If you want to build a tool chest and you need some dominatrix-style “encouragement” to get it done inside of a week, then listen up.
There are about five spaces open in my tool chest class in August at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. This fantastic little school is located behind a Woodcraft store in Manchester, Ct. Run by furniture-maker Bob Van Dyke, this class attracts the creme de la creme of instructors. (This is code for: I should not be allowed to teach here.)
Take a look at the instructors.
OK? Wow, I know. So if you are ready to slum with me in Manchester, here’s what I can promise you: You will complete your tool chest. You will have some of the best dang pizza on the planet. You will have the opportunity to drink many adult beverages and talk shamelessly with other wood nerds about hand tools and woodworking.
Plus, the wood you use for your chest will be extraordinary. Bob Van Dyke, who runs the school, has the finest taste in wood and grain selection. The last time I taught there I was simply blown away by the stock we all got to work with.
So if you are free the week of Aug. 5-9 of this summer, give it some thought.
You can read more about the class here. You can register here.
— Christopher Schwarz
Is the school/class wheelchair accessible?
I believe it is.
Last year I took a class with an individual in a wheelchair.
yes it is- and I have a bench that is modified for wheel chair use
any ideas on how to tell the boss or wife that I want a week off to make a tool chest?
I have a form letter all ready for that- just fill in the name….
Sigh……………
Is this class accessible to absolute beginners?
I prefer absolute beginners. They always do very well in this class.
Kale, I took the class last year at The Woodwright’s School. It was my first totally hand tool project. Without any reservations I can say I learned enough on day one to justify the cost and I still had four days of learning in front of me. Chris was very good at teaching to each persons skill level and for me that level was low or as Chris might say “future golf player and not a woodworker. You will only be a beginner on day one. Take The Class!
Love to have a class in the summer in the south, like atlanta
Jim,
I have to say that Connecticut is a lot nicer than Atlanta in August.
And I’m teaching the class in North Carolina this year a couple times…
In regards to the picture, is that your predominant methods for saw storage? Are the pegs predominantly for the hand saws while the tool chest holds the panel and/or smaller backsaws?
That’s where I store miter saws and extra saws for the most part. I also remove the saws from the chest in the morning and hang them there for the day.
Would you consider this method of storage adequate for more long term storage without the worry of damaging the saw in any way? In the build up to a tool chest, I have many saws and no where to store them (and I am not to keen on the hanging saw till idea).
…dominatrix-style “encouragement”…
Do you promise to wear leather?
Chris’ post makes me feel like I am slumming by taking it with him at Jim Toplin’s school.
Already signed up. It’s a great school, a fantastic area, and Bob Van Dyke runs a first-class operation. I have done several classes there, and have nothing but positive things to say.
Chris,
Thanks for the gentle nudge to sign up. There is one fewer open spot.
I have taken a few clases at CVSW and was never dissapointed. Bob V runs a great school. Some folks bring their own tools, but there are many planes and chisels supplied by the school, and each one will be screaming sharp and ready for use.
For those of us who live on the left coast, acn you please tell us when you will be at Port Townsend? I know your nfall 2013 class is already full. can you let people know when you will be at PT in 2014?
Thanks e3ver so much
Bob,
I always recommend getting on the wait list. It usually bears fruit.
I don’t have the 2014 schedule firmed up yet I’m afraid.
Just make sure you run down to New Haven for the ACTUAL best pizza on the planet. To be certain you have had it, you will need to get a pie from Sally’s, Pepe’s, and Modern Apizza. Which is the best? Don’t ask. Really. You’ll start a war.
and we certainly would not want to do that- would we??…..
I spy…. 14 saws: handsaws, backsaw, carcass saw, dovetail saw, panel saw rip saw……(sigh) I am in need to upgrade from the 2 handsaws in my shop. Dang guess i better start scouring the antique shops 🙂
Three or four of those are miter box saws. Two of the construction saws are left over from WIA (build a sawbench in an hour). One of those saws was a Christmas present more than a daily user. One of the panel saws was left over from a Tool Test at PW.
In truth, I use five saws: ripsaw, crosscut handsaw, tenon, carcase and dovetail.
For those wondering if the class requires mad skills or prior experience…I took the course at Roy Underhill’s last February. I can’t remember the exact number we had in the class…somewhere around 12 or so. We had a wide range of experience, from highly experienced to folks who had never cut any dovetails by hand. I was somewhere near the bottom…I had done some projects on my own, but mostly drawer sides and single dovetails on tables (like the shaker end table project in one of the early Woodworking Magazine issues), and I had never cut dovetails in public or taken a course.
Anyways, except for the guy who had tons of experience who blasted through the project, the rest of us all did very well, and we all finished the project to about the same degree of “doneness” (carcasses all complete to include the skirt, lids in various stages of completeness)…including the guy who had never handcut cut a dovetail before. And you know what…his first dovetails were (like mine) quite gappy, but by the time he finished, his dovetails looked great (better than mine), his chest was square, and it looked great. What more could you ask?
Oh, and I forgot to mention…I was on the waitlist and got picked up at the last minute. I think it was less than a week before the class started. Definitely get on the waitlist!
“Anyways, except for the guy who had tons of experience who blasted through the project…”
That was Silent Bob, errr, Doug.
I took this class at Kelly Mehler’s this past August.
Do what you must to sign up. It’s so much more than a tool chest class.
But it is $325.00…
…and that is a lot of money. Love that video!