Basic Woodworking

Peter Korn & Faculty

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.

Learn more about the Basic Woodworking Faculty.

Open to novice and intermediate woodworkers.

Tuition: $1,250

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