Mark Hicks, of Plate 11 Workbenches, is offering the perfect workbench class for those who need a snazzy new workbench, want to improve their hand tools skills, and don’t want to travel for a class (and who does, right now?). All you need is a small kit of tools and a desire to learn – Mark provides the stock for the bench and the expert instruction.
This at-home class, which starts at 8 a.m. on Feb. 15, 2021, is available via Zoom, Google Meet and Discord, and will last 6-8 weeks (Mark has the first six weeks worked out; I’m guessing the possible two extra weeks must be for catch-up). There are goals to accomplish each week before the next week’s instruction (and the goals seem wholly doable – you’ll have plenty of time for work, sleep, etc.). The instruction will be a combination of pre-recorded videos and live video conferencing.
The price is $3,995, which includes a silver maple workbench kit with a “condor tail” end cap, and a Benchcrafted M Glide leg vise and tail vise. (Mark writes that “upgraded materials and additional hardware” are available…but silver maple and two Benchcrafted vises sounds pretty sweet to me.)
Registration is open now – and there are also a couple videos to watch beforehand with more information.
– Fitz
P.S. This is not a sponsored post. It’s not an ad. Mark has sent us doodly-squat in exchange for this blog entry. Just sayin’.
Well, at least you got the doodly-squat! I feel neglected! 😉
I completely agree with everything above. I built a bench with Mark at his shop a little over a year ago, and he is an excellent teacher. This online class is a really great value. If you’re interested, go check out his blog post called “What Comes In the Kit”. It’s a lot! You get a lot in the kit. I was very surprised.
Fitz, you should do an online Dutch chest class. I’ll pay extra if you do it in Dutch.
I hope more wood workers can figure out how to do classes remotely. It could expand the potential student list (not everyone can travel).
I’ve taken lathe turning classes. Having a teacher guide the tool helped me quite a bit. Is that less important for flat work?
Chris,
Any thoughts on your doing a class like this? Maybe a workbench?
Until we can create an eighth day of the week, I’m far too swamped with the day-to-day of LAP to think about teaching again.
Might Fitz teach or is she also swamped?
She is also swamped (and HATES being on camera)
I like how Chris says imitate a favorite writer and there is Fitz going with doodly-squat. Thanks for that moment of levity.