Replies

1. 
   esch5995 | Jan 09, 2023 04:50pm | #1

   Class for what? There are many different aspects to woodworking. A good place to start is a local Woodcraft or Rockler store they have regular classes on different aspects of woodworking, although I'm not sure they do intensive weekend classes.

   Here is a sample of the type of classes offered at the Woburn Massachusetts store. They do offer some single weekend options.

   https://www.woodcraft.com/stores/woburn/classes

1. 
   john_c2 | Jan 09, 2023 05:35pm | #3

   Are you near Woburn?

2. 
   john_c2 | Jan 09, 2023 04:58pm | #2

   Lots of places in Maine. Al Breed, Daniel Faia, Peter Galbert all offer classes. Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Shelter Institute, Maine Coast Craft School, Maine Coast Workshop. Others I'm not thinking of.

   Lots of classes in Connecticut at the excellent Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking.

1. FWW Editor
   ben_strano | Jan 10, 2023 08:45am | #4

   The first three are juuuuust over the border in New Hampshire. All in the same building—along with some other amazing woodworkers! I'm pretty sure that building has the highest concentration of woodworking talent in the world.

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   john_c2 | Jan 10, 2023 01:56pm | #5

   That's for sure. The list is really long. It's a huge 1850ish mill building that's a veritable Borg cube of Woodworking and every other craft.

2. 
   jusplanerob | Jan 11, 2023 09:17am | #6

   Thanks for all the info. We're located in Newton, MA and would be willing to travel a bit. I'll check on some of the suggestions and get back to you all. Looking for a beginning class in hand tools to give him some exposure and perhaps get him on the path to fine woodworking. Thanks again.

1. 
   weymouth2 | Jan 11, 2023 01:59pm | #8

   If you want to focus on hand tools then I would avoid the intro class at Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking (the one where you make a walnut jewelry box). It was an excellent class and I learned a ton. Good mix of "lecture" and hands-on, and it was well paced. But it was power tool-centric (which fit my needs perfectly). You go over table saw, jointer, thickness planer, band saw and router. There is some block plane and chisel work, but hand tools were not the focus. Highly recommend the facility and the "vibe" and the quality of instruction, so if they have a Hand Tool 101 class, I'm sure it's great.

2. 
   sf1988 | Jan 11, 2023 10:53pm | #9

   Another great option and gifts for your son is to gift him both of Mike Pekovich's books: "The Why & How of Woodworking" and "The Foundations of Woodworking". Mike and Ben also host an online course for The Foundations of Woodworking. It is an outstanding course (I was in the first class). There is currently an ongoing course and don't know when the next one will be but it is definitely a must class for you and your son. Go and build something and have fun.

3. 
   MIKEALEE | Jan 11, 2023 09:33am | #7

   John Wilson and his crew are famous for their Shaker oval boxes. While his shop is in Michigan, at least half of their classes are away. He goes to Vermont, New Hampshire and Eastern New York a few times a year. Classes are very reasonably priced and usually 2 or 3 days long. Attached is an old schedule for 2022. He should be posting the 2023 schedule any day now.

   
4. 
   wolewyck2 | Jan 14, 2023 08:51pm | #10

   North Bennet Street School in the North End! Oldest trade school in the country with a fantastic full-time fine furniture program and a variety of workshops for the community.

   https://nbss.edu/continuing-education/woodworking/

5. 
   smoothturning | Jan 16, 2023 02:40pm | #11

   I would check your local community colleges nearby. The ones in my area have night, weekend and outreach programs. Instead of being in a weekend class where I'm rushed, I take the next 15 weeks to complete a project. The cost in my area is also very reasonable. I've built a windsor chair over a fall semester for $400 in materials and $165 in tuition.

   While I'm not learning from Peter Galbert, I am following his book and receiving instruction from someone who has taken multiple classes with Peter Galbert and other chair makers. The time taken to have the skills sink in makes this more valuable for me than just completing a single project.