The router is one of the most versatile power tools in the shop but many people utilize only a fraction of its actual capabilities.

With some understanding of how things work and a little imagination the router can be used for accurate mortises, tenons, dadoes, sliding dovetails, raised panel doors and more.

Bob will demonstrate all of these techniques in this unique workshop.

Where do ideas come from? What makes a good piece of furniture?

How can you break out of the same old way of seeing and making something?

For three days, furniture designers and makers will gather to discuss their ideas using models, drawings, design exercises, music, literature and many other sources of inspiration.

Be ready to try something new!

This class will touch on a wide range of subjects and possibilities from basic faceplate and spindle turning, to complex hollow forms and multi-center work.

There will be an emphasis on exploring a multitude of possibilities, as opposed to finishing set projects, and on personalizing your turned objects with various carving and surface embellishment techniques.

You will be able to choose from a diverse range of projects to suit your skill level or you may wish to expand on the possibilities of what you are already doing.

This class will focus on using greenwood and hand tools to gain new found skills, freedom and fun. Students will make Windsor-style stools with backs while focusing on deepening their understanding of wood as a material and the tools used to shape it.

We will learn to split, shave, bend, carve, drill and design as well as demystifying the angles that make chairs possible.

There will be special emphasis on tool sharpening and building new skills for future use.

This workshop is intended to familiarize attendees with some of the variety of forms that can be created by repositioning wood on the lathe a number of times in the course of turning a piece.

Proper sharpening of tools, technical considerations and design will all be covered.

Mark will demonstrate a variety of forms that he has explored in spindle (between centers) turning.

He will begin with basic tool cutting techniques and cover issues directly related to his style of turning.

This course will focus on developing objects and ideas through the exploration of material (wood and mixed media), form (2D and 3D manipulations of line, shape and gesture), and processes (both traditional and experimental).

We will discuss, sketch, build, paint, carve and collaborate our way to the creation of unique art.

Demonstrations will include hand and power tool carving, bent lamination, constructed volumes, assemblage, collage and surface embellishment.

The carvings seen in traditional furniture provide an excellent introduction to the tools and techniques of woodcarving.

This class will present a series of exercises drawn from details of period pieces.

Each exercise will be demonstrated as a clear sequence of simpler steps.

Topics will include C-scrolls, shells and ball & claw feet. Each topic will include pattern development, tool selection and carving techniques.

In this course, students will learn the double-bevel marquetry technique and complete a design of their choice.

Students will work at their own level, beginning with a simple picture and progressing to a more complex design.

In addition to hands on work with fret and scroll saws, students will learn basic design and drawing, re-sawing veneer on the bandsaw, veneer selection, veneer taping, repairing, pressing, and finishing a marquetry picture.

As a group, working together, the class will complete a Boulle project with wood and brass.

James also presents more advanced techniques through daily slide shows, including a history of marquetry and marqueteurs, parquetry, inlay, oyster pattern making, the Boulle technique and the use of metals, packet cutting for repetitive designs and design considerations to incorporate marquetry into furniture design.

Exploring the art of bowl and box making along with spindle work will take us from the basics to, well, as far as our skills and imagination will go.

Along with safe tooling techniques and sharpening, we will explore texturing, carving and wood burning.

You will be encouraged to take the demonstrated bowl or box style steps and challenge yourself to take a step or two beyond and make it your own.

Bring your imagination and sense of humor for a great week of turning and exploring.

You can do much more woodworking than you might think on a table saw.

Joinery, stock preparation, even shaping and molding are all operations a table saw does, and does well.

Students will learn all of these tricks and more as you build a spice box with raised-panel door, entirely on the table saw.

We’ll start with the basics: safe and accurate ripping, precision crosscutting, and fine-tuning your saw.

We will move on to more exotic techniques such as how to cut coves, tapers, dados, tenons, box joints and bridal joints.

You will have a chance to use a molding head and to see why it can cut profiles that aren’t even possible with a router.

We will also talk about table saw accessories and jigs you can purchase, and those you can build for yourself.

In fact, you will go home with plans for three key jigs that you’ll be using in class.

By the end of the class, you’ll look at your saw in a new light.

This is a course that explores a number of creative techniques using the bandsaw with the lathe.

Students will explore the processes necessary to make a variety of containers and boxes.

Beginning turners will learn how to turn a box while more advanced turners will be encouraged to stretch their creative and technical turning boundaries.

All students will be introduced to the process of making a bandsaw box and possible ways of incorporating these techniques into their current turning work.

Creative problem solving and design issues will be addressed, as well as safety concerns.

This is a great class for turners who want to juice up their creativity and artists wanting to learn some woodworking techniques.

This workshop will focus on creating a small cabinet or vessel using the band saw box technique, incorporating textures and colors.

Textures introduced through demos and hands-on samples will range from traditionally carved textures to unorthodox hammered, grinder produced or stamped textures to name a few.

A wide assortment of color applications will be introduced such as different painting techniques, colored pencils, image transfers and texture gels and mediums.

Students are encouraged to bring their own images and objects to incorporate into their piece.

This workshop doesn’t require prior woodworking skills and due to its “experimental” nature can be enjoyed by the advanced woodworker as well.

THIS CLASS IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION.
TO ENSURE REGISTRATION, PLEASE CALLTHE OFFICE AT 973-948-5200.

This course is geared toward the beginner to intermediate woodworker looking to hone their skills and move the quality of their work up a notch.

By building a box we will cover basic hand and machine tool operation, material selection, basic joinery and finishing with particular emphasis on creating details that indicate and even contribute to the function of our new piece.

Students are invited to bring an object that they hold dear to their heart (or someone else’s) and customize the interior.

Banding is a form of decorative inlay that has been used for centuries by furniture makers.

It can be used as a border for table tops or drawer fronts, and as an outline for design elements in cabinet pieces and chests. While often dramatic and seemingly intricate, bandings can be made relatively simply, using a table saw as the primary tool.

This course will teach the basics of banding design and fabrication.

Students will make a number of decorative bandings and use them in the design and construction of two simple projects that will illustrate the design possibilities of banding; a picture frame and a cutting board.

This class is for those who may not have much turning experience but want to learn more about the amazing capabilities of the lathe, and what it can add to any woodworking project.

Through a series of short exercises you will learn how to quickly get the forms you want with great surface quality that requires a minimum of sanding.

Topics will include wood preparation and chucking methods, tool selection and sharpening, effective cutting techniques, layout strategies, integrating joinery, duplication of parts, sanding and finishing.

There will also be opportunities to explore textural techniques, split turnings, and strategies for making handles, door pulls, frames, inlays, finials, structural components and forms that defy categorization.

It starts at the fruit stand, the supermarket and in the kitchen.

We will look imaginatively at what we eat and how we eat it, and design and build a table around the processes used in preparing or enjoying a particular food or meal.

It is a new way of understanding the relationship between food and furniture.

This workshop will be an introduction into furniture making with a focus on the joinery used to design and construct a table.

Through lectures and demonstrations, students will learn skills such as lumber selection, milling, joinery, scraping, sanding, and assembly.

Handplanes can be one of the most useful and rewarding tools in the workshop – or they can be one of the most frustrating.

Learn how to effectively use handplanes in your work, which handplane is right for the particular job, what to look for when buying a new or flea market plane, “tuning them up” and most importantly, sharpening them.

The workshop will begin with getting your personal planes working better than ever and then we will spend the remainder on techniques such as smoothing a surface, beveling a table, planning a curved surface and planning end grain. Don’t miss this unique hands-on workshop.