Alaska Creative Woodworkers association
a club for carvers, scrollers, and woodworkers
Classes that have been offered in the past, present or future. Many classes are repeated
$40.00 membership fee required to take classes, good for 1 year and covers a family,
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Band Saw Jewelry Box
Class Description:
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What you will make: You will make a one or two drawer jewelry box out of oak or cedar.
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Tools you will use: Bandsaw, scrollsaw, router, sander
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Knowledge and skills you will gain:You will practice using a bandsaw to cut out a design and a router to finish the edges.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Sandra Mckinnis has been woodworking for over 40 years.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 4 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tool
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Basic Picture Frame Building
Class Description: BASIC PICTURE FRAME BUILDING
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What you will make: SMALL PICTURE FRAME FROM BARN WOOD OR OAK WOOD FOR PICTURE (8 x 16 INCHES APPROXIMATE) NO GLASS OR BACKER BOARD WILL BE FURNISHED.
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Tools you will use: CHOP SAW – PICTURE FRAME CLAMP – AIR NAILER, SANDER. PAINT
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: REVIEW TYPES AND SECTIONS OF WOOD PICTURE FRAMES, METHODS TO PREPARE PICTURE FRAME STOCK, COLOR BALANCING, HARDWARE NEEDS, AND PAINTING.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: I HAVE WORKED MANY YEARS BUILDING PICTURE FRAMES – FROM NEW OR TRASH WOOD.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 8 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Blanket Chest
Class Description:
1. Class Description: Students will build an heirloom-quality blanket chest, roughly 19" deep x 36" wide x 27" high. The class is meant as an opportunity to learn and explore safe use of most of the major power tools in the shop.
2. Tools: Jointer, Planer, Router Table, Hand-held Router, Table Saw, Domino Cutter, Bandsaw, Drum
3. Knowledge and skills you will gain: Students will learn to make furniture from rough lumber. A novice students will learn: to mill rough lumber flat, square, and straight; to laminate boards into a flat table top; to use a Domino for joinery; to use the table saw for ripping boards to width and cross-cutting to length; to use a router table and hand-held router. There's a lot to learn! Advanced woodworkers will get a refresher on safe use of the Club's power tools.
Marc Brown is a retired Computer Scientist who recently relocated from Silicon Valley where was an instructor for 5 years in the Palo Alto Adult School's Woodworking Program. He now builds using wood rather than than using Java and Python.
Age: This class is well-suited for novice woodworkers. Experienced woodworkers can also enjoy this class and improve their skills.
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Tools Used: Jointer, Planer, Router Table, Hand-held Router, Table Saw, Domino Cutter, Bandsaw, Drum
Cost: $120 shop fee. $100 Instructor’s fee. Total cost: $220 + Materials Fee to be paid at time of class. There is also the cost of the wood, payable directly to the instructor. It will be about $150, but the exact amount will depend on the current prices of wood. Students are welcome to provide their own wood.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
BookCase
Class Description:
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What you will make: You will construct a bookcase with 1 shelf and glass doors
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Tools you will use: Table saw, miter saw, domino jointer, router, band saw
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: You will learn how to: mill and glue up panels; how to make dados for the shelves,,door glass, and back;how to use a domino jointer to join panels and construct door stiles and rails, and base; how to cut curves with a bandsaw; how to install door hardware and glass panels
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructors: : Sandy Mckinnis has been building things out of wood for over 40 years.She has taken many classes through the ACWA from both local and nationally recognized instructors.She particularly likes building furniture—couches, doors, bookcases, tables, etc. Her assistant is Alan Peck who is a member of the ACWC board of directors.Bob Lackey will be assisting with construction of the doors.Bob is a professional woodworker whose specialty is custom cabinetry.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
C Table
Class Description:
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This class will build a C Table that will change the way you work from your couch. Built like a hard letter “c,” the tops of these tables come up at arm’s height; perfect for placing laptops, work papers and drinks!
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You will make use of the table saw, hand-held router, router table, bandsaw, and a through-dovetail jig. This class is not appropriate for 1st-time woodworkers.
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New skills in this class are through-dovetails joineryand template routing.
Age: Adults: Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is restricted to 4 students
Tools and Materials:
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In order to complete this project in 2 days, you will need to bring to class the blanks that you’ll be using:
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1 @ ⅝” x 12” x 16” (top)
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2 @ ⅝” x 5” x 22” (legs)
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2 @ ⅝” x 6” x 13” (feet)
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The thickness of the stock isn’t crucial… as long as all 5 pieces are the same thickness and no thicker than ¾” and no thinner than ½”. Ergo, ⅝” is perfect.
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If you are unable to make the blanks, I can help you during the week.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Chainsaw Milling
Class Description:
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What you will make: Mill raw Spruce logs into usable lumber,
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Tools you will use: Chainsaw, Alaskan Chainsaw mill, driver drill, draw knife
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: Use of a chainsaw, chainsaw sharpening
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Larry Holman has 10 years building houses and is an avid do-it-your selfer. Furniture and cabinet making experience. Musical instrument building.Timber framing experience.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Chopsticks and Chopsticks!
Class Description:
1. What you will make: Join us for a fun afternoon making chopsticks (the actual wood kind) and learn to play chopsticks, the 19th century waltz, on the piano. We will then have some Chinese food delivered so everyone can try out their chopsticks.
2. Tools you will use: We will have two Bridge City Chopstick Master jigs and a Kawai digital piano. We will have Wenge and Padauk blanks to choose from and a nice cloth sleeve to keep your completed chopsticks in.
3. Knowledge and skills you will gain: How to make and use chopsticks and play a tune on a piano!
4. Brief woodworking related biography of the instructors:
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Classic Mirror
Class Description:
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In this class, students will build a Classic Mirror Frame, about 2' wide x 3' tall. As emphasis in the class will be the basic skills needed to use the power tools safely, including the jointer and planer, handheld and table-mounted routers, and the table saw. Students will have the opportunity to customize the project by size and by profile on the rails and stiles.
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Marc Brown is a retired Computer Scientist who recently relocated from Silicon Valley where he moonlighted for 5 years as an instructor in the Palo Alto Adult School's Woodworking Program. He now builds using wood rather than using Java and Python.
Age: This class is well-suited for novice and intermediate woodworkers.
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 5 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools. Tools used: Jointer, Planer, Router, Domino Cutter.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
CNC Planterbox or Wooden Sign
Class Description:
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What you will make: Students will design and rout the front panel of a planter box, or a sign.They will then construct a planter box incorporating the routed front piece, or will cut their sign to shape.
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Tools you will use: Computer, Origin CNC hand-held router for planter front piece.Hand tools, table saw, mitre saw, and router for planter box construction.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: How to use a CNC router; and construction of a simple box.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 5 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Cutting Board
Class Description:
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What you will make: Cutting board(s)
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Tools you will use: Jointer, table saw, router table, band saw, various hand tools.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: Beginner skills in designing , general preparation of wood, milling, squaring and gluing.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Built houses for 10 years to include rough framing, finishing, sheet rocking, etc,rough milling of local lumber, various types of wood working projects including musical instruments, furniture, and kitchen cabinets.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Elegant Hall Table
Class Description:
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What you will make: Elegant hall table with floating top and steam bent apron.
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Tools you will use: Steam bending equipment, table saw, router, planer, domino and various hand tools.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: Become familiar with steam bending for furniture, project planning, design, layout and construction.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Greg Lyall is a retired engineer and woodworking enthusiast. He became interested in steam bending while making a set of dining room chairs. His engineering background easily adapted to furniture design.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 5 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Hexagonal Box with Lid
Class Description:
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What you will make: Student will make a lidded, hexagonal shaped storage box.
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Tools you will use: Table saw, miter saw, bandsaw
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: Students will learn how to mill boards to width on the table saw and how to cut accurate angles on a miter saw.The bandsaw will be used to create a handle for the lid.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Sandy Mckinnis has been building things out of wood for over 40 years.She has taken many classes through the ACWA from both local and nationally recognized instructors.She particularly likes building furniture—couches, doors, bookcases, tables, etc.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 5 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class.
Please click here to join the club
Kids Class Free
Class Description:
Number of Students: Class size is restricted to 4 students
Sponsored by:
The Alaska RiteCare Foundation and
Alaska Creative Woodworkers Club
Cost: FREE
Kitchen Trivet
Class Description:
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What you will make:Kitchen trivet with tile insert
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Tools you will use:Miter saw, Band saw, router, Table saw, Drill Press.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: How to cut and fit mitered edges, glue up a square frame.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 4 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Outdoor Bench
Class Description:
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What you will make: Outdoor Spruce Bench
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Tools you will use: Table saw, various hand planes, thickness planer jointer, drill press, electric sanders, handsaws, chisels, scrapers.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: Learn how to make through mortise and tenon joints using a hardwood wedge to secure the joint. Learn basics of various woodworking machines used in project.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: 10 years building houses.Avid do it your selfer.Furniture and cabinet making experience.Musical instrument building.Timber framing experience.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 4 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Scroll Saw Puzzles
Class Description:
We will be using a scroll saw to cut out a small puzzle. Several choices will be available. You will learn how to transfer a pattern to wood and use a scroll saw to cut out the pattern.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: 8
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Side Table
Class Description:
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What you will make:Small End Table with, drawer and tapered legs.
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Tools you will use: Jointer, table saw,band saw, stationary belt sander, drill press, electric hand sanders, chisels, planes and various hand tools.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain Intermediate skills in designing, layout,general preparation of wood, milling, and gluing, machine cut mortise and tenons,
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Amateur woodworker for 40 years.Professional house builder for 10 years.Rough milling and construction of local lumber, various types of wood working projects including ukuleles from scratch, furniture including tables, chairs, live edged and epoxy tables and kitchen cabinets.
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Table will be built out of Cherry or Maple.Must specify in advance when signing up.
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Students must be advanced beginner or intermediate woodworkers, which means you are comfortable using the power tools listed and have experience with the listed hand tools as well.
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The completed construction of this project will likely require more than the 4 days allotted.Plus finishing will need to be done at another location of your choosing.
Age: Adults; Young adults 18+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class.
Please click here to join the club
Split, Splat, Splayed!
Class Description:
In this class, students will build a tray (about 12" x 18") with splayed sides. An emphasis in the class will be the basic skills needed to use the power tools safely, with a focus on ripping and cross-cutting a compound miter on the table saw.
Age: Adults: Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is restricted to 6 students
Tools and Materials: Table Saw, Router.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Votive Candle Holder / Hanukkah Menorah
Class Description:
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This class will build a holder for votive candles. The project is designed to hold 9 candles on a platform that is approximately 3.5” wide x 24” long. The center candle slightly above the other eight. This holder is a perfect holiday gift: To your friends who celebrate Hanukkah, it’s a show-piece Menorah. For others, it’s a show-piece votive candle holder.
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You will learn to taper and bevel using the jointer. We will also make use of the drill press and router table.
Age: Adults: Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is restricted to 6 students
Tools and Materials:
The blank that we’ll start with is 1.75” x 3.5” x 24”. If you’d like to supply your own blank, it must be slightly oversized by ½” in all dimensions.
Club Membership: You must be an ACWA member to attend this class. Please click here to join the club
Green on Green Coffee Table
Class Description:
What you will make: Greene and Greene style Rafter Tail Coffee Table designed by Darryl Peart
Tools you will use: Combination of Power and Hand Tools.
Knowledge and skills you will gain: General furniture making skills and concepts.
Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Charlie is an amateur furniture maker with 25+ years of practice.
Each Student will need to bring this much of what ever wood they want to use:
1 board 8/4 X no less than 8" wide x 72"L This is for the legs and there is some potential to make mistakes on the legs. We will probably spend most of the first day on the legs.
3 boards of 8/4 X at least 6" wide, by at least 10' long.
I recommend buying the ebony square stock from this guy. I would by two each 12" long by 3/8" pieces and two each 12" long by 1/4" pieces. that would be the easiest and honestly cheapest way to do this.
Ebony Squares for Sale (https://www.inlaybanding.com/ebonysquares.html)
Videos that should be watched prior to class:
Rafter Table Tables in the Greene & Greene Style Part 1: Making the Templates
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtl5ELn83nE)
Rafter Tail Tables in the Greene & Greene Style Part 2 : Mortising the Legs
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPDV_VMbo2A)
Rafter Tail Tables in the Greene & Greene Style Part 3: The Rails and Base Assembly
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv0P9pYwPhs)
Rafter Tail Tables in the Greene & Greene Style Part 4: Rafter tails, faux tenon’s, ebony plugs
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Pk1ZhDPcE)
Rafter Tail Tables in the Greene & Greene Style Part 5: Routing the Top and Thoughts on Finishing
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUqZFQDNpKc)
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Waddling Duck Push Toy
Class Description:
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What you will make: Just in time for Christmas, this is a wood push toy designed for children ages 2 to 5. It is built from one foot of 5 inch wide board, ¾” thick. Shaped like a duck profile, it has floppy rubber wings and floppy rubber feet, slotted into the wood wheels, that slap the floor loudly as it waddles along pushed by a dowel. The slap and waddle are a hit with the grandkids!
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The woodwork part of this project can be completed in an afternoon, after which the painting of your duck design may take some additional effort.
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The participant can finish the duck design using paints (enamel, acrylic, tempera etc) in your own design. Some paints will be available at the shop session.
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Tools you will use: BRING A NICE PIECE OF SCRAP WOOD! This project can be crafted out of any hardwood or softwood, the design is just a few curvy cuts. The duck body can be traced from a template, provided, onto your wood scrap. (Our shop at AIH has an ample supply of scraps)It can be cut on the bandsaw or using a jigsaw, scrollsaw or hand saw. Holes are drilled into the body for the ¼” wheel axle and the ½” dowel, using either a drill press or a hand drill. Two wheels 2” in diameter are cut from scrap wood of your choice, using a hole saw on drill press. Securing the wheels temporarily on a spindle in a drill and rotating against a sanding plate or disc will complete the rounding and smoothing of the wheels (I’m not a lathe guy!) Rubber parts can be cut from the remnant using a sharp utility knife.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: Both power tools and hand tools will create this project; bandsaw, drill press, hand saw, portable drill will all be useful. The project is quite basic, so it is quick and easy to create but the result will be a hit with your grandkids.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: John Fritz is an amateur woodworker, having dabbled in furniture-making, box-making, cabin-building and woodworking tool acquisition for over fifty years.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 15 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools. You can bring any paints (enamel, acrylic, tempera etc) for finishing the duck design. Scrap wood of ¾” thickness, 5” wide and 16” long, can be brought by participant or can be found at the AIH club scrap pile. Dowels for the axle ¼” by 3” long will be provided, along with ¼” steel washer spacers. Dowels for the ½ “ push stick 36” long will be provided, along with a small wooden knob for the dowel handle. The rubber wings and feet will be cut from a large remnant of rubber waterproof roofing material, available at the work session.
Masking Tape Dispenser
Class Description:
1. Masking tape dispenser - this can be made from small pieces of any nice wood. The contrast between the outer faces and the inner spacers looks classy in any shop or office. It can be sized for either the nominal 1” or 1-1/2” thick rolls commonly found in hardware stores.
2. Tools involved are: thickness planer, bandsaw, router, hole saw on drill press, sanding and finishing tools and products.
3. Skills involved are accurate project template use, safe use of various power tools, and finish techniques.
4. Instructor John Fritz has been refining his woodworking skills for the past half-century while creating many furniture projects, heirloom boxes, and various wooden objects. He is becoming quite versatile at fixing and making invisible his numerous woodworking errors, miscuts, mismatches, etc
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Craftsman Style Lamp
Class Description:
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What you will make: Craftsman Style Table Lamp
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Tools you will use:Jointer, Planer, Router, Table Saw, Drill Press
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Knowledge and skills you will gain:In this class, students will build a Craftsman-Style table lamp. The blueprint for this project is Woodsmith No. 133.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor:Marc Brown is a retired Computer Scientist who recently relocated from Silicon Valley where he moonlighted for 5 years as an instructor in the Palo Alto Adult School's Woodworking Program. He now builds using wood rather than Python.
Age/Level: Adults; Young adults 16+ This is an intermediate level class
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Bed Frame
Class Description:
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What you will make: A Bed Frame. All students will meet for 2 hours the week before the class at a time and location TBD to discuss the project and decide on the style and size of bed frame each would like to make.
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Tools you will use: Jointer, Planar, Table Saw, Router Table, Miter Saw.
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Knowledge and skills you will gain: This project involves large pieces of wood, so there are some challenges there.
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Brief woodworking related biography of the instructor: Marc Brown recently relocated from Silicon Valley to Anchorage to be close to his granddaughters. After a career in high tech, Marc began taking woodworking classes at the local adult schools, and has been teaching woodworking at the Palo Alto Adult School for the past 7 years.
Age: Age does not matter. Experience does. This is not a beginner class. You must have taken 2 ACWA classes.
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
Chess Board
Class Description:
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What you will make:We will be making a face grain chess board.
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Tools you will use: Planer, Table Saw, Miter Saw, Drum Sander and router
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Knowledge and skills you will gain:This is a beginner level class.Students will be working with the tools listed above and using glue in the assembly of the board.
Age: Adults; Young adults 16+
Number of Students: Class size is limited to 6 students
Tools and Materials: All tools are provided. You do not need to bring any tools.
