Furniture Grade Hardwood - Getting the most for your
money - an RWS free open house
Saturday, 9/10/11, 9:30AM to 3:00PM at GW Woods
Please join us for our 2011-2012 season opener. We will be
having a free open house at GW Woods in Victor, NY. Its a wonderful
opportunity to re-connect with other RWS members, learn about how
to get the most for your lumber dollars, and introduce yourself to
one of our corporate sponsors - GW Woods. In addition, GW Woods has
agreed to increase their normal 5% RWS discount to 10% for this one
day.
Greg of GW Woods will present a free workshop on selecting
furniture grade hardwood at 10:00AM and 1:00PM.
Learn how to select furniture grade hardwoods from an expert.
Learn about:
- Flat sawn, rift sawn and quarter sawn wood, and how these
choices effect lumber characteristics and usage
- The characteristics of kiln dried vs. air dried woods and the
potential pitfalls of improper drying
- The characteristics of common furniture hardwoods, hardness,
workability, open and closed grain, etc.
- Wood movement due to moisture changes and internal
stresses
- How lumber is graded and what the terms mean for waste
calculations and potential use
- How to choose lumber from the stack that will give you the best
value for your dollar
- What's popular, what's available, where the market is going in
the near term
Come in time for one of the two presentations. Stay for all or
part of the day. You will have a chance to browse (and purchase
from) G.W. Wood's extensive selection of domestic and exotic
hardwoods and to ask questions that will help make your next lumber
purchase more effective.
Hand Planes 101, Selecting & Tuning Woodworking Hand
Planes
Hands-on, Instructor: Al VanDeMoere; Thursday, 9/22/11,
12:30PM to 6:30PM,
Get the most out of your hand plane investment. In the first of a
four part series, students will be given an overview of wood
planes, the "tuning" techniques used to improve and control their
performance, and an opportunity to completely tune up one hand
plane per attendee. Emphasis will be on Stanley planes (both
Bedrock and Bailey), as well as all types of bevel up planes. What
plane for what job? will be discussed. Techniques and secrets for
cleaning parts, removing rust, and flattening what needs to be
flat, will all be reviewed at length. Please bring a hand plane to
tune.
Introduction to SketchUp
Wednesday Evenings, (9/28/11, 10/5/11, 10/12/11) from 6:30PM to
9:00PM
Learn the basics of computer aided design using the most popular
and least expensive (it's free) program on the market. This 3
session workshop will provide the knowledge required to design your
own woodworking projects on the computer and introduce you to
models available on the web from Popular Woodworking Magazine and
others. You must bring your own laptop computer. A wheel mouse is
highly recommended.
Bandsaw 101
Saturday, 10/15/11, 9:00AM to 3:00PM, with Al Van DeMoere
Al Van DeMoere has agreed to offer a brand new workshop on setting
up and using the band saw. This is a lecture/hands-on workshop
where participants will learn how to set up and tune the bandsaw
for optimal performance. Each person will then have the opportunity
to cut a cabriolet leg from poplar that we will provide. The cost
will be $40. Lunch will be provided.
Make a Pennsylvania Style Spice Chest
A multi session "Super Workshop"
We're offering a unique (and frankly experimental) opportunity
for up to 6 intermediate level woodworkers this year. With
instruction and advice from Tim Talma and others, you will build
your own Pennsylvania Style Colonial Spice Chest. The instruction
will emphasize hand tool work for most operations. Some power tool
work will also be a part of the class. In addition to participation
in the classes, somewhere between 16 and 40 hours of work in your
own workshop will be required between sessions in order to stay on
schedule. How much time will depend on the tools and techniques you
use, and your experience level. Advice and limited access to tools
will be available from the instructor and others.
Tools required for each session are listed below. Please consult
with the instructor before purchasing anything.
Eye and ear protection
Router - with ¼" & ¾" straight bits, 90 degree V-bit
Dovetail saw
Bench chisels
Clamps - 2 x 24" or longer and 2 short clamps for holding
work
Cordless drill, for driving screws in Jig set ups
1 ¼" drill bit for jig making (forstner or spade bit will
do)
Screwdriver
Set of small drill bits (brad point preferred)
Card scrapers
Block plane
ruler
Square
Marking gauge (cutting gauge preferred)
Marking knife
Straight edge
pencil
Tools that are nice to have, but not required:
Shoulder plane
Smoothing plane
Jack plane
Moving filletster
Router plane
Small router plane
Full half set of hollows and rounds
Stanley 45 or other combination plane
Lie nielson inlay kit
Plow plane
Compass
Dividers
Circle template
The cost of the workshop (all sessions included) will be $100.
Materials will be provided (required) for a fee.
Class 1 - Case construction
Saturday, 10/8/11, 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Location TBD
Class Size: 6 Students
Description: This class will build a dovetailed case.
The construction techniques used are appropriate for all cases,
from a full sized chest of drawers, to a jewelry box. The case
built in class will be for the spice chest, but we will also
discuss variations commonly used in other projects.
Techniques: In this class you will learn case
dovetailing, dados for dust dividers, Stopped dado construction,
proper wood selection for each piece in a case.
Class 2 - Case partitions and the drawers for
them
Saturday, 11/12/11, 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Location CP
Rochester
Class Size: 6 students
Description: This class will build partitions for a
small case. The construction techniques used in this class are
appropriate for use in small chests, desk galleries, and jewelry
boxes. We will also be learning how to fit drawers into the
partitions, as well as building secret compartments, discussing
different methods of planning for them and how to access them while
keeping them a secret.
Techniques: In this class you will learn how to fit
small parts to a case, including setups to ensure equal spacing.
You will also learn to fit small drawers and joinery techniques for
secret compartments. We will also learn the proper method of using
a shooting board.
Class 3 - Molding
Saturday, 1/14/12, 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Location, CP
Rochester
Class Size: 6 Students
Description: This class will teach the techniques for
making moldings.
Techniques: In this class you will learn how to lay out
molding for consistent results. You will also learn how to safely
make small molding. We will also cover making custom scrapers to
clean up and finish the molding. Cover the correct methods to
intersect molding, as well as the proper way to attach molding in
cross grain situations. If time permits we will also cover making
moldings using molding planes and making custom blades for the
Stanley 45.
Class 4 - Frame and Panel door and feet
Saturday, 2/18/12, 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Location CP
Rochester
Class Size: 6 Students
Description: This class will cover the techniques
needed to create a through tenon frame and panel door. In the class
we will cover making a flat panel tombstone door, with mitered
decorative details. We will also cover several different types of
feet common to this style of small chest.
Techniques: In this class you will learn template
routing, how to make through mortise and tenons, how to fit a door
to an opening, and how to miter an edge detail.
Class 5 - Line and Berry inlay
Saturday, 3/24/12, 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Location, CP
Rochester
Class Size: 15 Students (the 6 from the Spice Chest
series plus 9 others)
Description: This demonstration class is open to
participants of the Spice Chest workshop. It will also be open to
all RWS members. This class will cover all of the steps in making
line and berry inlays. This is a great technique that's easy to do
and can dress up any project. Few other techniques have as big an
impact, for such simple work. We will cover the tools used and how
to make some of the specialty tools required. Other forms of inlay
will also be covered as time permiits.
Techniques: We will cover the methods used to make the
line and berry patterns. We will cover the layout, placement, and
order of the inlay steps. We will also cover making some of the
specialty tools used in this technique.
Tools Required: Lie Nielsen inlay kit is really nice to
have, if not the entire kit the radius tool is wonderful to have.
Cutting gauge, Jack or jointer plane, set of bench chisels, marking
gauge, layout square, ruler.
Stationary Power Tools 101, Table saw, jointer, and
surface planer
Instructor: Al VanDeMoere, Saturday, 11/19/11, 9:00AM to
3:00PM
Students will learn to set up and use stationary tools safely in
order to convert a rough sawn plank into a sized furniture
component piece. Complete set up of jointer, planer and table saw
will be discussed at length. Accessories and dealing with problems
such as "snipe", and surface finish problems will be discussed with
special emphasis on safety, and the inherent limitations of the
machines. Dust collection options and concerns will be covered
also.
Design synthesis, Idea to Finished Project
Wednesay Evenings, 1/4/12, 1/11/12, 1/18/12, 2/1/12 from 7:00PM
to 9:00PM
This workshop was canceled. We will try to bring it back next
year.
Joinery 101
Saturday, 12/3/11, 9:00AM to 4:00PM, Location: CP Rochester
There are relatively few basic, woodworking joints. They do have
many varients, however. There is also a bewildering array of
techniques for making them. Some involve hand tools. Some involve
power tools. Some involve a combination of both. You need to
know:
- What the options are for each joint
- What the advantages and disadvantages of each technique
are
- What you can do with the tools and level of experience you have
today
- Why you might want to try a new technique
The workshop will deal primarily with mortice and tenon and
other long grain to long grain joints and all of the options for
making them. The workshop will be a combination of presentation and
hands on work.
Hand Planes 201, Sharpening and Tuning Woodworking Plane
Irons,
Saturday 1/28/12, 9:00AM to 3:00PM
Goal: Understanding iron sharpening and to
complete one iron that you
can shave with. Reference material includes: Leonard Lee
"Sharpening".
Overview: This workshop will focus on sharpening
(forming, sharpening,
& honing)and repairing hand planes. The process is applicable
to all
cutting tools.
Instructor: Alan VanDeMoere
Outline:
- Cutting Iron bevels
- Plane bed angles
- Mouth opening and chip formation
- Overview of sharpening materials: ceramic, water stones,
diamond plate, oil stones
- Detailed process of Veritas MarkII w/ water stones and micro
bevels
- Repairing a Stanley handle (tote), or knob
- Cambered cutting edges and when to apply them
- Scraper sharpening (time permitting)
Workshop Registration