Upcoming Classes
The Port Townsend School of Woodworking offers weekend, one week, and three 12 week intensives. Classes range from woodturning, traditional carving, furniture design and construction, and Built Environment. Learn fine woodworking at Fort Worden State Park, overlooking the Salish Sea.
Upcoming Classes
Fall 2024
Philip Shelton
12-Week Intensive for Beginners
Approved for VA Funding, Scholarships Available
Through a series of progressively challenging projects, this intensive course puts you well on your way to becoming a fine woodworker. All tools provided.
Details & Registration
Gina Bonneau and Lacey Carnahan
5 Days, For Beginners
The goal of this weeklong class is to learn and practice the safe and effective use of machine tools, and basic machine tool maintenance and adjustments.
Details & Registration
Winter 2025
Gina Bonneau, Matthew Staughn-Morse
12-Week Intensive for Beginners
Approved for VA Funding, Scholarships Available
Through a series of progressively challenging projects, this intensive course puts you well on your way to becoming a fine woodworker. All tools provided.
Details & Registration
Phillip Shelton
12-Week Intensive, Some Skills Required
Approved for VA Funding, Scholarships Available
This course is designed as a follow-up to Foundations of Woodworking I. Deepen your understanding of design and expand your range of joinery and decorative techniques to build beautiful, robust furniture.
Details & Registration
Spring 2025
Gina Bonneau, Matthew Straughn-Morse
12-Week Intensive, Some Skills Required
Approved for VA Funding, Scholarships Available
This course is designed as a follow-up to Foundations of Woodworking I. Deepen your understanding of design and expand your range of joinery and decorative techniques to build beautiful, robust furniture.
Details & Registration
Brian Perry
5 Days, Open to All
In this five-day course, students will work with Port Gamble S’Klallam master carver Brian Perry to learn about this tradition and form while completing their own mask with hand carving tools.
Details & Registration
Tim Lawson
Weekend, For Beginners
This weekend course is perfect for complete beginners to turning, or folks whose skills have gotten rusty and need refreshing.
Details & Registration
Faculty
5 Days, For Beginners
This weeklong introductory course is intended to build confidence in your use of hand tools and get students excited to work with wood on their own.
Details & Registration
Tom Henscheid
Weekend, Open to All
This weekend class is designed to introduce you to the wonderful self-sufficient world of tool forging.
Details & Registration
Steve Habersetzer and Annalise Rubida
6 Days, Open to All
In this six-day course, we will guide you through building a traditional Windsor chair with a West Coast spin.
Details & Registration
James Johnson
5 Days, Open To All
In this five day class, you will be carving a spoon in the Tlingit tradition out of yellow cedar with Tlingit carver James Johnson.
Details & Registration
John Edwards
Weekend, For Beginners
You’ll learn how to effectively tune and sharpen saws, and how to efficiently use western-style and Japanese-style handsaws.
Details & Registration
Elizabeth Weber
5 Days, Open to All
In this one-week course, students will spend time turning various bowl shapes, using turning tools and mini, benchtop lathes to achieve their desired shape.
Details & Registration
John Edwards
Weekend, For Beginners
This weekend course teaches you to sharpen, tune, and use hand planes.
Details & Registration
Mike Pekovich
5 Days, Some Skills Required
Learn to use a combination of hand tools and power tools to build a wall cabinet with a traditional Japanese kumiko panel.
Details & Registration
Tom Henscheid
Weekend Class, Open to All
In this two-day course, students will create their own path in spoon carving by learning various spoon carving designs and techniques that they can replicate and practice on their own.
Details & Registration
John Edwards
Weekend, For Beginners
In this two-day class, we'll introduce you to the techniques and steps to cut dovetails by hand using a handsaw and chisels.
Details & Registration
Annalise Rubida
5 Days, Open to All
In this five-day course, we will explore the fundamentals of Windsor chair construction and joinery by building a stool of your own design.
Details & Registration
John Edwards
Weekend, For Beginners
In this weekend class, you’ll learn how to quickly and efficiently layout, cut and fit mortise and tenon joinery using only hand tools.
Details & Registration
Lacey Carnahan & Annalise Rubida
6 Days, Open to all skill levels
This six-day class is an introduction to the art of post and rung chairmaking.
Details & Registration
Matt Monaco
5 Days, Open to All
In this five-day class, master woodturner Matt Monaco will guide you in learning to develop and implement the skills necessary to execute and create a variety of traditionally turned classic bowls.
Details & Registration
Raphael Berrios
Weekend, For Beginners
In this weekend class, we’ll be focusing on how to sharpen chisels and plane blades and introduce you to techniques to sharpen a wide variety of hand tools.
Details & Registration
Tom Fenollosa and Paul Denison
6 Days, Open to All
This six-day course covers the fundamentals of timber frame construction using the square rule method and includes the raising of the frame off-site from PTSW’s campus.
Details & Registration
Summer 2025
Gina Bonneau
5 Days, For Beginners - Women and LGBTQ+ Students
This weeklong introductory course is intended to build confidence in your use of hand tools and get you excited to work with wood on your own. This class welcomes cis women, trans women and trans men, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, genderqueer, and any woman-identifying people.
Details & Registration
Martin Nerbovig
Weekend, Open to All
This weekend course is designed to give folks a start on understanding and operating CNC machines. This course is being offered in partnership with local manufacturer Camp N’ Car at their facility in Port Townsend.
Details & Registration
Keunho Peter Park
6 Days, Open to All
Make your own sculptural wooden stool in this six-day design/build course.
Details & Registration
James Johnson
10 Days, Open To All
This ten-day class will teach the fundamentals of designing, drawing, carving, and painting a formline panel with Tlingit carver James Johnson.
Details & Registration
Katie Hudnall
5 Days, Some Skills Required
In this five-day class, you will design, build, and embellish your own small wall-hung cabinet.
Details & Registration
Cody Wayland
Weekend, Open to All
Each student in this course will have a hands-on experience maneuvering a log onto the mill carriage and then sawing this log into lumber.
Details & Registration
Gina Bonneau and Lacey Carnahan
5 Days, For Beginners
The goal of this weeklong class is to learn and practice the safe and effective use of machine tools, and basic machine tool maintenance and adjustments.
Details & Registration
Kimberly Winkle
5 Days, Open to All
In this five-day course, you will learn the fundamentals of woodturning as well as finishes like milk paint and surface texture.
Details & Registration
Rob Millard-Mendez
5 Days, Open to All
In this five-day design and build course, you will learn to use hand tools and power tools to create a timeless, functional, and beautiful lamp that will illuminate and add visual interest to any interior space.
Details & Registration
John Edwards
5 Days, Some Skills Required
Build a wall cabinet with groove joints, dovetail joints, and mortise & tenon joints.
Details & Registration
Raphael Berrios
5 Days, Open to All
Build a table using pre-industrial artisan techniques in this five-day workshop. Get ready to break a sweat, learn to hand chop mortises, dimension stock with hand planes, and practice precision layout with minimal reference surfaces. This class is inspired by a class we ran with Joshua Klein in 2018.
Details & Registration
Chris Landingin, Ginsy Stone
6 Days, Open to All
This six-day course for women and LGBTQ+ students covers the fundamentals of a New England style of timber frame construction using the square rule method.
Details & Registration
Annalise Rubida
5 Days, Open to All
In this five-day design and build course, you will be guided through a creative practice around carving small-scale functional objects.
Details & Registration
Kelly Parker
5 Days, Some Skills Required
You will construct a unique side table while learning the basics of solid wood construction, exposed-dowel joinery, and machine woodworking.
Details & Registration
Kelly Parker
1 Day, Open to All
In this one day course, you will be encouraged to play and explore surface embellishment techniques on wood surfaces.
Details & Registration
Fall 2025
Steve Habersetzer and Annalise Rubida
6 Days, Open to All
In this six-day course, we will guide you through building a traditional Windsor chair with a West Coast spin.
Details & Registration
Beth Ireland
5 Days, Open to All
This five-day offset turning class is designed for all levels of woodturning. Offset turning allows you to make geometrical shapes with the lathe which happens by changing the center point of the piece on what you are turning.
Details & Registration
Philip Sheton
12-Week Intensive for Beginners
Approved for VA Funding, Scholarships Available
Through a series of progressively challenging projects, this intensive course puts you well on your way to becoming a fine woodworker. All tools provided.
Details & Registration
Faculty
Weekend Class, For Beginners
You’ll be walked through the basics of common shop machines such as the table saw, band saw, thickness planer, and jointer.
Details & Registration
Steve Habersetzer
Weekend Class, Some Skills Required
In this weekend class, you'll learn the traditional art of coopering and make a bucket.
Details & Registration
Emi Shinmura
5 Days, For Beginners
In this five-day course, you will learn the basics to set up a minimal set of Japanese tools and workbench to get started in Japanese woodworking.
Details & Registration
Emi Shinmura
5 Days, Some Skills Required
In this five-day course, you will learn how to layout, cut, and fit traditional joints using Japanese techniques.
Details & Registration
Tom Henscheid
Weekend, For Beginners
This weekend class is designed to introduce you to the wonderful self-sufficient world of tool forging.
Details & Registration
James Johnson
10 Days, Open To All
This ten-day class will teach the fundamentals of designing, drawing, carving, and painting a formline panel with Tlingit carver James Johnson.
Details & Registration
Tim Lawson
Weekend, For Beginners
This weekend course is perfect for complete beginners to turning, or folks whose skills have gotten rusty and need refreshing.
Details & Registration
Tom Henscheid
Weekend Class, Open to All
In this two-day course, students will create their own path in spoon carving by learning various spoon carving designs and techniques that they can replicate and practice on their own.
Details & Registration
Dale Brotherton
6 Days, For Beginners
This six-day class will be a hands-on workshop focused primarily on the sharpening and setting up of traditional Japanese chisels and hand planes.
Details & Registration
Gina Bonneau and Lacey Carnahan
5 Days, For Beginners - Women & LGBTQ+ Students
The goal of this weeklong class is to learn and practice the safe and effective use of machine tools, and basic machine tool maintenance and adjustments. This class welcomes cis women, trans women and trans men, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, genderqueer and any woman-identifying people.
Details & Registration
Tom Henscheid
2 Days, Open to All
In this weekend class, we will learn the basics of selecting and sourcing materials, how to prepare substrates, and various methods of applying veneers in a fast-paced, fun environment. Each student will make a small, square veneered tabletop, which can be later attached to a leg structure of your choosing.
Details & Registration
Dale Brotherton
6 Days, Some Skills Required
This course will offer details of the fundamentals of Japanese woodworking, putting to use the tools that were set up in the beginner Japanese Tools class.
Details & Registration
Tim Lawson
5 Days, For Beginners
This weeklong course is perfect for complete beginners or folks whose woodturning skills have gotten rusty and need refreshing.
Details & Registration