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 7-18 | Peter Korn & Craig Satterlee |
| July 5-16 | Peter Korn & Alf Sharp |
| August 2-13 | Peter Korn & Mason McBrien |
| Aug. 30-Sept. 10 | Peter Korn & Leslie Webb |
| October 11-22 | Peter Korn & Aaron Fedarko |
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-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: $1,190
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.”
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 the Twelve-week Intensive and has taught at the Center for the past eleven years.
Federal Shield-back chair after McIntyre by Alf Sharp, mahogany and poplar (22"x22"x40"), 1999
Alf Sharp builds museum-quality, one-of-a-kind furniture, primarily in the 18th century American and European styles, in Woodbury, Tennessee. He has been making furniture for thirty years and received the Society of American Period Furniture Makers’ highest honor, the Cartouche Award, in 2008. Alf’s work has been featured in numerous publications, including Southern Living, Fine Woodworking, and Woodwork, among others. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Furniture Society and his work may be seen at www.alfredsharp.com.
Sylvan Shimmer by Mason McBrien, curly maple and black walnut (35"x18"x37"), 2008
Mason McBrien has been the Center’s Assistant Facilities Manager since January, 2009. After years of self-employment building custom furniture, museum installations, and historic garden architecture in New Hampshire, Mason enrolled in the Center’s 2007-2008 Nine-month Comprehensive and subsequently was awarded a Studio Fellowship. His work has been published in Fine Woodworking and in Lark Books’ 500 Tables (2009).
Media Cabinet by Leslie Webb, quartersawn ash (48"x8.5"x48"), 2006
Leslie Webb is a furniture maker in Dallas, Texas. She graduated from our Nine-month Comprehensive in 2005 and subsequently continued her education through the Crafts and Design Program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. Her work has received design awards from Niche magazine and the Furniture Society. Over the past two years, Leslie has exhibited her work at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. Her web site is www.lewebb.com.
Detail of Teak Cabinet by Aaron Fedarko
(37"x26"x21"), 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.