Choosing a class
We've got an array of great classes and a few suggestions to help you navigate our offerings:
If you're relatively (or entirely) new to woodworking, consider the cutting board, bench, Adirondack chair, frame, brush, lamp and spoon classes. They are introductory in nature and relatively short in duration, giving you a taste of woodworking without an enormous commitment.
And they compliment each other nicely! Cutting board class will introduce you to lots of machines (jointer, planer, table saw, bandsaw) along with hand planes. The bench class is all about joinery, as you'll learn to hand cut dovetails and make a wedged tenon stretcher. The Adirondack chair class will help you produce a model chair using the miter saw, table saw and bandsaw and also to assemble a fairly large structure using clamps, glue and screws. The frame class uses the table saw for precise mitered cuts and the router for rabbeting and rounding over. The brush and spoon classes introduce curved work and associated hand tools -- knives, spokeshaves, rasps and more. Our latest addition, the lamp class, is almost entirely hand tools -- saws, planes, chisels and more!
Longer format classes -- currently Shaker table and wall hanging cabinet -- offer a deeper dive. There are no prerequisites, and we'll teach you to safely navigate a bigger build, to read and decipher plans and to work efficiently in our professional shop.
Glad to answer your questions, so please reach out: info@missioncommunitywoodshop.org
Upcoming Classes
6-hour class
Starting can be hard, but we'll make it easy!
Our shop is different from others you may have used, containing a range of professional level machines and hand tools that require instruction and practice as you set to work. Or maybe you’re entirely new to woodworking. (Welcome!) Either way, in this class you’ll learn to take rough lumber and turn it into square and true boards, to use a wide range of machines – jointer, planer, bandsaw, table saw, drill press and router table – and to sand and apply finish. You’ll leave with a beautiful cutting board and the skills to safely and capably navigate Mission Community Woodshop.
3-session class
Up close and personal with a beauitful block of wood
This class will teach you a range of hand tool skills and furnish you with a unique utensil. We’ll use cherry, a hardwood that is easy to work using rasps, gouges and sandpaper.
10-session class
A perfect project for beginner and intermediate woodworkers
This timeless Shaker table is a great project for early and more experienced woodworkers alike. You'll learn to mill lumber so it's flat and square, to make sturdy mortise and tenon joints, to cut tapers and to join boards -- a host of skills that will prepare you for a broad range of future projects.
3-session class
Get swept away!
Brush making offers endless possibilities for creativity — sculpting and shaping a small block of wood before drilling and tying the tampico fibers. Join us for this three session class where you’ll learn how to safely use various machines (bandsaw, drill press, spindle sander, disc sander) and a range of hand tools (rasps, files, chisels, shaves, hand planes) to make a beautiful, unique, and useful (!) brush of your own.
10-session class
Become a proficient cabinet maker
Join us for this class that will teach you a range of skills and turn you into a confident and capable furniture maker. The project is a small, solid wood cabinet with frame and panel back and will open a range of possibilities for future projects. While much of the work will be done with machines, you’ll also get experience using hand planes and chisels.
4-session class
Make an American classic!
Our shop is different from others you may have used, containing a range of professional level machines and hand tools that require instruction and practice before you set to work. Or maybe you’re entirely new to woodworking. (Welcome!)
Participants will tackle this American classic, a project that will expose you to a variety of woodworking tools and machines. By the end of the week, we’ll be sipping lemonade from our comfy new chairs.
9-hour class
Makes a great gift!
Bring your favorite 8"x10" print, and we'll provide the rest -- wood, glass, backing with stand and professional guidance. And prepare to use a range of machines and hand tools -- table saw, drill press, router table as well as hand planes and chisels. You'll leave with a beautiful frame made of walnut, cherry or oak.
6-session class
Let there be light!
This class is a opportunity to make a beautiful lamp, based on a recent project published in Fine Woodworking magazine.
This project will expose you to a variety of woodworking tools and machines. You will use crosslaps, bridle joints and tenons for the base and veneered strips for the shade. The final result will be a handsome lamp that will adorn your nightstand or make a great gift.
18 hour class over 6 weeknights
Join us to build a beautiful hardwood bench and to learn some foundational joinery techniques -- hand-cut dovetails and mortise and tenon. Master these, and the world is your oyster, as you'll be adept with saws and chisels and equipped to take on a range of future projects.
Future Classes
10 sessions
What you got?
Have a project in mind but not the facilities to do it? We can provide the latter and all the expert advice you might need to successfully build the piece you've been wanting to make. Participants must demonstrate proficiency with various woodworking tasks—jointing, planing, ripping, crosscutting, for starters—in order to participate and will be asked to submit a sketch in advance.
