If you were going to take a beginners class???

[Jeff B Bennett]

I’ve been a woodturner for 20 years but have developed an interest in traditional woodworking. I’ve bought a few planes, chisels, saws and a bench and been playing around cutting tenons, flattening and trueing up rough stock etc and trying simple project like a joiners mallet from the woodwrights shop episode. Now I want to take a class. Where would you recommend? I considered the Dutch tool chest class at Lost Art Press but think a more general class might be better than a specific project. Looked at the Roy Underhill site and looks like they are a bargain at $350 or a two day general class but they are shut down for Covid I think. What are some good options? Preferably driving distance from Memphis but I could be persuaded to fly.

[Joe A Faulkner]

I have had a couple of friends take classes at Marc Adam’s School of Woodworking, and they were very positive about the experience He brings in lots of different teachers. He is offering his Joinery course in September. His school is in south central Indiana so within driving distance

[Chuck Hill]

Have you considered a on-line course, such as Shannon Roger's Handtool School? It is an economical alternative to in-person learning at only $380 for a year. I have not signed up yet but will soon.

[Scott Winners]

I thought you might have more responses by now.

What worked for me, YMMV, was to go with the Paul Seller's _Working Wood_ , books one and two between one set of covers. Getting to Seattle from my home is a challenge, I would be half way to Kansas City from the house. As a beginner I didn't really look at in person classes because I dread having checked bags change planes in Seattle.

What I liked was there was one defined set of tools in the begining to finish all the projects in the book. I fully agree with Derek's comments elsewhere on this site about Paul the teacher, Paul the craftsman and Paul the evangelist. There are a couple chapters in the book I have X'd through so I don't bother reading them again, but not many.

I have done just about all the projects in the book. I skipped over the bookcase with the stopped dados and am currently working on the chairside table in beech. Only two critiques so far, I should have made a shaped strop for my gouge before I started making spoons. The other one that tripped me up was the templates in the book for the shape of the table legs. There is a user at wood something dot co dot uk who posted a fix for the template, and I have emailed the publisher as well.

Along the way I have restored a pretty fair set of Baileys and vastly prefer Chris S's "I can do anything with a #3, a #5 with three irons and a #8" to Paul's "you can do everything with a #4." You can do everything with a #4 if you have forever time and zero money. I have neither of forever time and zero money, but I also don't need a 5 1/4 or a #2 or a #7 or some of the other uncommon sizes.

A rabbet is a rebate, no matter who shows you how to do it. Same with mortises and learning to use a spokeshave downhill.

Anyway, having worked through that book, and gone to see youtube videos also by Paul wherever I was stuck, I am now agitating with Lost Art Press to have a Windsor chair building course. My first two chairs got bonfired, which I am OK with, my third chair will be in hickory so I can at least run it through a BBQ cooker if it stinks, but with just the above book and some time invested (and more tools than are in the opening chapters) I feel ready for a Windsor chair class, except for getting my tool chest to change planes in Seattle.

Good luck and best wishes.

EDIT: I have also availed myself to all three books in the Anarchist series, the "A-books" by Chris Schwarz. As I read through those I see stuff I already know how to do, or stuff I can see that I can learn to do, with the basic skills I already picked up from Paul. Learning to taper holes at a consistent angle for instance; once I had the tapered reamer I just built a banjo for my drill press, drilled evenly spaced holes in a 2x4 scrap and then tapered and tapered and tapered until I had four in a row where the legs looked OK...then I built a sawbench.

Again, good luck.

[Robert Flowers]

Jeff, take a look at the classes at Highland Woodworking, right now they are only on line at 10.00 a month or 99.00 a year. Hopefully they will be getting back to in person classes now that the store is open.
Robert

[Stan Powers]

Check out the North Bennet St. School in Boston. https://www.nbss.edu
Bring your spouse and enjoy Boston for the week. Great fundamental base for going forward.

[Mike Brady]

Hi Jeff. I live in Indy and have been to Marc Adams school a few times. I also have taken classes in Chicago from Jeff Miller. I recommend either of those. There are many good schools, but as you point out, geography is a major considereration, as are the additional costs of food and lodging.

There used to be some teachers near Berea College in KY. That college has a woodworking curriculum, so there might be some teachers offering classes privately. It might be worth going someplace and staying a week and really getting into the fundamentals of sharpening, planing, chisel use, and sawing. If you can get the fundamentals down, you can then concentrate on certain skills classes and projects that might be available relatively cheaply online. When I started, I also learned about the tools from restoring some and learning what techniques are needed to make them work properly. I also learned that there is a big differencein value between classes where you participate, and ones that are simply demonstrations by a teacher.

If you do happen to come to Marc Adams, You would be welcome to come to visit my shop in Indy and try out some tools. Also check into woodworking clubs in your area. Clubs should be reopening to live meetings by September.

[J. Greg Jones]

Berea College has their own school now, The Woodworking School at Pine Croft. https://pinecroftwoodschool.com/ The college purchased Kelly Mehler’s school, tools, the two houses, and the farm a couple of years ago. All their classes last year were canceled due to COVID-19, but they are having some classes this fall. Megan Fitzpatrick and Aspen Golann are on the teaching schedule. Andy Glenn is running the school and is teaching some of the classes, and he will do a nice job with it.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Tom Fidgen’s Unplugged Workshop is another one I would consider. He has a couple of books, lots of you tubes and a subscription service as well.

[Jeff B Bennett]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll look into all of them.

[Steve Hubbard]

Another vote for Marc Adams. In 2011, my son and I trook the Introduction to Woodworking class taught by Marc. Great experience, introduction to power tool safety and use as well as joinery with hand tools. Since then, I have attended 15 or 16 specialty classes there. In the early years, it was a 9 hour drive for me, and worth it.

[steven c newman]

IF I were to ever take a "Beginner's Class" I'd just as soon head to Roy Underhill's School.....if and when he starts it back up.

Might have a few tools for the school assignments..
F&P Box Project, Busy Bench.JPG
In use this evening, between doing the loads of Laundry...Busy bench?

[Megan Fitzpatrick]

Just FYI that in the Dutch tool chest classes that I teach, you learn how to plane, saw to a line, cut dovetails, cut dados by hand, some non-dovetails-related chisel techniques and more :-) Which is not to say I think you should take that class – just that it isn't all about the project!

[Jeff B Bennett]

Megan I'm on the waitlist!!! Know anybody that could pull strings and get me in? :-)

[J. Greg Jones]

Jeff, if you get in send me a PM and I’ll have you over for dinner one evening of your stay here. Good luck!