Oct. Woodworking Classes in Beautiful Central Kentucky

*Aspen Gollan holding a carved panel – one of the patterns she’ll teach in her class.*

If you’ve a hankering to get back in the woodworking classroom – and in as safe a manner as possible – there are a couple openings in two upcoming three-day classes at the Pine Croft School of Woodworking (located in the sylvan setting of Kelly Mehler’s former school in Berea, Ky.).

Aspen Golann is teaching Introduction to Carving – Traditional Techniques & Contemporary Applications, October 8-10, and I am teaching the Dutch Tool Chest, October 15-17.

The Pine Croft school is run by Berea College, which has strict Covid protocols in place. Everyone – instructors and staff included – must show a vaccine card, and masks will be required at all times while inside. (I taught a week-long class recently that had lots of physical activity – several students and I had masks on the entire time, and we had zero issues planing, sawing or chopping.) Also, the shop has lots of lovely, large windows that look out onto rolling hills – I imagine in October we’ll be able to have those wide open. (I, for one, am gasping for cooler weather.)

And if you do come, consider taking an extra day or two to visit Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, just down the road. It’s what Chris calls “Decompression Village,” and what I call the site of more than a few tantrums when I was a little kid – we went there a lot. These days, I’m delighted by every trip there; I’ll certainly be stopping by while I’m in the neighborhood.

— Fitz

*This Dutch tool chest is now my travel chest. It no longer looks this pristine (I like it even more, now that it has a few miles on it).*

3 thoughts on “Oct. Woodworking Classes in Beautiful Central Kentucky”

Love the Dutch toolchest! I’d like to have one of those myself, seems like a really good, organised and accessible way to store a basic/decent set of woodworking hand tools. Not sure if my woodworking skills are quite up to making one yet though! Getting there, slowly, maybe 😀

I was fortunate to buy a nice, large, old English tool chest (I live in England now) at a reasonable price last year and it has worked out really well for me, swallowing up many but not all of my handtools (really ought to weed out some of the nastier carboot “finds”). It is wide enough to accept a panel saw (36″+ long). I have it lifted off the floor on an old side-table brought back from the USA, which was already in my workshop; it provides good access to tools in the chest and some storage space underneath.

Re. Aspen Gollan image – a good hair day for sure and super-clean cuts. Good job!