Spoon Making Class
In early November we held another Saturday spoon-making class designed to help parents and grandparents introduce hand tool woodworking to their children. Martin Macica, a violin maker by trade, led the workshop and shared from his experience with his own children, who at ages 13, 11 and 8 have already developed some impressive woodworking skills. The participants included 85 year old Anna Witkowski, who attended with her nephew. It was amazing to hear from her experiences on the farm as a child, and her willingness to pick up a gouge and work on a spoon was inspiring. A few parents...
Read MoreTimber Framing Class (with video)
We always enjoy our Introduction to Timber Framing Class here at Maplewood. Participants spent three days building a timber-framed sawhorse that incorporates three traditional timber framing joints, including the angled knee brace. This is a “hand-tool only” workshop, so beams are crosscut with hand saws and mortises are drilled with antique beam drills (otherwise know as a “boring” machine or beam auger). Maplewood instructor Nick Richards uses traditional layout and joinery methods to allow participants to see and experience how craftspeople built homes and...
Read MoreFive Day Workbench Class (with videos)
We recently completed another five-day workbench building class at the Maplewood Center for Common Craft. Day one consisted of chopping eight mortises through workbench legs that are nearly 4 inches thick. Participants worked steadily for eight hours each day to complete their benches, stopping only to sharpen chisels and planes, or to watch Arien, Jacob or David demonstrate the next step in completing the project. Several participants had never chopped a mortise by hand before and were pleased with the accuracy and possibility of building their own bench with such simple hand tools....
Read MoreGuitar Making Class (with video)
On Saturday, September 14th, Martin Macica shared his insights from over 30 years of fine instrument making during an Introduction to Guitar Making class at the Maplewood Center for Common Craft. Some of the participants had experience building instruments, while others were simply interested in learning more about the craft. Martin uses hand tool techniques, some of which he has developed himself, to accomplish tasks where many other guitar makers would use machines. For example, he demonstrated the process for adding the binding to the guitar using a simple yet effective purfling tool. ...
Read MoreFall 2013 Classes are Underway
Our Fall 2013 Session kicks off with an Introduction to Guitar Making with Martin Macica, followed by an Introduction to Timber Framing Class. Our complete listing of offerings, including a newly announced Timber Framing Class on October 18-20 is available at the “Classes” link above. We hosted a tour of the Maplewood workshop facilities on Saturday, August 3rd, 2013 for members of the Northeast Woodworkers Association (NWA). Several hand-tool woodworking classes were in session, including Introduction to Timber Framing and a month-long furniture building class. ...
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