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Open Studio Categories
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woodworking
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Beginner Courses |
Toolmaking Courses |
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Crafting a Windsor Comb Back Arm Chair
What is normally a difficult woodworking project, is made simple with the use of unique jigs and fantastic tools coupled with superior instruction from a patient and experienced woodworker. David Abeel returns to the Michigan Folk School to take students on another chair-making adventure.
The Windsor Comb Back Chair is a 300 year old tradition brought back to life in the 21st century. In this course you will construct the chair in the same way as it was in the 18th century. The authenticity of the chair remains the same from the materials used, to the hand carved seats, to the traditional way of wedging and gluing the spindles for a forever lasting quality. Submerge yourself in the tools and techniques of Windsor furniture shaping your heirloom with scorp, shave and travisher. Cherry, walnut, poplar, ambrosia maple, oak and ash will be in the mix of woods to choose from. All students will take home a completed chair that is glued up, leveled and ready for paint or clear finish at home. There are no prerequisites. All skills levels are welcome. Older teens are welcome if accompanied by a parent or grandparent. |
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Greenwood Carving on a Spoon Mule/Shave Horse
While there are several workshops that build a shave horse/spoon mule, there are very few courses that teach you how to properly use this invaluable tool. Sloyd greenwood artisan Dawson Moore takes students on a two-day journey that uncovers why a spoon mule is so useful when working on common greenwood forms like spoons, spatulas, spreaders, and chopsticks. Similar to a shave horse, a spoon mule applies clamping pressure to your piece when you apply foot pressure, leaving both your hands-free for powerful, efficient tools, like a drawknife or hook knife. Students in this course will learn to use the spoon mule effectively and efficiently. Each student will spend their time working on supplied spoon mules and perfecting a few pieces over the two-day course. If you have been wanting to relieve some of the strain of hand carving or to produce products more efficiently, this class is for you.
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Spoon Carving One-Day Workshop
Learn the basics of spoon carving and try out your skills on green and/or kiln-dry wood. Student will develop a comfortability with several knife grasps and carving techniques using high-quality crook knives and a small hatchet/ax. This class is suitable for both novices and those with some experience who wish to hone their carving and whittling skills. By the end of the day, you will have made a simple spoon and gained mastery of the basic skills to make spoons on your own.
All carving tools will be supplied for use. You need only to bring your imagination, |
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The Art of Chairmaking: The Windsor Side Chair
Explore a perfect introduction, taught in a relaxed environment, to a difficult woodworking project: The Windsor Chair. The Windsor chair has been an American furniture icon since mid-eighteenth century. Stepped in tradition and folklore, the Windsor Chair is practical and comfortable, yet elegant with a clean form and simple joinery.
In this hands-on immersion course you will build a Windsor Side Chair. In this 2-day course you will unlock the secrets of traditional mortice and tenon chair design, layout and tools. Your project will be well-engineered very comfortable and styled to fit any décor. Native hardwoods, sourced locally, like cherry, oak, walnut and pine will be used. All students will take home a completed chair that is glued up, leveled and ready for paint or clear finish at home. There are no prerequisites. All skills levels are welcome. Older teens are welcome if accompanied by a parent or grandparent. |
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Crafting Oval Shaker Boxes
Before the age of canisters and Tupperware, Shaker craftsmen made and marketed oval boxes made of wood. Explore the traditions of the Shaker box as you learn how to soak, bend, tack, carve and sand cherrywood to form the box and lid. In the end you will make a stack of three (3) nesting boxes finished with homemade beeswax furniture polish. Your finished product can be used for all occasions, utilitarian as well as decorative. Its charm and grace make a difference whatever role it plays.
Course Fee: $135 - Supply Fee: $40 Location: Folk School
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Sloyd Spoon Carving Weekend
Spoon carving has quickly become one of the most sought after green woodworking projects in the world today, and rightfully so. Many folks find “their flow” by chasing the ideal design; the design that feels, smells, and looks “almost” perfect. This state of flow becomes addictive and that intense focus begins to filter into other areas of daily life. This class is both a time to breath-out as much as it is a time to breath-in.
The focus of this course is on learning how to safely execute about a dozen different carving grips that come from the Swedish Sloyd tradition. The first day is spent learning the grips and practicing on a “try stick”. Students will put the new grips to use in carving a simple butter spreader. The second day will begin with a review of the grips learned the day before and then be spent carving previously prepared spoon blanks. Topics ranging from wood selection and harvest, tool sharpening, axe work, and spoon design get discussed and demonstrated throughout the class, but the focus is always on learning the safe practice of fundamental knife carving grips. At the end of the weekend, with many skills mastered, one finds they can confidently begin their journey chasing that ideal design in the mind-centering practice of Sloyd Spoon Carving. |
Toolmaking Courses
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Chairmaker's Toolbox
Chairmakers use a variety of tools and jigs in order to create their chairs. Many chairmakers started by making their own tools. While chairmaking can be a daunting task for any woodworker, our students are given a head-start through crafting their own custom tools and jigs by hand. In this 2-day class students will create a travisher, doweling jig, comb bending form, no lathe/hex leg & stretcher maker, a set of angled drilling jigs, and a seat pattern on one inch grid. In the end, students will have the necessary tools to craft multiple chairs with imagination as the only limitation.
There are no prerequisites. All skills levels are welcome. Older teens are welcome if accompanied by a parent or grandparent. |
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Making a Heirloom Block Plane
If a tool is an object to solve a problem, and a wood tool is a way to work wood, then the block plane is the introduction to the world of hand tools. . Ask any experienced woodworker about their most-used tool and there’s a good chance they’ll mention their wood block plane. A well-crafted block plane is a great beginner project for a student to acquire the skills necessary to make all sorts of tools. This course is a wonderful primer for the beginning student to learn to craft a heirloom-quaintly tool.
There are no prerequisites. All skills levels are welcome. Older teens are welcome if accompanied by a parent or grandparent. |
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Making a Benchmark Shoulder Plane
Handcrafted heirloom quality tools are masterpieces of the woodworkers toolbox. They are patiently crafted using quality woods and thick steel. They are a thing of beauty, yet they are made to be used. IN this workshop students will craft an heirloom quality Shoulder Plane. The name shoulder plane refers to the feature of the blade edge and the plane edge being the same. A well-crafted shoulder plane will quickly and accurately enable gallery-quality joints. The shoulder plane can also be used to trim the shoulders and faces of tenons.
This is the perfect workshop for the beginning tool maker. The item is high-functioning and good-looking and will become a coveted tool in your woodworking arsenal. There are no prerequisites. All skills levels are welcome. Older teens are welcome if accompanied by a parent or grandparent. |
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Crafting a Superior Spokeshave
The shop-made spokeshave is a fine addition to your tool kit. The wood bodied ’shave has the blade positioned flat to the sole, rather than angled as in its steel-bodied counterpart. Sometimes referred to as razor type spokeshave, these are the ultimate of a low angle blade. Spokeshaves are extremely versatile. They can work corners or smooth out chair seats. They are used to create arrows or finish fine house trim and moulding. In this class, every student demonstrates their newly crafted tool they leave class. While compared to the block plane blade, it is complicated with the addition of threaded rod posts that serve to hold the blade. The additional of leveling screws give precise adjustment that makes this tool a joy to make and an ever bigger joy to use.
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Building a Dovetail Picture Frame
Hand-cut dovetails are the mark of a true craftsman. In this two-day class, we'll introduce you to the techniques and sequences of steps to cut dovetails by hand using a handsaw, plane and chisels. You'll develop your hand skills as you learn the time-tested techniques of dovetail joinery. Easier to cut and fit than mortise and Tenon joinery, dovetail enable a supreme finish work with practice. You will receive the materials and tools to make a small box.
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Restoring an Old Axe/Hatchet
It can be easily argued that no tool has had such a profound historic effect on the role humans have played in shaping their environment as the axe. It can also be argued that the design of the axe reached its zenith when exposed the the booming lumber industry of the developing United States. This course will delve into the design and anatomy of an axe, the cultural connotations different designs can carry, as well as different axe makers and regional patterns throughout the 19th and early 20th century United States. Students will learn how to identify a quality axe by brand, condition, and design, how to restore that axe head to working condition using simple tools, how to select the proper piece of wood for a new axe handle, and how to craft that piece of wood into a handle specific for them. The end of the course will focus on axe use and tree felling. Your supply fee includes an old tool to be restored.
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Build an Outdoor 2x4 Finger Joint Bench
Every indoor mudroom and outdoor garden, porch or gazebo needs a nifty place to sit. A comfortable place that is Shaker-simple in design, yet aesthetically pleasing to the eye. With no previous woodworking experience, you will build a finger-jointed bench, then finish it with a stain or milk paint for an indoor or outdoor elegant, inexpensive addition to your home.
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Timber Frame 101: Building Sawhorse
This workshop is an introductory course to the fundamentals of how to lay out and cut simple timber frame joinery. In this course, students will be introduced to a variety of measuring and cutting tools, have the opportunity to lay out basic timber frame joinery, and then to gain hands on experience using hand and power tools cutting that joinery in the construction of timber framed saw horses. At the end of the course you will have produced one sawhorse.
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Shaker Boxes: Beyond the Basics
The quintessential Shaker Box is a mix of simplicity of form, economy of materials and utility of function creating the ideal blend of craft and art. This class marks the continuation and expansion of Shaker Box craftsmanship. Students will tailor their workshop experience by selecting several projects from a variety of styles of Shaker boxes. With simple instruction and professional support, students will have the option of making fixed & swing handle carriers, #6 or #11 serving trays, or #5 or #6 sized boxes.
This class is taught by a John Wilson, a craftsman that embodies the ideal of Shaker Box artistry. John’s unique blend as a woodworker, teacher and social anthropologist has led the Shaker Heritage Society top refer to him as the “Johnny Appleseed of Shaker Boxes.” Ask the right questions and John will also provide some background commentary on Shaker life and craftsmanship. Please note that the supply fee will be collected on the day of the class. The cost is actual cost of supplies and determined by the project selected. Supply fee is estimated at $40-$80.. Prerequisites: While this class is intended for both new and experienced woodworkers, it is HIGHLY recommended that students first take Crafting Oval Shaker Boxes or enter with pervious Shaker Box making experience. |
