Open shop is a time for you to bring in any projects or crafts you are working on and have access to the tools and the space. While we will have an instructor on staff to help open shop run smoothly and make sure tools are being used safely, this is a self-directed work time NOT class time. Open shop is capped at 8 participants and needs 6 participants to run.
Registrants of open shop MUST have taken power tools 101 or be comfortable and experienced using power tools. Every attendee of open shop must register. Please no guests without registration!
Please email fireweedwoodshop@gmail.com if you have any questions about open shop or what tools are available to use.
*** We do require masking indoors, whatever your vaccination status*** _________________________________
Facilitated by Aria Kampfer.
Calling all bakers, chefs and hobbyists! Novices and pros alike!
Learn the basics of spindle turning in this fun, beginner-friendly course. Class will introduce the anatomy of the lathe and students will learn the techniques to turn a maple or walnut French rolling pin. Course will also cover sanding and food-safe finishes.
The materials fee for this course is $20 and is included in the admissions cost.
*** We do require masking indoors, whatever your vaccination status***
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Taught by Tiff Tran
Spoon enthusiasts come together to investigate eating spoons and their best qualities! Over the course of this day long session, we will each design an eating spoon of our own, learn axe work techniques, practice carving with straight and hook knives, and learn about the fundamentals of sharpening edged tools. This class is intended for folks who have carved spoons before, but who want to take a deeper dive into the process of crafting a wooden eating spoon that they want to use all the time. Folks should bring one or two spoons of any material to investigate. Anyone is are welcome to bring any personal tools they enjoy carving with, but they do not have to.
We will pause class to take a 30 minute lunch break. Please bring your own lunch.
The materials fee for this class is $20 and is included in the admission cost.
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This class is taught by Mo.
Join us for a special BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) centered class to practice the basics of Power Tools
Make a cutting board while learning how to use power tools. We will cover using the electric planer, ripping on the table saw, cross cutting on the miter saw, curved cuts on the bandsaw, and finishing. This is a great chance to get to know, or brush up on the most powerful tools in the shop. Take home your very own cherry or maple cutting board at the end.
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Taught by Meena Mangalvedhekar (@meenanew) Bio 1. Bio 2.
Taught by Meena Mangalvedhekar.
It can be hard to find just the right picture frame--especially for one-of-a-kind art--and custom frames are expensive. Solve that problem by learning how to build your own! We'll use the table saw, miter saw, and v-nailer to construct basic frames out of oak, maple, or cherry. Students should come to class with dimensions of the piece they want to frame, and we'll take it from there!
The materials fee for this class is $15 and is included in the class admission cost.
Taught by Julie Arnold
Learn how to carve a spoon from a fresh cut tree using traditional Nordic carving techniques. We cover tree anatomy, axing out a blank (roughed out spoon shape), knife holds for the hook & sloyd knife, drying, and finishing. This class is great for the beginner or the person wanting to learn Sloyd style carving. The class fee includes tool rental, materials, a finishing kit, and safety gloves. Please wear pants and close toed-shoes, as we are going to make some wood chips!
The materials fee for this class is $25 and is included in the admission cost.
*** We do require masking indoors, whatever your vaccination status*** __________________________
Carve a dough bowl!
Hone your green woodworking skills by learning the essentials of bowl carving! Learn how to safely and efficiently use your axe, an adze, and other hand tools. Each class will feature an Axercise warm-up, demos, and guidance as you practice your green wood carving skills. Students will start by learning how to split a log, flatten their half into a workable rectangle with the axe, and map out the layout of their bowl. We’ll learn hollowing techniques using the axe, adze, and gouges. We’ll use shave horses and learn work-holding techniques at our workbenches, shaping our bowls with axes, gouges, draw knives, and spokeshaves. Our approach to bowl carving is a mash-up of traditional and modern techniques. We support both incorporating precision measuring tools and trusting our hands to tell us where we’re at.
Expect to leave class with a mostly finished bowl and feeling comfortable using a variety of hand tools. Finishing cuts always happen on a dry surface and your green wood bowl needs some slow drying time to prevent cracking or splitting. We will go over various finishing techniques in class.
Dough bowls are long and shallow bowls that were historically used to separate out cream from milk but are used today to knead dough, hold fruit or bread, show off tools, or whatever you want!
This class is suitable for beginners but some carving experience is helpful.
The materials fee for this class is $40 and is included in the admission costs.
Taught by Jeanette Torkelson and Ema Thoen
This craft hang is gathering in the hand tools classroom at Fireweed Woodshop.
9am-11am. Registration is free or give what you can without pressure!
Bring your own hand-carving project to the shop for some company, community, and sharing tips and tricks. This is NOT A CLASS, just a hangout.
This is a FREE event, open to all. If you like/are able to contribute, we have some different donation levels at registration, or you can choose "FREE!" registration. Thank you!
What to bring:
-a mask (fireweed masks up indoors; extra masks are always available too)
-your project (all handcrafts welcome!) - your carving tools (we will have some spoon blanks for sale)
Come learn how to turn your own bowl on the lathe! We will start with a freshly cut bowl blank and take it all the way to its finished shape. You will be learning parts of the lathe, how to mount your blank, and how to use bowl gouges, scrapers, and different chuck attachments. We will also cover how you will later on dry, sand, and finish the bowl. In this 4 hour class we will go at a pace at which everyone is comfortable, leaving plenty of room for demonstration, questions, and hands-on time.
The materials fee for this class is $30 and is included in the admission cost.
Taught by Abbey Dickhudt
This class is taught by Katie Speckman.
Facilitated by Julie Arnold.
This class is designed for people who have taken our Power Tools 101 class, or any other introduction to power tools class. Learn how to transform rough lumber into finished sizes while making a mitered box. This class will cover how to use the tools to create parallel sides and perpendicular corners before building the box. Through box-making, we will learn how to make several forms of joinery including miters, splines, and dados. This class is open to students of all levels of ability, and we will make accommodations for anyone with a disability.
The materials fee for this class is $25 and is included in the admission cost
Taught by Aria Kampfer
Learn how to carve a Dala horse using traditional Nordic carving techniques. We'll cover grain direction, knife holds for the hook & sloyd knife, and finishing. This class is great for the beginner or the person wanting to learn Sloyd style carving. Please note: we will not be painting these horses.
Please wear pants and close toed shoes, as we are going to make some wood chips!
The materials fee for this class is $20 and is included in the class admission cost.
Taught by Jess Hirsch.
https://jesshirsch.com
Design and build your very own wooden clock! This three-session class will take you through the process of choosing the shape and wood species for your clock face to deciding on the appearance and finish of your product. Practice a variety of woodworking skills, including planing, sawing, carving, woodburning, and finishing. These clocks are designed to hang from a wall, though the instructor is open to exploring free-standing clocks for excited learners.
The materials fee for this class is $45 and is included in the admission cost.
Taught by Anaïs Boyd
Traditional Appalachian Sweepers use craft broomcorn (stalk is attached to the hurl) to create a full sweep broom with a beautiful plaited (woven) pattern around the handle. Day 1 Learn to wind the soaked broomcorn onto the handle in multiple layers and plait (weave) the stalk around the handle. Students will take their brooms home to dry before the next class. Day 2 we will focus on stitching the broom. Participants should have moderate hand, leg and foot strength to control the footbreak while winding the broom by hand.
The materials fee for this class is $50 and is included in the admission cost.
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Learn about the ins and outs of installing trim. Cut with a miter and coping saw the base, face, and trim and practice installing it with an airnailer. Learn what's behind the wall so your trim is secured properly. This course is designed for beginners. All skill levels welcome.
Please wear closed toed shoes and avoid dangly clothing. During this 3 hour class, students will be standing for the majority of the time. If you have questions about accommodations during class please reach out to fireweedwoodshop@gmail.com
The materials fee for this class is $10 and is included in the admission cost.
Taught by Melinde Madsen
Learn how to carve a spoon from a fresh cut tree using traditional Nordic carving techniques. We cover tree anatomy, knife holds for the hook & sloyd knife, drying, and finishing. This class is great for the beginner or the person wanting to learn Sloyd style carving.
Please wear pants and close-toed shoes as we are going to make some wood chips!
This class is taught by Vanessa Walton.
This class is intended for BIPOC students.
Learn western-style block carving and printing with minimal tools at home, and make a set of prints/cards/stationery. We will learn about how to think in relief, utilize wood grain in design, how to transfer designs to a block, the techniques and different effects of the five basic carving tools and how to handle ink and paper and methods for printing using tools you have at home.
We will print in one color. Follow-up materials lists and resources will be sent to students looking to print more at home.
To maximize the time we have for carving questions, please prepare a 4x6 design (landscape or portrait orientation) for your block in advance. A design on paper can be transferred to the block so that the print will be the same orientation as the paper drawing, so any lettering in your design should be right-reading. Simple designs with bold image areas/texture that work with the grain (think fur, bark, a cloudy sky, or water...rather than curly-cues) without lettering are recommended. You will receive an email from your instructor, jessiemerriam@gmail.com, with more guidance around block design in advance of class.
Materials cost for this class is $22 and is included in the admission cost. Materials include ink, printmaking quality paper and cards, newsprint for proofs, shina plywood block 6x8, pencil, power grip carving tool rental and brayer tool rental.
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Taught by Jessie Merriam (@wheelbugs)
~Power tools 101 is a prerequisite for this course~
Learn how to transform rough lumber into finished sizes while making a mitered box. This class will cover how to use the tools to create parallel sides and perpendicular corners before building the box. Through box-making, we will learn how to make several forms of joinery including miters, splines, and dados. This class is open to students of all levels of ability, and we will make accommodations for anyone with a disability.
6:30-8:30pm Registration is free or give what you can without pressure!
a mask (fireweed masks up indoors; extra masks are always available too)
-your project (all handcrafts welcome!)
- your carving tools (we usually have some spoon blanks for sale)
In this class, you will learn the fundamentals of furniture making through the process of making a chair. You will mill lumber, practice making mortise and tenon joints using a domino cutter, and learn about various finishes that can make your chairs unique. No experience with woodworking is required.
The materials fee for this class is $100 and is included in the admission cost.
Taught by Sophie Glenn
This customizable storage wall is made with pegs, shelves, and boxes to create a stylish storage and display space that you can change around whenever you want! Students will create their own peg board, then make a minimum of three boxes and three shelves for the wall. The peg board and accessories will be made out of 3/4" maple plywood and students are welcome to bring their own paint or leave the wood natural. Finish will be provided. This class is open to students of all levels of ability, and I will make accommodations for anyone with a disability.
Learn to make two beautiful brooms on sticks: Cobbwebber and Stitched Besom broom. In this 4 hour class we will make a round besom broom and stitch it. We will also plate a cobwebber broom. Students will leave with material to stitch their cobwebber broom at home once it is dry. Leave feeling confident and inspired to explore the world of broom making.
Please wear closed toed shoes.
The materials fee for this class is $37 and is included in the admission cost.
This class is taught by Tina Green Krause.
This class will explore the use of basketry on woodturning, using bowls turned and finished by the Fireweed community, and basketry techniques of all sorts explored in this class. Both crafts will be leveraged to create work not possible by each craft on its own.
The materials fee for this class is $75 and is included in the admission cost.
Taught by Janine Wang
In this class we’ll make a simple single slat chair using traditional and modern tools with fresh black ash and woven with cotton Shaker tape. Beginners are welcome, but some basic woodworking experience will make the learning curve with the tools shorter. This class will require some hand strength to grip tools and some extended periods of standing. Being able to open a sealed jar is an example of hand strength.
The materials cost of this class is $65 and is included in the admission cost.
Taught by Mary Tripoli
In this 5-day class geared towards the newer woodworkers, students will construct a unique side table while learning the basics of solid wood construction, exposed-dowel joinery, pattern routing and finishing. Kelly loves to teach people how to use power tools and safety will be her focus as the students learn how to use many common shop tools, including the bandsaw, miter saw, table saw, jointer, planer, drill press and router table. Students will learn to use several types of jigs throughout the project.
Additionally, they will learn how to fabricate simple dowel jigs that will allow them to create joints that are both functional and decorative. Spontaneous learning opportunities will ensure that students learn basic problem-solving skills that will be useful as they work on future projects. As time allows, each student will be encouraged to embellish their project with pyrography (wood burning), carved textures, ebonizing, application of color, etc., so that the table created is reflective of each student’s personal aesthetic.
The class will also include strategies for successful glue-ups and discuss simple finishing techniques. By the end of the class each person will have a unique table and a new-found confidence in their woodworking skills!
The materials fee for this class is $120 and is included in the admission cost.
Taught by Kelly Parker
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