Looking for a good woodworking class to attend

[Robert Mayer]

Got a sabbatical planned for 2 months next year (Feb and March). I was looking for good woodworking schools to attend, week or so long. Willing to fly anywhere in the states for it (but local would be nice). I have been woodworking for 20 years, but I really need to up my skills. I feel like most of what I do is simple joinery and flat and square projects. I would like to get good at building things like chairs or rockers (lots of complicated joinery and curves). Any suggestions? Lots of schools I looked at do not offer much classes during the winter. A one on one instruction would be nice.

I found NG Woodworking school in Los Angeles, they offer building a Maloof style rocking chair in 6 days. Date lines up perfectly. But they do not answer emails or phone calls the last week or so, which is frustrating. I know its the holidays, but they should still at least get back to me.

[Jim Becker]

Thos Moser has course offerings, if I'm not mistaken. And in lovely Maine.

[Tom Bain]

I’ve been going to the Marc Adams school for years and highly recommend. Their classes do not start until March.

[Tom Levy]

Watching for any recommendations in the NE, need to start researching if I want to take one in a few years.

[Kevin Jenness]

Thos Moser has course offerings, if I'm not mistaken. And in lovely Maine.

They don't leave any money on the table, but you do get to take the table home with you.

https://www.thosmoser.com/about-thos-moser/customer-in-residence/

[Jamie Buxton]

The Krenov School, in northern California, has a good reputation. They offer 9-month programs, and 3-week programs in the summer. https://thekrenovschool.org/

[Keith Pitman]

Port Townsend would be a good location for you: https://www.ptwoodschool.org/

not sure what they have in your timeframe.

[Paul Saffold]

Here are a few suggestions for chairmaking classes. I would love to take any of their classes if money and circumstances allowed.

Keep in mind that many classes fill up within a day of the schedule for the year being released. Most have a waiting list for when someone scheduled has to cancel. Mark Hicks is still showing openings. Peter Galbert tends to add classes occasionally throughout the year. Following these guys on instagram will keep you up to date on their offerings.

https://sawyermade.com Vermont. George Sawyer son of Dave Sawyer. I took a continuous arm windsor class there and highly recommend him

https://www.daviddouyardchairmaker.com
Davis teaches both Windsor and Brian Boggs ladderback chair classes in Conn.

http://www.penningtonwindsorchairs.com Gregg has classes near Nashville.

Peter Galbert, https://www.petergalbert.com teaches Windsor chair making in NH at the Maine border.

Elia Bizzarri, https://handtoolwoodworking.com in Hillsborough NC, near Durham has online classes and will hopefully start in-person classes again. Also a good source for tools and lots of info on his website.

https://lnk.bio/JeffLefkowitz taught Boggs ladderback classes and has retired from teaching in his shop this year. Starting in 2023 he will co-teach with students that have started on their own teaching. Note that these students are already accomplished wood workers and have gotten into teaching.

https://www.johnparkinsonfurniture.com/ in Durham, NC is going to start teaching Boggs ladderback chairs this year.

Mark Hicks, in Ozark MO. https://www.jointeffort.net/learn

Eric in Vermont, https://www.ericcannizzaro.com/classes

[Jim Becker]

They don't leave any money on the table, but you do get to take the table home with you.

https://www.thosmoser.com/about-thos-moser/customer-in-residence/

Yea, big bucks, but wonderful folks for sure.

[Paul J Kelly]

Robert,

I have attended the Alpine Workshop in Ouray, CO and I am attending another this March. They are taught by Joe Calhoon in a top class shop and are limited to 5-6 students per class.

I highly recommend it.

https://alpineworkshops.com/

PK

[Robert Mayer]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, i will go through all of them and report back.

[roger wiegand]

I've been very pleased with three classes so far at the Marc Adams School, south of Indy.

[andrew whicker]

Dugan Essick.

I took a chair making class with him. He's a darn good woodworker. Has even built a yacht

He's published in a fine furniture art book.

Lives in grass valley, California. A beautiful place. You can sleep on site for pretty cheap or stay at the town down the road which is a cool place too.

You could always see if you can do something custom with him.

https://www.essickwoodworkingschool.com/

[Mike Walsh]

I don't have any suggestions in CA, but heres a few in the Northeast:

- North Bennet St School in Boston
- Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, ME
- Dan Faia in Rollinsford, NH (he also runs the cabinet program at Bennet St

All 3 places have their schedules posted for the first part of 2023. I've taken a number of the continuing ed classes at Bennet St and all have been outstanding. I know others who've taken classes at CFC as well as instructors who speak very highly of it. Dan's private classes are fairly new but I've seen very good reviews

[stevo wis]

Robert,
All of the Windsor guys mentioned are great. George, Pete, and Greg I have worked with and the others all have good references as well
Making a Windsor is a lot of hand work. I also did a chair with William Ng last summer and he did a great job as well
He is an engineer and builds with almost all power tools. Of course that is necessary for a Maloof, but it is a different process than a Windsor. Both type of chairs are great. Another advantage to Ng is that the Maloof workshop and home are just down the road. Not sure why William doesn't get back. He was responsive to me.
Good luck

Stevo

[Paul F Franklin]

Might want to check out Gary Rogowski near Portland Oregon: https://northwestwoodworking.com/about/gary-rogowski/

I know he switched to online classes when Covid hit; not sure if he has returned to in person or 1 on 1.

[Alan Lightstone]

Does Brian Boggs still have classes at his studio? I see no mention of it on his website.

[Erik Loza]

Can vouch. Specifically target beginners, focus on fundamentals: https://austinschooloffurniture.com/

[Mike Henderson]

While this is not what you're looking for, I believe the best classes are those offered by a community college because you get instruction and you have lots of time to work with the instructors (the lab portion of the class is usually four hours). It's almost like serving an apprenticeship. And you can take multiple classes (over time), each one dedicated to a different skill. So your first class will probably cover safety, stock preparation, and building a simple project. Others may be more complex proejcts, such as chairs, or veneering, carving, etc.

I used to teach some woodworking short courses, such as veneering, dovetails, carving and box making, all done in a day. I supose I helped a few people, but the pace was so fast that I wonder how many of them retained what was taught - or used it afterwards. When a student hit a problem I usually fixed it for them, which is not really a good thing. It would have been better to instruct them on how to fix it and let them do it - but there was just no time.

Mike

[Frank Necaise]

I have gone to a couple of Bob Van Dyke's classes and found them to really help. He is located in Connecticut. Various class levels are available.

https://www.schoolofwoodworking.com/woodworking-classes.html

[Jonathan Jung]

Jory Brigham! Central coast CA. In person furniture weekend classes, very nice guy and team, talented maker and artist, internationally known.

[Thomas McCurnin]

In SoCal, William Ng has some classes including a complicated chair and keepsake box, lasting about a week. I have attended two classes there. He has a full shop, is safety minded, and has all the jigs you need to make whatever. You can purchase the jigs to take home. He has a sense of humor.

In Waco, there is Ploughshare, which emphasizes hand tools, and also features chairs and a blanket chest. Each class is a little over a week. Paul Sellers taught there for nearly a decade. I've also attended two classes there and built a nice craftsman rocker.

[Robert Mayer]

In SoCal, William Ng has some classes including a complicated chair and keepsake box, lasting about a week. I have attended two classes there. He has a full shop, is safety minded, and has all the jigs you need to make whatever. You can purchase the jigs to take home. He has a sense of humor.

In Waco, there is Ploughshare, which emphasizes hand tools, and also features chairs and a blanket chest. Each class is a little over a week. Paul Sellers taught there for nearly a decade. I've also attended two classes there and built a nice craftsman rocker.

I was concerned about the # of people William has in his classes. I was told it was up to 10. Seems excessive to me? But I am not sure. I learn very fast and have 20 years of doing woodworking (just not complicated projects like maloof style chairs).

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I would dearly love to attend one of William Ng's classes. Having watched several of his videos on Youtube, he shows incredible intelligence and well thought out plans before ever attempting something. If he has up to 10 students in a class, I am sure one would get enough personal exposure to him. He might also have some respected assistants too. I'd call and inquire. He would certainly be at the top of my list of bucket instructors to experience!

[Mike Henderson]

I live a short drive from William Ng's place. Even visited him there one time - didn't take a class, just a visit.

Mike