Woodworking

Toboggan Making

Marc Ornstein & Jim Mandle

Hold onto your hats, we’re going to build toboggans!   What could be more fun than learning how to make your own traditional toboggan and have it ready when the snow flies – whoosh!  This is a great class for both beginners and experienced woodworkers alike, as the class will incorporate basic woodworking skills including working with patterns, cutting, fastening, and preparing the wood for finishing.  In addition you will learn how to steam bend your runners, as well as a bit of history of how native people came to use the toboggan.

• February 11 & 12, 2012, Saturday & Sunday - CRN – 20179
• September 29 & 30, 2012 – Saturday & Sunday - CRN – 10024
• November 3 & 4, 2012 – Saturday & Sunday - CRN – 10025
• Length of Class – 2 days
• Hours – 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Tuition – $150
• Materials – Est. $75
• Location – AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Woodworking Hand Tools – Basics

Jim Schreiner

Have you ever thought about making something you’ve seen in the stores or need to fix around the house but don’t know how to begin and you want to be safe using the tools?  This is the class for you. Woodworking and using hand tools isn’t something just for “Tim the Tool Man”, but is for anyone.  With the basic knowledge you will get in this class, you will be well on your way to building, creating and working safely with a wide variety of both hand tools and portable power tools.  Master furniture maker, Jim Schreiner, will take the mystery out of working with hand tools and provide you one-on-one coaching so you can learn how to go from idea to a creation.  The building blocks to creating in wood are universal – planning, measuring, cutting, joining, assembly and finish. This is a great class not only for beginners, but equally valuable for those wanting to take their woodworking skills and dreams to the next level and pick up some of the “tricks of the trade”.

• April 22, 2012 – Sunday - CRN – 20180
• October 27, 2012 – Saturday - CRN – 10026
• Length of Class – 1 day
• Hours – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Location – 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY
• Tuition – $75
• Materials – $15

Build the Classic Wannigan

Jim Mandle & Dan Green

So what is a “Wannigan”?  The word Wannigan can be found in many native languages from Ojibwa “waanikaan” to Algonquian and Abenaki, meaning a “pit trap” or “container for sundries”. It is a box used to store food on canoe or sledding trips. Usually made of wood this storage box is used to carry supplies and provisions.  Early explorers and travelers in both the Adirondacks and other remote areas made Wannigans to carry their cooking gear and food supplies.  It resembles a cross section of a canoe in both construction and appearance with a flat lid.  Most likely they were made by early canoe builders.  Even today, it fits nicely into a canoe for camping trips and expositions.  Learn to make one and keep alive part of our history as well as having a beautiful addition for home or your next camping trip.  You can also use it as a coffee table or a storage box for your kindling wood.

This class will teach you all the basics used in the construction of a Wannigan, which are also the same skills used in building a canoe.  From planking, steam bending ribs, and assembly.  You will learn to use a wide range of hand tools and walk away with both a conversation piece and a bit of history.  Some woodworking experience is helpful.

•  May 18, 19 & 20, 2012 - Friday, Saturday & Sunday - CRN – 70037
• Length of Class – 2 1/2 days – Friday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. & Sunday – 9:00 a.m. – noon
• Location – 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY
• Tuition – $190
• Materials – Est. $80

Build the Sagamore Chair

Larry Benjamin & Dave Cowan

Over one hundred years ago, the famous Sagamore hotel was built as an exclusive resort on Lake George in the Adirondacks.  Its luxurious and spacious accommodations attracted the millionaires of the day and continues today to bring clientele from around the world to this spectacular spot.  In this class you will create a bit of history, as you build a Sagamore chair with patterns struck from one of the original chairs. Larry & Dave have carefully taken the original chair apart and made all the forms and patterns necessary for you to learn how to steam bend local Adirondack Red Oak into the graceful forms that created this one of a kind chair which is not only beautiful but comfortable as well.  Working with a variety of hand tools, you will bend and fasten the slats, laminate frame elements, join everything together, sand, finish and complete a beautiful chair ready for a prominent spot in your camp or home.  Some prior woodworking experience is helpful, but beginners are welcome too.

• August, 1, 2 & 3 – Wednesday, Thursday & Friday  - CRN – 70094
• Length of Class – 3 days
• Hours – 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Tuition – $225
• Materials – Est. $275
• Location – AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

Hand Cut Dovetail Joinery

Wayne Ignatuk

One of the most distinguishing marks of true woodworking craftsmen is their ability to cut and fit perfect dovetail joints.  Most folks have learned to open draws when buying or looking for fine cabinetry to see how the draws were fastened together. Today dovetail joints are often cut with routers and jigs but craftsmen still use chisels, mallets and skill to make joints which become more than the joining of wood, they become part of the art.  Creating hand cut dovetail joints can be learned and it is a skill worth the effort.  In this two-day class, you will learn from a true master woodworker the steps, the importance of sharpening your chisels, and other details to make beautiful hand cut dovetails.  The object of this class isn’t merely to build this beautiful keepsake box, but rather a project which will help you develop your skills in making clean, sharp dovetails.  In making this keepsake box, you will make dovetail joints on one end that are cut and then glued, while the other side will be cut so finely, that the end piece is removable to showcase you new skills.   This is a class for experienced woodworkers who want to “kick it up” a notch and have some fun. 

• August 4 & 5, 2012 – Saturday & Sunday - CRN – 70095
• Length of Class – 2 days
• Hours – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Location – 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY
• Tuition – $150
• Materials – $30
  

GREAT CLASS FOR BEGINNERS!

Learn to Use a Scroll Saw & Create an Adirondack Wooden Puzzle

Walt Ulrich

What better way for you and your family to pass a evening than with a wooden puzzle you made. It can make the perfect gift too.Wooden puzzles are a great project whether you are a beginner or experienced woodworker. In this class you’ll learn all the basics needed to create two puzzles, from laying out a pattern to skillfully using a scroll saw.  Walt has created all sorts of wonderful projects with his scroll saw over the years.  He will share many of his tricks to ensure your success.

• April 13, 2012 – Friday – CRN – 20184
• July 20, 2012 – Friday – CRN – 70096
• Length of Class – 1 day
• Hours – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Location – AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY
• Tuition – $75
• Materials – $20

Mountain Scene Marquetry

T. Breeze Verdant

In this class you will learn how to produce your own mountain range (or image of of it!) using the medium called marquetry.  Marquetry is the art of creating imagery using wooden veneers and is done on a scroll saw.  It’s similar to using a sewing machine and maybe less dangerous!  You will learn all the basics techniques including color, grain, how to work with the veneers, gluing, etc.  You will leave with a greater ability to sort the forest from the trees and the mountains from the woods, not to mention a fantastic picture that you wouldn’t have believed you could make.  This instructor believes in fun, and people connecting with each other and celebrating this beautiful planet through the work that we produce.  A great class for all levels from beginner to experienced woodworker.

•  July 7 & 8, 2012, Saturday & Sunday – CRN – 70097

•  Length of Class – 2 days

•  Hours – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

•  Location – AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

•  Tuition – $150

•  Materials – Est. $35

Back by Popular Demand & So Much Fun!

Shaker Oval Boxes

Eric Pintar

These boxes are simply beautiful and in this class you’ll leave with a set you created yourself!  Enjoy learning the process by which the Shakers made these wooden vessels more than 150 years ago.  Elegant simplicity describes the Shaker design.  Each student will make a nest of five boxes from cherry wood.  Our instructor has carefully prepared the thin strips of wood and each student carves the “fingers” on one end before soaking them in a hot water bath.  The bands are bent in an oval shape and copper tacks are applied to hold the band together.  Quarter-sawn cherry tops and bottoms are fitted and held in place by wooden pegs.  Simple construction and elegant design makes this project appealing to anyone with an interest.  No woodworking experience necessary.

•  August 10, 11, 2012 – Friday & Saturday – CRN – 70098

•  Length of Class – 1 1/2 day

•  Hours – Friday – 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. & Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 4 p.m.

•  Location – AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

•  Tuition – $120

•  Materials – $40

Build a Classic Shaving Horse

Win Bigelow  

A shaving horse is essentially a foot-powered vise or clamp that allows one to use both hands to shape wood with a drawknife or spokeshave.  It has been used for centuries on homesteads and farms throughout the country.  It is still one of the most useful tools for people interested in handcrafting wood projects, be it a handle, canoe paddle, basket parts or legs for a table or chair.  It allows the quick adjustment of the piece being worked on, as well as providing a firm grip so you can get the most out of your shaving tools.  Our instructor Win Bigelow, is a fine craftsman who uses only the traditional hand powered tools and is an authority on antique woodworking tools.  In this class you will leave with a valuable shaving horse that you can put to good use, and the knowledge of how early craftsmen where able to build and construct furniture without power tools.  Enjoy learning how to measure, cut and create mortise joints too!  A great class for woodworkers of all skill levels.

•  August 11 & 12 2012 – Saturday & Sunday – CRN – 70099

•  Length of Class – 2 day

•  Hours – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

•  Location – AFS, 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY

•  Tuition – $150

•  Materials – Est. $40

Making Hammer & Axe Handles  

Win Bigelow

The Adirondacks were built with simple tools such as traditional hammers and axes.  The hammerhead and axe head were the trade of the local blacksmith but they needed handles. Our early ancestors created handles themselves as they were no hardware stores, just a hike into the woods.

In this class you will create a handle for the hammerhead you created in the blacksmith class (see dates for the hammer class under blacksmithing). Starting with a log and using a froe, you will create a billet.  Your handle will be made of Ash gathered here locally.  Using the shaving horse, froe, sledge and wedge, you will split the log into a billet.  Then using a drawknife, you will begin to shape the handle, learning how to read the grain of the wood. Finally, you will learn the secrets of properly “hanging the handle”.  A good handle will last and be a joy to hold.  In this one day class, you should be able to make a number of handles for other tools as well.  

Your instructor, Win Bigelow, is a master craftsman who has spent a lifetime collecting and working with antique wood tools.  His knowledge and skills are simply amazing.

This class is for beginners and experienced woodworkers alike and an excellent way for the blacksmithing students to leave with a tool they made entirely. 

• August 27, 2012 – Monday – CRN – 70067
• Length of Class – 1 day
• Hours – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Location – 51 Main Street, Lake Luzerne, NY
• Tuition – $75
• Materials – $20