Spring 2024
June 10-14

This five-day introductory course is intended to build confidence, demystify woodworking through the use of hand tools, and get students excited to work with wood on their own. Each student is provided with a full-size woodworking bench equipped with all of the sharpened tools needed for the class and led through the construction of a benchtop tool tote project designed to further your understanding of fine bench joinery.

Why Center on Women and LGBTQ+ Students?

Woodworking spaces are historically and presently male-dominated spaces. Our intention here is to provide training and support for people who, through long-enduring and systemic inequalities, have been excluded due to gender or identity. This class welcomes cis women, trans women and trans men, gay men, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, genderqueer and any woman-identifying people. This distinction is less about who we do not let in the door, and more about who this space is intended for. As such, we ask that you thoughtfully determine your own eligibility. The PFLAG glossary of terms is a helpful resource for the ever-evolving vocabulary around gender.

School founder, master woodworker, and author Jim Tolpin developed this class while writing The New Traditional Woodworker. Purchasing this book is not required, but it serves as excellent supplemental reading and reference for students enrolled in this course. 

During this weeklong Beginning Hand Tool Woodworking course, you will learn an array of joints, layout techniques, and practical tips for crafting successful joinery through your project: a hand tool tote. You will discover the pleasure of working wood with hand tools, and the confidence to properly set up, sharpen, and maintain those same tools to continue this practice on your own time. This project will include the creation of dovetails, dados, and grooves by hand and will make for a challenging and rewarding end product. Different design and construction elements will be examined with the final design being determined by you, the student!

Over the course of the week, you will learn a number of joints and put them to immediate practice through the construction of your projects. You will learn to choose the right tool for the job, how to set the tools up properly, and practice the skills you’ll need to work as efficiently and as enjoyably as possible.

Joints and techniques include:

• Lapped joints

• Stopped dados

• Bridle joints

• Floating panels in grooves

• Dovetails
  

This course will also cover the following techniques and topics:

• Handsaws

• Handplanes (for joinery, sizing, detailing and smoothing)

• Chisels (for hewing and joinery)

• Precision layout

Tools

PTSW will provide all the tools for this course. You do not need to bring any tools for this class! We do recommend you bring these items:

• Personal protective equipment 

• Pencil

• Paper or notepad 

Prerequisites

This class is for beginners. Bring enthusiasm for learning a new skill!

Class Information and Registration

Class runs from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday in Building 315 at Fort Worden. Map
Please read our What to Expect page for general information about the school.
Please also read our Registration Policy.
If the class becomes full, please sign up for the wait list. 

Class size: 12
Cost: $895
Materials Charge: $100