is located in Chester Springs.

www.acanthus.com (http://www.acanthus.com)

I hope that helps!!!

[Jim Becker]

There's also The Philadelphia Furniture Workshop which offers classes. I've taken a few classes there. Mario and Alan are both great guys as well as great teachers.
http://philadelphiafurnitureworkshop.com/

Also my recommendation. Alan and Mario have an outstanding operation going on and it's likely you'll also meet a whole bunch of folks to enjoy the "social side of woodworking" with.