GoggleWorks 12-Week Woodworking Intensive

Craig Vandall Stevens 

Lead Instructor

GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA

Designed for the aspiring cabinetmaker or furniture maker whose aim is to work at a high-level of skill and create work that reflects personal expression, woodworker Craig Vandall Stevens has personally designed this curriculum to reflect his approach to woodworking as well as the teachings and sensibilities of his mentor, James Krenov. Two additional outstanding faculty members will team-teach with Craig during the 12-week session. Bench space is limited to 10 students and is offered on a first come first served basis.

The 12-Week Woodworking Intensive program is divided into three sections. The first section begins with the fundamentals of fine furniture making including making and using wooden hand planes, sharpening plane irons and achieving hand planed finishes, sharpening chisels and scrapers, as well as choosing and milling lumber. Joinery exercises during this section include mortise and tenon, wedged through tenons, frame and panel construction using the bridle joint, edge joining, and through dovetail and half-blind dovetail joinery. We will also discuss design considerations and aesthetics.

Using skills and techniques previously learned in the fundamentals section, the solid wood project encourages students to design and build their own furniture piece is the second section. Students develop basic drawing skills and learn to explore ideas on paper before making a full-size mock up to determine proportions and aesthetics of their project. The careful selection of lumber for the project is revisited with particular attention to the use of wood grain as it affects the balance and aesthetics of the project. Special attention will be focused on cabinet joinery and construction details. Highly effective and accurate methods of joinery such as hand-cut dovetails and doweling will be taught. The patient process of accurately building and fitting dovetailed drawers as well as making and hanging cabinet doors using knife hinges will be covered in great detail. In addition to joinery and cabinetmaking details taught in this section, special attention is focused on surface preparation using the fine wooden hand planes built earlier in the class. Shellac as well as oil finishes will be covered. Throughout this process, a sensible method of work will be emphasized which encourages success.

The final section of the 12-week intensive focuses on the various methods of bending and shaping wood as well as making and using shop sawn veneers. Wood bending methods include steam bending, bent laminating techniques, coopering, vacuum press, working with curved forms and shaping by hand. Additional instruction includes jig and fixture making, accurately re-sawing veneers from solid wood and assembling complicated projects in a thoughtful sequence.

Dates: September 14-December 18, 2015

Dates: January 25-April 22, 2016

Cost: $6,850.00 Tuition per session

Fees: $950.00 Supply fees for the immediate materials.  Students should expect to be billed for additional materials supplies while the class progresses.  Bills would be settled at the close of each week when applicable.

Application Fee: None -    Supply list for students - to be available soon