class list
This is a list of classes we regularly offer throughout the year. Click on the title of each to see a description of each and for a link to all upcoming sessions for that class. If no sessions are listed, don’t worry! If it’s on this list, we will hold it again, we just haven’t scheduled it yet. If you have any questions regarding class availability, please email us at info@woodworkersclub.com.
If you would like to see a list of all upcoming classes, click here.
The band saw is one of the most useful tools in the woodshop and has become the shop standard for making curved and other irregular cuts. Learn the ins and outs of this most useful tool by way of a simple project. From a solid block of cherry, we’ll create a shaped box with two drawers. First we’ll cut the outside shape of the box. Then the back will be sliced off as a thin strip. Next, the drawer shapes will be cut from the block. Each of those drawers, in turn, will have both the front and back sliced off. Following that, drawer cavities will be cut. Finally all of the parts will be glued back together and sanded. As a final step, if time permits, a finish coat of oil can be applied.
Learn to make a beautiful trinket bowl from a 4″ x 4″ x 2″ block of wood using carbide -tipped tools. Topics not only cover basic lathe operation, but also include wood selection, sectioning, face plate mounting, shaping, hollowing, sanding and finishing. All tools and materials provided.
This course will teach students how to make a simple box with a lift-off lid. Through discussion, demonstration and hands-on practice students will learn about wood selection and box construction techniques, methods of table saw setup for cutting accurate miter joints, how to make a simple spline cutting jig and add a decorative feature and strength to their miter joints using splines. Students will gain experience cutting dados and rabbets, box gluing and square-up techniques and various options for clamping their boxes during glue-up. Finishing options will also be discussed.
Prerequisite
Students should have completed the Fundamentals of Woodworking course or have some experience using a table saw at a minimum, or permission of the instructor.
In this class, students will start with laminated panels of different exotic woods for box sides. You’ll add an inlay strip to the top and give it a curved shape using the bandsaw and router table. You’ll learn to make cove cuts using the table saw to add curvature to the bottom and sides of the box. Finally, you’ll learn to add a suede lining insert to the inside bottom.
Prerequisite
Box Making 101
In this class, students will create a beautiful box with curved sides using the bandsaw and router table, pin-hinge top with inlay strips including a sectioned jewelry tray.
You’ll learn to make cove cuts using the table saw to add curvature to the bottom and sides of the box. Finally, you’ll learn to add a suede lining insert to the inside bottom.
This is an approximate 30 hour class building on the skills that you have learned in Box 101 and 201. The class will begin on a Wednesday night from 6 – 9 PM and then continue on the following Saturday and Sunday from 10 am – 5 pm each day. Then this will repeat again the following week for a total of 6 class sessions.
Prerequisite: Box Making 101 & 201
We offer 2 different cutting board classes.
Maple and Walnut Brick Pattern – Using walnut blocks and maple strips, you will create a brick pattern cutting board. Class will include jointing and planing the walnut and maple, 2 different glue-ups to create your pattern, sanding and finishing techniques. At the end of the class you will have a beautiful solid walnut/maple cutting board, the envy of all your friends!
3D- End Grain Board – Using Cherry, Maple and Sapele wood, you will create a 3-Dimensional end-grain cutting board. Class will include milling the wood, 3 different glue-ups to create your 3-D pattern, sanding and finishing techniques. At the end of the class you will have a beautiful solid end-grain cutting board, the envy of all your friends!
In this class, you’ll learn to measure, cut and install several types of trim including baseboard, chair rail and crown molding. Learn how to implement time tested and closely guarded tricks of the trade to cut precise inside and outside corners using miter and coping saws. Skills learned in this class can also be used to add aesthetic elements to furniture and other projects in and around the house. All that’s needed for this class is a sharp pencil, some patience and a sufficient attention span.
This class is designed for beginning woodworkers or those who have been away from their hobby for some time. Students will have a chance to learn about different types of joints using both hand and power tools as they make their own take-home project. The course also covers subjects such as wood technology, selecting and purchasing lumber, sharpening techniques and finishing.
Skill Level
Beginner
This is our standard Fundamentals of Woodworking class, but for those who identify as women, nonbinary and queer individuals only. Of course everyone is welcome to take our standard Fundamentals class–you’ll be taught the same techniques and complete the same project regardless. However, with this class, we hope to dispel some woodworking stereotypes (like that it’s only for straight men) and encourage people from a broader range of the gender spectrum to experience the enjoyment and fulfillment of woodworking.
This class is designed for beginning woodworkers or those who have been away from their hobby for some time. Students will have a chance to learn about different types of joints using both hand and power tools as they make their own take-home project. The course also covers subjects such as wood technology, selecting and purchasing lumber, sharpening techniques and finishing.
All tools and materials provided. Paper and Pencil recommended for note taking. Please wear closed toed shoes.
Skill Level
Beginner
This is our standard Fundamentals of Woodworking class, but for Black, Indigenous and people of color. Of course, everyone is welcome to take our standard Fundamentals class–you’ll be taught the same techniques and complete the same project regardless. However, with this class, taught by Adrian Summers, a Black professional cabinet maker and one of our esteemed instructors, we hope to create a safe space for people of color to learn and experience the joy and fulfillment of woodworking.
This class is designed for beginning woodworkers or those who have been away from their hobby for some time. Students will have a chance to learn about different types of joints using both hand and power tools as they make their own take-home project. The course also covers subjects such as wood technology, selecting and purchasing lumber, sharpening techniques and finishing.
All tools and materials provided. Paper and Pencil recommended for note taking. Please wear closed toed shoes.
Skill Level
Beginner
This class is designed for those who are ready to build their first piece of furniture or who desire to improve their furniture making skills. A strong emphasis will be on proper milling of materials with jointers, planers & table saw work. Once materials are milled, student evolve to the use of hand held power tools and dust extractors. A natural follow-up on the Fundamentals class, this class will teach you a variety of basic furniture joinery techniques through the construction of a solid hardwood side table. Choose from Oak, Cherry or Walnut.
Prerequisite
Fundamentals of Woodworking or permission of the instructor.
Furniture 201 covers the holistic understanding of case-making which is the foundation of furniture making as a whole. In this class, you will learn how to make a cabinet from one board. This includes using the router table to cut sliding dovetails and cope and stick door construction as well as hand-cut mortises and traditional dovetailed drawer construction. This class is 6 days, on Saturdays and Sundays 10 am – 5 pm, every other week. Prerequisite: Furniture 101
Learn how to make your own exotic wooden pens and pencils. Friends and family won’t believe you made them yourself! Receive instruction and practice on the lathe, band saw, drill press, and sanding station as you learn the secrets to successfully making a beautiful and delicate pen.
Enjoyed Foundations of Pen Making and want to continue down the pen making path? In this class, you will expand on the skills introduced in the first pen class. While turning two resin pens, you’ll learn how to turn resin (as opposed to wood) with carbide-tip cutting tools and how to wet sand and use a buffing wheel to polish the pens. You’ll get to choose the metal finishes for the pens and the colors of the resin blanks that speak to you.
Prerequisite: Foundations of Pen Making
Want to turn a pen but don’t own a lathe? Use ours! Sign up for Pen 3 – Pen Studio hours and get access to our lathe studio. You will be able to use our lathes, drill press, bandsaw, turning tools and face shields. You must provide your own turning stock and pen kits, whether brought from home or purchased in our retail store.
Prerequisite: Foundations of Pen Making to turn wood pens.
Foundations of Pen making and Pen 2 to turn resin pens.
Fan Carving is a very old carving technique where you make birds that have wings and a tail that fan out from the body from a single block of wood. You will use prepared blanks to make practice fans as well as a simple bird, while learning to lay out the interlock and hinge, rive the feather, carve the bird profile, and fan the wings and tail. You will also learn how to prepare your own blanks for future fan caving. The class cost includes a carving knife and protective carving glove. The class is being taught by John L, a member of the Montgomery County Carvers.
Build A Chess Board
Work with Daniel to learn the techniques and processes behind making a beautiful Chess game board using figured Walnut and Curly Maple!
This class will cover making a regulation size chess board from start to finish (not including the pieces). You will pick raw lumber out of retail and work as a class to mill up the pieces necessary to make your own board. This 15-hour class is spread out over 3 days.
Day 1 Select and mill your project wood to the prescribed dimension using the jointer, planer and table saw. Glue up wood pieces and clamp together. After lunch, mill the board flat on one side and cut again to align chessboard pattern, ending the day with a second glue-up.
Day 2 Remove from clamps, remove glue residue and mill to finished thickness using jointer, planer, wide belt sander, and edge sander. Cut and mill border material, cut Domino slots, and glue-up.
Day 3 Remove from clamps and sand square, cut and glue splines into corners, and sand flat and smooth. Finish with a glossy lacquer for a beautiful and durable finish!
In this class, we will cover sharpening and tuning techniques to bring the most out of your chisel, hand plane and scraper. We will discuss the best use of each tool and the best way to put and keep an edge on your tools. The class will cover sharpening, tuning, and hand tool selection while using water stones, honing guides and strops.
If you have any bench chisels, hand planes, and scrapers that need to be sharpened, please bring them in for class. If not, we have plenty at the shop to practice on.
Making lumber flat and square is the foundation for any woodworking project and learning to do it without power is a skill that has been around for thousands of years. Whether you want to work with hand tools only or supplement your power tool work, hand tool skills will make you a better woodworker.
A whole new world of woodworking will open up for you once you learn lathe basics. This class focuses on spindle turning while covering tool selection, sharpening, lathe use, setup, and hands-on practice. You will create your own take-home project.
Learn the basic tools and techniques of Japanese woodworking.
You will start by creating a handmade layout square for marking and measuring, as well as handmade sanding blocks to fit the contour of your hand. Discover how to correctly use a marking knife and how to cut a straight line with the pull saw.
In the later part of the class you will design and construct saw ponies. If you have ever needed a large work table, but don’t have enough room to make a permanent solution, simply lay any flat surface onto your new handmade saw ponies to create a quick space to work. This project will teach you how to hand chop a lap joint and carve the shoulders of the ponies with a mallet & chisels. You will also get experience trimming joints with a slick and using your handmade sanding blocks to get a perfect fit.
Japanese 201 will expand the student’s skill set by covering sharpening, resawing, basic cabinet joinery and drawer construction. Students will lay out all parts on a single board of poplar and build a tool tote with a drawer using traditional tools and techniques including the planing board and wooden nails. Students will be provided with an MDF planing board and wooden nails. The instructor will provide a rabbet plane and students will be encouraged to bring their saw ponies from their JWW 101 class. Feel free to bring your lunch in with you (cold storage available, microwave and toaster oven for hot foods) and plenty of water to keep hydrated. Each student will have a dedicated workbench with an anti-fatigue floor mat to keep you comfortable.
This class is back-to-back weekends and encompasses 24-27 hrs of Instruction and Studio time.
Prerequisite
Japanese Woodworking 101
KID’S WORKSHOP
For ages 8-11 years old. This is a two-hour Saturday afternoon course designed to give children, ages 8 – 11 years of age, a solid foundation in woodworking techniques. Students will predominantly use hand tools for safe construction with the exception of battery powered hand drills and both manual and plug-in random orbital Festool sanders. All power tool preparation of materials will be done outside of class time to ensure safety of students. Tools used in class include: hammer, drill, screwdriver, pull and coping saws, ruler, tape measure, pliers, clamps, smoothing plane, sandpaper. Each month a different project will be offered.
Kids Workshop Projects:
1. Chalkboard Box
2. Tool Box
3. SLIDING BOOK HOLDER
6. Lego Coat Hook
7. CANDY dISPENSER
4. Book Ends
5. wOODEN tOYS USING A DRILL PRESS
8. Nail Name Sign
9. sERVING Tray
BEGINNING WOODWORKING FOR TEENS
For ages 11 – 15 years old. The Teens Workshop classes are designed to give students, ages 11-15 years, a solid foundation in woodworking techniques. Student swill learn basic tool use with an introduction to both power tools and hand tools, construction techniques and finished applications. Class participants will use the drill press, bandsaw, Festool track saw. disk sander and much more! Classes are usually offered on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.
Students will make several from the following list:
1. TOOL BOX
2. BIRDHOUSE
4. CATAPULT
5. BANANCING TABLE
6. SLIDING BOOK HOLDER
Comprised of many small, individually-cut thin pieces of wood, kumiko panels may appear mind-boggling in their intricacy. Let us demystify the process for you!
In this class, you will create a kumiko trivet while learning the basic techniques of this hand-tool-centric Japanese art form. You will begin the class with an overview of the history and application of kumiko. Then, you will move on to creating your own kumiko piece. Over the course of the class, you will learn to cut lap joints to form the grid that holds the kumiko design and how to use a Japanse hand plane and pull saw to precisely cut the angles for each individual piece. At the end of the class, you will have an understanding of how kumiko pieces are created and will be able to apply the techniques you learned to your own woodworking projects.
Make something beautiful and functional! Enjoy the satisfaction of using what you have made and showing off your woodworking prowess at your next dinner party.
Get your hands dirty learning how to cut and shape wood, sand and apply finish. You’ll get to use a variety of power tools, including the jointer, planer, band saw, miter saw and belt/disk and spindle sanders. At the end of the day, you’ll leave with a finished live edge board and a unique bread knife.
This class is a fun and exciting request from many of our customers and students. In your class, you will cover the full step-by-step process of creating a resin art piece. Included in our class is how to select and prepare your live edge materials, how to construct and prepare a pouring mould, how to properly calculate, mix and pour Ecopoxy Liquid Plastic 2:1, how to mix colors using dyes and pigments, demoulding your artwork once cured and the proper techniques for milling, sanding and finishing your piece.
Once completed, you’ll be have the knowledge needed to create a future pieces, both BIG and small.
This class is intended to build on the skills you learned in the first resin art class. It will be held on two consecutive Sundays, from 10am to 5pm each day and two weekdays, from 6pm to 9pm. At the end of the class you will have a complete waterfall coffee table with live edge resin waterfall on one side and hairpin legs on the other end.
Techniques covered will include constructing table top molds for resin pours, calculating resin volume for live edge table construction, milling wood, cutting a 45 degree bevel crosscut, using Festool domino joinery, furniture glue-up, sanding and finishing with Odie’s Oil and installing hairpin legs.
Prerequisite:
Resin Art: Using Ecopoxy Resin with Live Edge Materials
Router essentials for Hand-held or Table Routers: Learn to use this essential yet often misunderstood tool in this beginner to intermediate class. There are 2 different classes – Handheld routers or Tabletop routers. Router types, bits, techniques and jigs will be covered in this 3 hours class with an emphasis on safety. Hand-held routers will be provided but students are encouraged to bring their own tools, if desired, to address issues specific to individual manufacturers.
Click here to view upcoming classes for router skills
Learn to cut intricate details using one of the friendliest tools in the shop! Come and spend a few hours learning the basic set up, function and uses of the scroll saw while making practice cuts and finished projects. By making plenty of sawdust while practicing a variety of cuts (internal, external, corners, etc.), you will become adept at following a line and making precision incisions.
Depending on time and your preference you will get to work on two projects: an ornament using external cuts and a small cutting board, using internal cuts.
This class is designed for individuals (adults or children age 10-17) or parent and child. If you sign up for a parent and child ticket, you and your child will share a saw (don’t worry, there’s plenty of time for each of you to get lots of practice!). If you sign your child up for an individual ticket, we request that a parent or guardian be present during the class. And, of course, you’re welcome to purchase individual tickets for both yourself and your child, so that you both get maximum saw time.
Come use our scroll saws! This is a 2-hr block of time when you can use our scroll saws and work on any scroll saw projects you may have.
Our scroll saw instructor, David Codner, will be on hand to supervise, answer questions and provide guidance, should you need it.
Prerequisite: You must have taken Scroll Saw 101
Learn how to turn a beautiful bowl made of local hardwood and resin using carbide-tipped tools. This class will be two evenings one week apart. There are no pre-requisites for this class and is open to anyone interested in learning to use a lathe.
Learn how to use carving tools safely with this intro to wood carving and its sub-genre, whittling. Students will learn knife etiquette, basic cuts (stop, push and pull cuts) and a few extended/intermediate cuts, as well as how to care for and maintain your carving knife. Using the techniques learned, students will make a whammy diddle (a traditional Appalachian folk toy) and a second, more personalized project.
The cost of the class includes a fixed blade knife that can be used in class and taken home to practice, though no outside work is necessary for the class. Just don’t forget to bring your fixed blade knife back for the second day of class!
This class is being taught by Michael H., a member of the Montgomery County Carvers. If you enjoy the class and are curious about the carving community, you can check them out at their monthly meetings held at The Woodworkers Club.