Description:

In this class you'll get familiar with typical woodworking tools and the basics of joinery and finishing techniques by building the foundational shape from which most furniture and structures are constructed - a box!

We will have a few project plans to choose from, including a tool box, a jewelry box, and a magazine holder. This class will prepare you to take the Artisan's Asylum basic and advanced woodworking tool tests.

While this is a hands-on class producing a final project that you can take home, there will also be theoretical lecture portions of the class. We will discuss different types of wood, what factors go into your choice of material, and what behaviors of the wood to keep in mind when choosing which tools to use on that wood. We will also discuss different types of joints, and both the structural and aesthetic reasons you may want to use one joint method over another. We will discuss joints that require jigs, however, we will NOT be practicing those joints (such as dovetails, finger joints, biscuits, and pocket screwing). We will also discuss the different finish options, including waxes, oils, stains, varnishes, and paint, and you will get instruction on how to apply the one of your choosing to your final piece. We will also discuss how you can parlay your newfound box experience into designing your own future projects, from cabinets to tables to houses.

Class Goals:

Teach students how to safely use woodworking and assembly tools like table saws, sliding compound miter saws, circular saws, the jointer and planer, layout tools and more, leading to the completion of a wooden box.

Prerequisites:

None.

Materials:

Wood will be provided; please bring $10 cash to the fist class to cover the cost of materials.

Instructor Biography:

Carolyn Emberley has a BFA in Studio Art from UMass Amherst, taught in the Student Union Craft Center for most of her time there, and took woodworking classes in the art department.

Carolyn has been observing and building in her Dad's workshop since before she can remember. She built her first toolbox as a wee lass with her Dad's help when she was probably 8 or 10. Her personal projects tend to range from jewlery stands to boxes to small furniture. She comes from a family of professional builders and remodelers, and has helped frame, drywall, trim, paint, etc. many a structure, including her parents' home improvement projects, the construction of an addition to a family summer cottage, volunteering on several Habitat for Humanity sites, and supervising and teaching 14-18 year olds in week-long trips rebuilding houses in the Gulf Coast for three summers post-Hurricane Katrina. Teaching a 15 year old girl to cut and hang crown molding and seeing her amazement and the homeowner's gratiture in her results has been one of her most rewarding teaching experiences.