I have a month long sabbatical and I'm thinking about taking a woodworking class. I'm probably an interrmediate / advanced woodworker and have built most of the case goods in our house. They aren't Fine Woodworking stuff for the most part but are functional. I'd like to improve hand skills - e.g. dovetails etc. Any recommendations are appreciated - for and against. I keep coming back to Marc Adams for some unknown reason. Thanks for the tips.
I am surprised no one came up with any ideas. Truthfully, I pondered this one a bit as well.
I think you need to refine your ideas of what you are trying to achieve, and how much you are willing to "put out" to get to that end.
Some points to consider:
- how far are you willing to travel
- how much $$ are you willing to spend
- how much time can you/will you devote to classes
- will your current set of tools suffice for the entry level tools required
In our fair state of Texas, the second largest, I know of only two full time schools devoted to woodworking. One is close, the other is a few hours away and would require overnight stays in a hotel for a week once I was there.
So...
maybe some alternatives.
(Sorry group guys, I am a sucker for an honest question from someone that wants to learn....)
Some community colleges still have woodworking classes. I have heard that there are night classes available at some of these colleges at very reasonable costs.
Our local Woodcraft has different woodworking classes throughout the month. Although the quality of the instructors vary quite a bit, you just might get a good one. One of my old amigos teaches those weekend classes, and he is quite the talent and a good teacher as well.
Woodcraft may also know of private individuals that teach, or would be willing to teach.
Join a woodworking club. While for no apparent reason our local club is a bit snobbish, others I have been to have been great. Like any other club, participate, contribute what you can, and in all likelihood you will find someone willing to share their skills. For years our woodturning club had seminars and we took turns teaching the most basic to advance skills.
If you find others that are interested and enthusiastic to learn and play with, woodworking skills can be acquired rapidly. Toiling away in your shop all alone when you first start out can lead to lot of frustration and cut your interest very short in woodworking. As you build your skills, the problems get easier to solve. You will do more on your own, and my prefer it that way.
Figuring out how to do things is by yourself is great. More people should try that. On the other hand, there is a line on that. Why spend hours/days trying to figure out a problem that a fellow woodworker might be able to cure in just a quick explanation? Why have wasted hours of frustration spent doing problem solving when you could be woodworking? Worse, you could "teach yourself" how to do things incorrectly using poor methodology.
Don't quit working on your own, but look around and see if there aren't avenues for you to pursue in your backyard.
Just my 0.02.
Robert
Same here...w/o some guidance, it's just a potshot in the dark.
There are any number of individuals offering from weekend to week to summer to full apprentice program opportunities--how to pick one as a recommendation to such nebulously posed question isn't feasible or even, likely, useful.
For starters, where _is_ OP to travel from to even aid in what part of the country--Pacific NW and rest of left coast is replete as is the Northeast and the Appy mountain regions particularly in the Berea, KY, neighborhood and the western Carolina mountain regions/E TN...
--
---------------------------------------- Google "woodworking + community college" and you will get a couple of search engines devoted to the subject.
Cerritos College, located in Cerritos, CA (Metro Los Angeles), (Less than 10 miles from me), has a tremendous hand tool class with the following caveats:
1) It is offered only on a quarterly basis (13 weeks). 2) Tution and fees for the course will be less than $150.00 3) Expect to spend about $500.00 for class materials (Stones, chisels, etc).Unless you live in the area, living expenses for a 13 wk period will be significant.
Lew
Have you looked into North Bennett Street?
R
And what are the two schools in our fair state of Texas????
In news: snipped-for-privacy@x42g2000yqx.googlegroups.com, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com spewed forth:
or you can find a local *quality* shop and work for free as a helper or apprentice. I find that real world experience is usually better and more informative than school situtations.
These guys usually have a couple of their students display their efforts at the Hill Country furniture show in Fredricksburg.
I have talked to a couple of different individuals that went to community college night courses in Austin. I don't know if this is the same college, but there is a couple of references to wood working classes down the middle of this page before you get to the ads.
Heh heh...... I just saw this. NO KIDDING!!!
That poor group has taken such a beating I am sick of it. I am now baiting that jerkwad as much as possible because he has single handedly run off just about anyone that was a contributor to the group.
At this point, that group is finally dead, and I am just having a little fun with him. Fish in a barrel aren't easier to catch than him.
Robert
he is an asshole and is the only one that cause problems there. the way he talks to Om, deserves an serious asswhoopin' by itself. Ya just don't talk to women that way. I've been around and around with sqwertz on several occasions and it's too bad more regs don't call him on his shit. It woud improve the group tremendously
I couldn't agree more. He is profane, stupid as a 50 year old wood stump, inarticulate at best, completely homophobic, and as erratic as any medication dependent misfit can be.
He used to get under my skin, but now that the group is for all intents and purposes dead I like to think that my baiting him (and you can tell how upset he gets) is a small reward for scaring everyone that considered barbecuing a hobby away.
Robert
Hmm - I thought someone in the wider community might have personal experience. I have done the web searchs. Slick website does not a good school make. I believed that I had a legitimate question that I had hoped would not get slammed with flames and typo corrections.
I used to like this group because it was sane without flaming, but sadly it is now just like all the other newsgroups.
I will post no more.
-------------------------------- Kind of tough to give a specific answer without a specific set of requirements.
If you have the time and money, Cerritos College has the program.
Lew
What are you talking about? I didn't see anybody slam you with flames or accuse you of making typos. Actually, all I saw was several replies that were quite good. And as far as your assertion that this group used to be sane and without flames, I don't know *where* you're getting that from. I've been in and out of here for ten years and I've never drawn that conclusion. That doesn't mean the group has no merit; on the contrary, some of the most valuable advice you can find anywhere can be found right here, as long as you have thick enough skin and the patience to separate the wheat from the chaff. You know, kinda like real life.
Take the hook out of your mouth. If this is the same guy as other times, he is one of the trolls he is referring to...LOL
People need a break sometimes.
"Steve Turner" wrote in message news:i95qtb$p8d$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-What are you talking about? I didn't see anybody slam you with flames or accuse you of making typos. Actually, all I saw was several replies that were quite good. And as far as your assertion that this group used to be sane and without flames, I don't know *where* you're getting that from. I've been in and out of here for ten years and I've never drawn that conclusion. That doesn't mean the group has no merit; on the contrary, some of the most valuable advice you can find anywhere can be found right here, as long as you have thick enough skin and the patience to separate the wheat from the chaff. You know, kinda like real life.
Pot, meet kettle. Everyone's a troll in your eyes, aren't they? Why don't you put down the hammer and quit treating everything like a nail?
--------------------------------------- Forgot to add before Cerritos will allow you to take the hand tool course, you have to take the intro course (WMT101), 2 hours instruction, 3 hours of lab/week.
Add about $140 for tution and fees, $50 for wood and another 13 weeks of living expenses.
Lew
Why don't you get it straight Josepi Bengi Gym Bob is not all interested in what you have to do in bashing cellulose into something? He is here to bash you. He will never change that. Fools give him any airtime. He has his agenda and he will work it amongst the fools. Never has he completed a single week without making an egregious post somewhere. Send valid complaint to snipped-for-privacy@teranews.com for action. He is being watched.
HTH
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