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 1–12 | Peter Korn & Reuben Foat |
| June 29–July 10 | Peter Korn & Amy Forsyth |
| July 27–August 7 | Peter Korn & Aaron Fedarko |
| Aug. 24–Sept. 4 | Peter Korn & Mason McBrien |
| October 5–16 | Peter Korn & Craig Satterlee |
This workshop is a thorough introduction to furniture making, with a focus on traditional hand skills. Partici-pants 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-and-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: $1,170Sign Up Now
Faculty
Walnut dictionary stand by Peter Korn
Peter Korn, the Center’s Executive 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."
Detail of cabinet by Reuben Foat, chestnut and cherry, (12"x4"x25"), 2008
Reuben Foat earned a B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and subsequently worked in a cabinet shop in London, England and a furniture restoration business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2007 he came to the Center as a Studio Fellow and in 2008 served as our Assistant Facilities Manager and assisted in teaching the Twelve-week Intensives.
Cabinet of Curiosities by Amy Forsyth in collabora-tion with Mark Sfirri (24"x17"x54"), 2002
Amy Forsyth is an Associate Professor of Art and Architecture at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, where she teaches Three-dimensional Design and Furniture Design. After studying architecture at Penn State and Princeton Universities, she began designing and building furniture in 1992. Along the way, she has studied with Michael Puryear, Tom Loeser, Curtis Buchanan, and Jere Osgood, among others. Amy is a past trustee of The Furniture Society and former editor of its newsletter. She has also published articles in Furniture Society publications and Woodwork magazine.
Quatro Amigos Table by Aaron Fedarko, cherry (42"x42"x29"), 2008
Aaron Fedarko is a self-employed furniture designer and maker in Camden, Maine. Prior to graduating from our Nine-month Comprehensive in 2007 he was employed in the corporate world. Aaron’s "Dos Amigos" table was awarded top honors—the People’s Choice Award—at Maine Wood 2008, a juried exhibition that showcased work from some of the best furniture makers in the state. To see more of Aaron’s work go to www.fedarkofurniture.com.
Sylvan Shimmer by Mason McBrien, curly maple and black walnut (35"x18"x37"), 2008
Mason McBrien will be the Center’s Assistant Facilities Manager, starting in January, 2009. After years of self-employment building custom furniture, museum installations, and historic garden architecture in New Hampshire, Mason enrolled in our 2007-2008 Nine-month Comprehensive and subsequently was awarded a Studio Fellowship. His work has been published in Fine Woodworking and in Lark Books’ upcoming 500 Tables.
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.