Learn techniques and strategies to help you custom mill wood to the precise dimensions you need.
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 learn how to custom mill wood to the precise dimensions you need, including:
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.
Ages 14 and up are welcome.
View BARN’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition assistance is available. Fill out the application before registering.
For those who might need physical assistance, learn more about our Companion Program.
Learn the basic safety principles of key woodworking power tools you can use during open studio times, once qualified.
You are given a piece of wood to cut and shape in this hands-on class.
Completing this class will qualify you to use the following tools during the Woodshop Studio’s 30 weekly hours of open studio time, and classes that require certification in these tools:
You will shape a piece of wood using specific studio tools.
All needed materials will be provided.
None.
Jeanne Huber
Get checked out on the Woodworking Studio’s major power tools not covered in the Tool Safety Checkout 1 class.
Completing this class qualifies you to use the following tools during open studio time or in classes that have this as a prerequisite:
Achieve proficiency on these power tools.
Dave Roe
This introduction to our Woodworking & Small Boatbuilding Studio is required for anyone who wants to work in the studio.
This free orientation covers policies and etiquette in a community workshop, safety, and the studio’s leadership structure.
The Open Studio experience is discussed as well as what the studio contributes to support members’ learning and project work.
Learning opportunities to help the studio run smoothly are provided. Volunteer jobs range from serving as safety monitors, assisting on community service projects, and helping on Monday Maintenance.
If you are new to woodworking, a basic series of classes is explained to help you begin your woodworking experience while using natural and sustainable materials to create with your hands.
You will learn how our studio works and fulfill the orientation prerequisite for further use of the studio and classes.
Any materials used will be provided.
None
Jeff Williams
Charles Sharpe
Explore equipment, tools, and abrasive media so you can make the best choices for your woodworking projects.
Do you ever get confused about which sanding tools or sandpaper to use on your projects? Do you want tips on how to remove milling marks, prepare for a stain finish, or take a surface to a polish?
This class, part of the Woodworking Basics series, explores the tools and abrasive media available in the Woodworking Studio and explains what works best in different circumstances. You can explore equipment from large to small, including your own hands.
Learning the tools and abrasive media in the Woodworking Studio.
Jeff Williams is a retired firefighter who has been involved with BARN's Woodworking and Small Boatbuilding Studio for six years, including previous stings as studio lead and instructor. While not a professional woodworker, he has 40 years' experience as a fourth-generation woodworker. His great grandfather worked on furniture restoration at Hearst Castle in California in 1925.
Explore what goes into choosing the right wood for your project – color, density, moisture content, movement, and more.
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, part of the Woodworking Basics series, starts with a discussion about how wood grows and how that influences the look and performance of lumber. Learn about moisture content and wood movement, and how that should influence the wood you choose for various projects. You also learn why the best option, in some cases, isn't natural lumber but a panel product such as plywood or even particleboard.
Learn what factors are at play when choosing wood for your projects.
You must have taken Orientation to the Woodshop. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
Jeanne Huber, who heads the Woodworking Studio's program committee.
Completing this class will qualify you to use the following tools during the Woodshop Studio 30 weekly hours of open studio time, and classes that require certification in these tools:
After you've taken Orientation to the Woodshop and Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1 and 2, join us to build a sturdy, two-step step stool of solid wood and plywood. This project is specifically designed to give you experience with the most common stationary and portable tools in the woodshop.
You will learn to safely use:
Skill level: Beginner (but see "Prerequisites" below).
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.
You must have completed Orientation to the Woodshop class plus Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1 and 2. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar.
Bob Mathisrud has a long work history of facilities operations, which has provided him with wide-ranging experiences in the skilled trades. He helps at BARN in many ways, including by volunteering as a safety monitor in the Woodworking Studio. Morgan Neff will assist.
Learn the fundamentals of the powerful and versatile table saw - the cornerstone of every shop.
We start this introductory class with the anatomy of the table saw and how to calibrate it to achieve precise cuts every time. Then we 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, the know-how to ensure that your cuts are straight and square, and understand how to cut pieces to size accurately and repetitively.
This class focuses on learning techniques, not building a class project.
You must first complete Orientation to the Woodshop and Woodshop Tool Safety Checkout 1. Multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar. Log in to your BARN account and click on "My event registrations" to confirm that you have completed these prerequisites.
Dina Madson is a safety monitor in the Woodworking Studio and a local general contractor. She has battled her addiction to wood and woodworking machinery for more than 30 years.
Learn how to use hand tools skillfully in this four-session component of BARN's Beginning Woodworking series.
Once you've taken Orientation to the Woodshop, join us to 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:
All students must wear a mask to this class.
Orientation to the Woodshop (multiple sessions are listed on the Woodworking Calendar)
Tom Leurquin has been a BARN member since its opening and specializes in projects involving hand tools. After taking several hand tool courses at BARN and the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, he fell in love with the intimacy and meditative aspects of working wood by hand. His civil engineering background has helped him achieve a critical eye for detail and precision that enriches the art of hand tool woodworking.
