Basic Woodworking
Projects
by Basic Woodworking students, October, 1999.
Basic Woodworking students at the sharpening station.
Detail of the suggested project for Basic Woodworking
Peter Korn & Faculty
| June 2 – 13 | Peter Korn & Libby Schrum |
| June 30 – July 11 | Peter Korn & Liza Wheeler |
| July 28 – August 8 | Peter Korn & Eyrich Stauffer |
| August 25 – Sept. 5 | Peter Korn & Dean Pulver |
| October 6 – 17 | Peter Korn & Craig Satterlee |
This workshop is a thorough introduction to furniture making, with a focus on traditional hand skills. Participants range from absolute beginners to more experienced woodworkers who want to improve their craftsmanship.
After milling a piece of wood four-square and hand-cutting mortise & tenon and dovetail joints, each student makes a simple piece of furniture. A small bench with dovetails and through-wedged tenons is suggested, although participants may choose other designs.
The workshop starts with instruction in the safe use of power tools such as the table saw, jointer, planer, and bandsaw. Through daily lectures and demonstrations, Peter and his co-teachers introduce skills such as lumber selection, milling, joinery, scraping, sanding, assembly, and finishing. They offer extensive instruction in the sharpening, tuning and use of planes, chisels, and other hand tools.
Peter Korn’s book, Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship (Taunton Press, 2003) is the text for this course. The small class size allows Peter and his co-instructors to give each participant extensive individual guidance throughout.
Open to novice and intermediate woodworkers.
Tuition: $1,110
Faculty
Walnut dictionary stand by Peter Korn
Peter Korn, the Center’s Director, has been a furniture maker since 1974. He is the author of Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship (Taunton Press, 2003) and The Woodworker’s Guide to Hand Tools (Taunton Press, 1998). Prior to founding the Center For Furniture Craftsmanship in 1992, Peter spent six years as Program Director at Colorado’s Anderson Ranch Arts Center and four years as Adjunct Associate Professor at Drexel University. His award-winning furniture has been exhibited nationally in galleries and museums.
Peter’s approach to woodworking calls for a balance between traditional hand skills and effective machine use. “Craftsmanship,” says Peter, “is more than a set of skills; through the process of creating an object, we transform ourselves.”
Stackable Etagere by Libby Schrum, cherry and glass (16"x16"x45"), 2003
Libby Schrum completed our Twelve-week Intensive before earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2005. Subsequently, she spent a year in our Studio Fellowship Program and she is currently employed as a cabinetmaker at Lyman Morse Boatbuilding in Thomaston, Maine.
Cherry Console Table by Liza Wheeler (54”x14"x32"), 2005
Liza Wheeler has been a woodworker for eighteen years, first as a carpenter, then as a cabinetmaker in a commercial shop. She studied cabinetmaking and fine woodworking at Seattle Central Community College, and in 1996 she began her own business building cabinetry and commissioned furniture in Liberty, Maine. In recent years, Liza has served as an instructor for our Basic Woodworking, Twelve-week Intensive, and Nine-month Comprehensive courses, in addition to pursuing her own work.
Coffee Table by Craig Satterlee, mahogany and mahogany veneer, 1997.
Craig Satterlee builds furniture on commission in his Marietta, Georgia workshop. He also offers private instruction and has taught extensively in the Atlanta area, including courses at the local Woodcraft store and the Dogwood Institute of Fine Woodworking. Craig has been making furniture for twenty years, following an early retirement from corporate healthcare. He is a graduate of our Twelve-week Intensive and has taught at the Center for the past ten years.
Sideboard by Eyrich Stauffer, birch and mahogany (60"x18"x29"), 2000
Eyrich Stauffer owns and operates Stauffer Woodworking in East Calais, Vermont. Since graduating from our Twelve-week Intensive in 1999 he has applied his skills to a wide range of pursuits, from furniture to cabinetry, timber framing, and professional treehouse construction. Eyrich’s passion for craft and education has led him to seek opportunities to bring others into the world of woodworking, including teaching at Yestermorrow Design/Build School, Sterling College, and the Vermont Woodworking School.
Untitled Table by Dean Pulver, quartersawn sycamore, padauk, and walnut (40"x22"x16"), 2002
Dean Pulver is a self-employed studio furniture maker in El Prado, New Mexico with sixteen years’ professional experience. His work is represented by leading galleries such as Wexler in Philadelphia, Function+Art in Chicago, and Tercera in San Francisco and Palo Alto. Dean is a 1987 graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art with a B.A. in Sculpture.