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Adirondack Chair In A Day What could be a more classic woodworking project than an
Adirondack Chair? So many students have asked for this class, we had to
add it. Each student will construct and take home a pine Adirondack
chair, learning lots of tricks to simplify building. We'll use pattern
cutters on the bandsaw and flush trim router bits on the router table to make
identical parts. The chairs are assembled using exterior glue, exterior
screws, and Miller Dowels. Unlike lots of Adirondack chairs, this design
has both a curved back and curved seat, making it extremely comfortable.
Each
student will leave with a set of wooden templates so you can make lots more
chairs for your yard! (8 hours) Cost: $175.00
Prerequisite: Woodworking I or Build A Mantel Clock
Bowl Turning I Did you know that you could turn a
rough looking piece of wood into a finished bowl? Here’s your chance to try it.
Students will be introduced to parts of a lathe, selection of tools, and
material selection and mounting. Each student will turn a bowl mounted on a
dummy board (plywood backer) using a
paper joint technique. This class emphasizes the scraping technique. (3
hrs) Cost: $85.00 Prerequisite: None
Build A Bat House-great for adults and kids to do together
Bats eat thousands of bugs every day. They're natural mosquito
deterrents! The houses are fun and easy to build. Here's a great
opportunity to help a child develop tool skills. We'll use hand and power
tools, and even do a little staining. Everyone will build and take home
one cedar bat house, along with instructions to help you correctly place the
house. (3
hrs) Cost: $90.00 Prerequisite: None
Build a Mantel Clock This is an entry level project that will provide you
an opportunity to use almost every tool in the shop and will teach you how to
select wood and lay out a project. At the end of this one-day class, you will
go home with a beautiful mantel clock made from exotic hardwoods that will
amaze your friends. These clocks make
great gifts. This class serves as a
substitute for the Woodworking I Tool Tote class. One day. Cost
$175.00 Instructor: Dave Abraham
Building Construction I This class is for you if you want to
learn how to lay out and frame walls, window, and door openings. We'll
build a garden shed that includes a floor, four walls, and a trussed
roof. You'll learn to hang doors and windows, apply siding, and shingle
the roof. Everything will be nailed by hand or with a pneumatic nailer
using 8d and 16d nails. (3 days) Cost: $370 Prerequisite: None
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Chair Making I Need chairs for the dining room? Make
one with us and leave with the chair, the templates and the material list you
need to make as many more as you want. We'll use solid hardwood to make these
right angle (also called four square) chairs. The chairs have upholstered
seats, lots of mortise and tenon joinery and are made completely from solid
wood. We use a variety of techniques for the mortise and tenon joinery
including the router table, bench top mortiser, and Leigh FMT jig. The
vertical slats in the back of the chair are resawn from one piece to create a
bookmatch. (2 days) Cost: $340.00
Prerequisite: Woodworking I or Build A
Mantel Clock
Classic Tool Chest Made completely of solid wood (we use
reclaimed pine) this chest is full of through dovetails. This class will
give you a chance to try the Akeda, Leigh, and Porter Cable 4212 dovetail
jigs. The interior compartments will hold routers, planes, chisels,
router bits, lay out tools, whatever you need. The lid is made up of a
solid panel with a breadboard edge. Shop made molding surrounds the bottom of
the case. The tray bottoms are resawn from solid wood. The reclaimed pine
we use is beautiful stuff, and a pleaure to work with. It was harvested
in about 1920 and used in the construction of warehouses. It's getting a
second life by being salvaged from buildings slated to be torn down, and
resold. We've counted growth rings (boy, are they dense) and found planks
from trees that started growing in 1780! This box is a beauty, complete with all
the character (knots, nail and screw holes..) that comes with this old lumber!
(2 days) Cost: $400.00 Prerequisite: Woodworking I or Build A Mantel Clock
Furniture Making I Mission style
furniture is classic, and fits into nearly any décor. Each student in this class makes a Mission style end table from
solid red oak. 24 mortise and tenon
joints hold this table together. We’ll
use a variety of means to cut the joints, so you can settle on the one that
works best for you. The top and shelf
are glued up from solid material. Table
top fasteners that allow seasonal movement of the solid top are used. (2 days) Cost: $340.00 Prerequisite: Woodworking I or Build A Mantel Clock
New class!!
Furniture Making II The sofa
table made in this class is a beautiful and elegant piece of furniture. The legs are gently tapered, using the
tablesaw, and the top is made up with a tongue and groove breadboard edge. The drawer, centered in one rail, is
dovetailed and inset into the drawer opening.
Each student completely prepares his or her own material from random
width and length solid lumber. (3 days) Cost: $450.00
Prerequisite: Furniture Making I
Guitar Making Many of those
who have played or admired the beauty of the guitar have shown interest in
someday making an heirloom instrument to play today and pass on for future
generations to play and admire. This class is designed to take an intermediate
woodworker through the steps to make a steel string acoustic guitar from a
unique kit. You will learn the terminology and the techniques focused on many
of the specialized processes to complete your own personalized instrument. The
process is broken down into small steps to familiarize the student with the
construction of the neck including binding, truss rod installation, fingerboard
& fretting, abalone inlay and construction of the body including brace
trimming/fitting, top installation, bridge gluing/alignment, purfling and final
fit up the neck to body joint using a bolt system. Much of the work on this
project is done using hand chisels, handsaws, and cabinet scrapers. At the completion of the class the guitars
will require final sanding and finishing.
Two models are available: Sapele or Sycamore. Specify kit upon
registration.
Course fee: $399.00
Guitar kit: $249.00
A completed sapele guitar A completed sycamore guitar The kit
Lathe Turning I Two solid days of
turning! Bring your own chisels and we'll start by sharpening them.
Then let the turning begin! It's spindles first, where you'll learn to
use the scraping technique to form beads, coves, and straight surfaces.
Then you graduate to shearing, learning to produce a fine finish from a well
honed chisel. This really reduces sanding.
When we've got spindle turning mastered, we move on to bowl turning. Each
student will mount a blank to a dummy board, using paper to provide separation
later, then mount the assembly to a faceplate. Start with the scraping
technique, then move on to shearing. If you've got your own bowl gouge,
bring it along and I'll help you learn to use it. If you don't own your
own chisels you're welcome to borrow ours. Bowls will be completely
sanded and finished on the lathe.
One great aspect of this class is the chance to use a variety of
machines. Each time we change projects, we change lathes. You can
experiment with everything from a $250 benchtop lathe to a $2,000 stationary
model.
Each student makes
two shop mallets and two bowls. One mallet is a simple "potato
masher" style,the other includes a handle that is carefully turned and
threaded to fit the hole we drill and tap in the mallet head. Your first
bowl will be turned from a kild dried hardwood blank, the second will be turned
from green wood. If you've never turned a green wood bowl, you're in for
a treat! (2
days) Cost: $340.00 Prerequisite: None
Make A
Hunting Knife The skills in learned in this class aren’t
limited just to hunting knives. Did you
know that you can make a complete set of beautiful, hand crafted kitchen
knives? What a great and unique gift! Starting with a pre-formed blade, you’ll
first learn to silver solder the brass bolster onto the blade. Then, working
with an imported wood, you’ll learn to carefully shape the handle to fit your
hand, and the knife. This work is done
on the bandsaw and pneumatic drum sanders. The handle will be fastened to the
blade using rivets and epoxy, for a life long working tool. This class could launch you on the path to
making high quality custom knives for yourself, friends, and family. 8 hours Cost: $165 Prerequisite: None
Please note that you will make two knives of two distinctly different
style, however handle materials and knife styles vary with every class. The knife in the left of this photo has a
cocobollo handle. The knife on the
right has a whitetail deer antler handle.
We are only able to get antler in limited quantities, so reserve the
right to provide other materials for this knife.
Master
Cathedral Raised Panel Doors Many
woodworkers want to make raised panel doors, but are intimidated by the
process, especially when it comes to using large diameter router bits. Adding
a cathedral (arched) top to the door adds another layer of complexity.
George has a bulletproof technique for raised panel doors that has been
published twice in American Woodworker Magazine. Here’s your chance to learn
it, step by step. Each student will make a cathedral raised panel door.
(4 hours) Cost: $100.00 Prerequisite: None
Mastering Hand Tools/Through Dovetails Dovetails
are considered by many to be the mark of a master craftsman. This class
will help you add them to your joinery repertoire. We’ll discuss which
hand tools are required to make this joint and how to lay dovetails out.
Each student will lay out and cut a through dovetail joint. No
cords required! Nothing but the sound of handsaws and chisels. (2
hrs) Fee: $55.00 Prerequisite: None
Master
Pen Turning Custom turned
pens make wonderful gifts, and are quite easy to make. And turning pens
on the lathe is a great way to get a feel for basic lathe turning
techniques. Each student will turn a
hardwood pen and pencil while learning about parts of a lathe and proper
handling of chisels. (3 hours)
Fee: $85.00 Prerequisite: None
Instructor: Tim Nyberg or George Vondriska
Master The Biscuit Joiner Biscuit joiners make joinery both
fast and strong for lots of case and furniture projects. We'll tune up
your biscuit joiner and put it through its paces. You’ll make and keep a cabinet corner, leg
to rail, mitered corner, plywood and edge band, and center shelf. You'll
learn to use your machine with and without the use of the fence, and how to
choose the right size biscuit for the job. If you don't own a biscuit
joiner, a limited number of machines will be available for student use.
Be sure to let us know when you register if you need to borrow one of our
machines. (3 hrs) Cost: $75.00 Prerequisite: None
Master the Leigh Jig Whether you already own a Leigh Jig,
or are considering purchasing one, this class is for you. With a few simple tune-up tricks we’ll have
the jigs set up and working great. Then
each student will cut a set of half blind and through dovetails. If you already own a jig bring it along and
you’ll leave with a well-tuned machine.
If you’re considering purchasing a Leigh Jig this class will help you
confirm that the Leigh is right for you.
When registering please let us know if you’ll be bringing your own jig
and router, or borrowing one of our units.(4 hrs) Cost: $100.00 Prerequisite: Experience
handling a router.
Master the Router I
This
is a class for novice router users. Students will learn to safely
use their own router, wrenches and bits they’ve brought to class. We'll
discuss types of routers and what each type is best for, and how to safely
mount a bit in your router. Working on a mock picture frame, you will
rout a decorative profile and a rabbet. Then, using a shop made jig you
get to take home, you'll rout a dado in 3/4" plywood.
Each student must bring the following bits: 1/4" round over and
3/4" straight bit
If your router has a 1/2" collet, buy bits with a 1/2" shank. (3 hrs) Cost: $80.00 Prerequisite: None
Master the Router Table It’s amazing how versatile a tool the
router table is. This class is designed
to give you hands-on experience setting up and using rail and stile bits-used
for making door frames, drawer lock bits-commonly used in drawer construction,
and lock miter bits-used on fine boxes.
You’ll also set up and cut a sliding dovetail-a joint often used to join
drawer sides to fronts. Prerequisite:
None (3 hours) Cost: $80
Parent/Child Woodworking I Woodworking is an excellent hobby to share
with your child. This class can help create a life-long interest for your
child. Each parent/child pair will build a cedar birdhouse using only
hand tools. (2 hrs)
Fee: $35.00 Prerequisite: none
Minimum age: 8
Router
Table In A Day It's time for you
to own a professional grade, full size, fully featured router table. Why
not make it yourself? This is a one day session in which we'll work
together so everyone can leave with a beautiful router 
table set-up. The top,
fence, insert plate, and reducing rings will all come from JessEm Tools.
We'll use the Mast-R-Top, Mast-R-Fence, and Mast-R-Plate. They can be
viewed at www.jessem.com We'll build a two door melamine cabinet with two
storage drawers to house all your bits and pieces. Retail price of the
JessEm components alone is $440. (1 day) Cost $580.00
Prerequisite: None
Techniques Week/Cabinetmaking
Here's an opportunity to learn
cabinetmaking, from soup to nuts. This five-day class gives us enough
time to teach you a variety of ways to approach your projects. You'll
learn to cut dadoes and rabbets using a stack dado on the tablesaw, as well as
with a hand held router and router table. Want to make doors? We'll
make frame and raised panel doors using the router table, one suitable for
glass panels and the second for a cathedral raised panel. We'll teach you
a variety of ways to assemble drawers including half blind dovetails and
through dovetails, and drawer lock router bits. You'll work with baltic
birch and solid wood for the drawer boxes. We'll join face frames using screw
pockets. Each time we use a shop-made
jig we'll take the time to build a jig for you to take home. We'll also
discuss purchasing material including board foot measurements and hardwood
grading. Whether you specifically want to improve your cabinet building skills
or just learn lots of woodworking, this class has a lot to offer.
Each student makes his or her own upper and
base cabinet and shop made jigs.
Individual students are responsible for shipping their cabinets and jigs
home.
(5 days)
Cost: $795.00 Prerequisite: Woodworking I or Build A Mantel Clock or prior
experience with tools.
Techniques Week/Lathe Turning
An entire week of lathe turning!
What could be more fun? Turning is so satisfying because you can take the
most plain looking piece of wood and, in very little time, turn it into
something beautiful. If you own
lathe chisels, bring them. If not borrow ours and we'll start by taking
you through the wide array of lathe chisels, what each is for, and how to
sharpen them. Once the chisels are sharp you'll get started on spindle
turning and master the scraping technique. This includes proper speed
selection on the lathe, and the mechanics of your stance and approach to the
machine. We'll move on to two spindle projects; a simple "potato
masher" style mallet and gavel style mallet. The second mallet will
be made using the shearing technique, and includes threading the end of the
handle to mate into the hole we drill and tap in the head.
On to bowls, starting with a piece of kiln dried lumber
mounted with a paper joint to a dummy board. Once again we start with the
scraping technique. With that mastered you'll learn to use a bowl
gouge. We'll help you with a variety of techniques to prevent the gouge
from catching, and get the walls of your bowl to a uniform thickness.
We've also got tricks to show you that simplify sanding a bowl. Then it's
on to green wood turning. There's nothing more fun than seeing those
spaghetti-like strands of wood flying from the bowl blank!
Ready for more fun on the lathe? Each student will
turn a pen and a lidded box. You'll go home with one more lathe chisel
than you came with, because you'll turn a lathe chisel handle in the class and
leave with a new chisel.
Bandsaws are integral to lathe turning,
and you'll have lots of chance to use one in prepping your own lathe blanks.
The projects made in this class will
pack into one box for the trip home.
(5 days)
Cost: $795.00 Prerequisite: None
Turn A Lidded Box
When it comes to face plate work, bowls are just the
beginning. Instead of throwing your watch
on top of the dresser, store it in the beautiful lidded box you’ll make in this
class. Students will use both the
scraping and shearing technique to hollow and shape a base. The lid will be turned from a material that
complements the base, and we’ll custom turn a handle for the lid. This class provides a great way to hone your
face plate turning techniques.
(3 hours) Cost: $85.00 Prerequisite: Bowl Turning I
Turn Tools For The Shop
A custom
turned scratch awl and shop pencil, both made from a handsome piece of
hardwood, will make excellent additions to your shop. These tools are easy to
make and a great way to advance your basic lathe skills. What better way to
show off your talents then by filling your shop with your own handmade tools!Each
student will turn and assemble a scratch awl and shop pencil. (3 hours) Fee: $85.00 Prerequisite: Pen
Tuning I Instructor: Tim Nyberg
Twig and Stick Furniture For
your living room or your lake home, here's furniture that's unique and lot's of
fun to make. Combining readily available tree limbs and branches with some
simple tools and techniques makes this approach to furniture building
straightforward and enjoyable. Each student in this class will make a
shelf and learn how to work green wood, cut mortise and tenon joints, and
choose the right fasteners and glue for rustic furniture. (1 day) Cost: $190.00 Prerequisite: None Instructor: Laura
Fairweather
Woodworking I This class serves
as the introduction to many of the classes taught at Wild Earth. Whether you
intend to take additional classes, or just want to dip your toe in the
woodworking waters, Woodworking I is a great starting point. Students learn to
safely operate various portable and stationary power tools including the
tablesaw, jointer, miter saw, bandsaw, router, and router table. Each student will make a tool tote.
Students must take this class if it is listed as a prerequisite. Students of all skill levels will take
something away from this class. (3 hrs) Fee: $85.00 Prerequisite: None
Woodworking II Take your woodworking skills to the next level. Each
student will build a solid oak footstool using the bandsaw, tablesaw, jointer,
sanders, and routers. The stool top requires edge-to-edge gluing, the legs
and rails are joined by dowels. This class reinforces and builds on
skills and techniques learned in Woodworking I and is a great way to advance
your skills before taking the more intensive two-day classes. (1
day) Fee: $175.00 Prerequisite: Woodworking I or Build A Mantel Clock
Workbench In A Day Every woodworker needs a good bench. I know, you intend to build one
yourself. But when are you really going
to get to it? We’ve solved the problem
for you. Working together, we’ll get
everyone in this class out the door in ONE DAY with a high quality
workbench. Each bench consists of: Adjust-A-Bench ends so you can raise and
lower the bench (Adjust-A-Bench
web page), casters for mobility, a bench vise, Kreg Bench Klamp hold
down system (See it here), a 2-3/4-in x 30-in. x 64-in.
Southern Yellow Pine top, and below-the-bench storage. Go ahead and compare the price of this class
to the price of other benches. We’ve
been using the Adjust-A-Bench ends on our school benches for years, and love
them. This is a lifetime bench that you’ll love having. 1 day, Fee $1100 Prerequisite:
None