Instructor Profiles

David Abeel
Woodworking

My Philosophy...
 I believe that most learning for furniture crafting requires very little talk and lots of hands-on use of tools that are right for the task. Most tools that cut, shape and smooth wood are simple and very intuitive to use. Their design has been refined for hundreds of years. Pick them up and get started. 
I like to move right along so classes start and finish in a two or three day timeline so students will feel success and see dramatic progress each day. Making furniture is very rewarding, and built right, will reward you with a bit of immortality as you pass it along to the next generation. 

My Story...
​ My name is David Abeel. I live in traverse City, Michigan. For the last 10 years I have been traveling to Folk Schools, art centers, community colleges and woodworking clubs in a 7 state area to teach Windsor chair making. 

 I really enjoy teaching classes, meeting new people and adapting what I do to just about any setting. I pride myself on being very organized and ready to guide woodworkers of all skill levels to a successful outcome. During the Covid shut down of classes in 2020 I have been experimenting making wooden weathervanes and a variety of spokeshaves and travershers. Both have the potential to be classes in coming years. I don't have a website, but you can visit my facebook page at David Nelson Abeel. I infrequently make entries but if you scroll down there you can get a sense of what class outcomes have looked like over the years.

​www.kinshiphandwork.com 

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Classes I Teach

The Art of Chairmaking

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