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* This class has prerequisites. Please see below.
The table saw is a cornerstone of every shop, and in this introductory class you'll learn the fundamentals of how this powerful and versatile machine works. We'll start with the anatomy of a table saw and how to calibrate the saw to achieve precise cuts every time, and then move on to skills like ripping wood, making miter cuts, and learning to make rabbets and dadoes.
By the end of this class, you'll have covered most of the cuts you'll ever make with a table saw. You'll have the skills and confidence to change blades, know how to ensure that your cuts are straight and square, and understand how to cut pieces to size accurately and repetitively. The materials fee covers practice wood. This class focuses on learning techniques, not building a class project.
Instructor: Dina Madson is a safety monitor in the BARN Woodworking Studio and a local general contractor. She has battled her addiction to wood and woodworking machinery for more than 30 years.
To use the shop, you will also need to attend our free one-hour Orientation to the Woodshop class.
Woodshop Tool Safety 1 will qualify you to use the following tools during Open Studio time and in classes that require certification in these tools:
Details:
Instructor: Jeanne Huber
Please click here for BARN's current COVID-19 health & safety protocols.
A common misconception for many woodworkers is that fine woodworking requires complicated techniques or difficult-to-cut joinery. Three simple joints — dados, rabbets and grooves — are the workhorses in furniture construction.
In this class, you will learn about the variety of these joints, how to select the appropriate one or a combination for each part of a project and how to set up the table saw to cut each joint safely and accurately. You will learn how to set up a dado blade and how to change the safety cartridge on BARN's SawStop table saws. As you practice, you will build a small, simple cabinet utilizing these joints.
Virtually all woodworking projects involve measurement and math, for everything from calculating materials needed to ensuring that parts are cut to dimensions that fit together properly. This class, part of BARN's Woodworking Basics series, will walk you through various kinds of measuring tools, from rulers and measuring tapes to French curves and digital calipers.
You'll get tips about how to lay out angles and curves, how to measure, and how to mark dimensions to ensure accuracy. You will also learn basic math principles that are helpful in woodworking — and ways to cope if math isn't your strong suit.
Tuition assistance is available. Click here to fill out our simple application before you register.
Although woodworkers often turn to the table saw to create joinery that uses dados, rabbets and grooves, a router can often do the work just as accurately and much more quickly..
In this class, you will learn the types of situations when a router — hand-held or mounted upside down in a table — is the best tool. You will learn how to set up to make safe, accurate cuts. To get hands-on experience during the class, you will build a small, simple cabinet utilizing these joints.
When you're planning a project, do you choose wood by color? By how hard it is? By its grain pattern? The right answer usually involves several factors, but it really depends on what you want to build.
This class, which is part of BARN's Woodworking Basics series, will start with a discussion about how wood grows and how that influences the look and performance of lumber. You'll learn about moisture content and wood movement, and how that should influence the wood you choose for various projects. You will also learn why the best option in some cases isn't natural lumber but a panel product such as plywood or even particleboard.
Instructor: TBD
* This class has a pre-requisite. Please see below.
Learn how to use hand tools skillfully in this four-week component of BARN's Beginning Woodworking series.
You will build a two-compartment tote, handy for storing or carrying silverware, garden tools or other items. The project was specifically designed to give you experience with the most common hand tools. You will learn to use:
Instructor: Paul Kury. Paul studied woodworking at Lonnie Bird’s School of Fine Woodworking in Dandridge, Tennessee, and has been an active woodworker for 40 years. His preference is 18th century furniture. Paul also volunteers as a woodworking safety monitor at BARN.
* This class has a prerequisite. Please see below.
In fine woodworking, everything starts with the wood. Before you can focus on joinery or fancy details, you need to make a board foursquare, with surfaces that are flat, straight, parallel and square. And then you need to cut the lengths, widths and thicknesses you need, in a way that positions the pieces where the grain direction makes the most sense. In this class, you will learn techniques and strategies that will help you custom mill wood to the precise dimensions you need. You’ll learn:
Do you ever get confused about which sanding tools or sandpaper to use on your woodworking projects? Do you want tips on how to remove milling marks, prepare for a stain finish or take a surface to a polish?
In this class, which is part of the Woodworking Basics series, you'll learn about the tools and abrasive media available in the BARN Woodworking Studio and what works best in different circumstances. You will explore equipment from large to small, including your own hands.
This is a beginning-level class.
Please click here for BARN's current COVID-19 health & safety protocols. .
Instructor: Jeff Williams is a retired firefighter. While not a professional woodworker, he brings 40 years of experience as a fourth-generation woodworker. His great grandfather worked on furniture restoration at Hearst Castle in California in 1925. In addition, Jeff has six years with BARN’s Woodworking and Small Boatbuilding Studio as prior studio lead and instructor.
* This class has pre-requisites. Please see below.
Mortise and tenon joinery are used in many types of furniture construction. The joint finds its way into many furniture pieces for good reason. It offers a lot of mechanical strength and helps keep parts aligned while assembling and gluing. It is a versatile and valuable joint to add to your woodworking skill set.
By the end of this class, you'll have an excellent understanding of the mortise and tenon joint – how to design with it and the various methods you may use to create it. You'll also have solid hands-on experience in cutting a mortise using the drill press and vertical mortiser and in using the table saw for cutting tenons.
You must wear safety glasses and closed-toe shoes, tie back long hair, and avoid loose-fitting clothing and jewelry. We recommend bringing your own safety glasses.
*This class has prerequisites. See below.
Gain confidence in using a wide array of power tools safely in this three-week component of BARN's Intro to Woodworking series.
You will build a sturdy, two-step stepstool of solid wood and plywood. The project was specifically designed to give you experience with the most common stationary and portable tools in the woodshop:
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition Assistance is available - click here to fill out the simple application before registering for a class. For those who might need physical assistance, please learn about BARN's Companion Program here.
Instructor: Mo Ellis
Build a small bookcase, bench, table or other relatively simple project of your choosing as you learn to take a project through all of the steps from initial idea to finished project.
This class, part of BARN's Woodworking Basics series, is designed for students who have at least beginner-level skills with hand and power tools but want to develop those skills more under the guidance of an experienced instructor.
The first session, focused on developing a plan and calculating materials, will be taught as a regular class. You will then have almost a week to buy materials. The following five sessions coincide with Open Studio times. You will share use of the shop's tools with other users, but you and up to three other students will have a dedicated instructor to help you through all of the steps. The class is limited to four students to ensure that you get enough help from the instructor.
Do you ever get confused about what type of glue to use on your woodworking projects? Wonder about correct preparation and application? Which clamps to use and how long to leave them on? How to clean up the mess?
This class, which is part of BARN's Woodworking Basics series, will engage you in a conversation to answer these and other questions focusing on materials and tools available in BARN’s Woodworking Studio. Our goal is to give you more confidence in this important phase of your project’s construction and provide you with a better result.
