Our woodworking building was built specifically to house this program. Though not large, it is carefully laid out, meeting the needs of the program very well. There are separate work-bench, machine, and wood rooms. A European-style cabinetmaker’s bench and a wall-hung cabinet in which to store hand tools and other small items are provided in the benchroom. With its wooden walls, acoustical ceiling, and numerous skylights, this room is a warm, comfortable place to work.
You will have access to a variety of good, well-maintained, simple machines in the machine room. Some of them are refined in their simplicity-a fact which helps our students develop appreciation and respect towards them. Proper, safe use of all machines is taught and required-a responsibility shared by staff and students alike. The goal is refinement and accuracy of result, combined with the greatest possible safety in method
We maintain a reasonable quantity of the most common cabinet-grade hardwoods in the wood room. These are available for purchase by students only for projects done within the context of the program. Students are also encouraged to obtain woods from other sources in quantities directly related to projects covered by the program; the amount of wood that may be stored in the shop is determined by the staff. Students may also bring their own wood for plane bodies, knife handles, or saw horses, but this must be stored in the bench area.
51 feet x 40 feet; 2040 square feet
A bench and tool storage space is provided for twenty- three students.
All save one of the benches were made by an American concern no longer in production. The benches are 24″ wide and 87″ long.
The close quarters require a commitment on the part of the students to be considerate and accommodating, a not uncommon trait of the devoted.
During winter rains, the building has been referred to as “Das Schopp”.
33 feet x 40 feet; 1320 square feet
Major equipment in our shop:
Band saws:
30″ Oliver
20″ Yates
20″ Agazzani
14″ Rockwell
14″ Rikon
Table saws:
2 each–10″ SawStop
Felder K700
Planers:
18″ Powermatic planer with after-maket Byrd helical cutter head
10″ Inca jointer/planer
Jointers:
12″ Northfield jointer, refurbished with a Byrd helical cutter head.
10″ Oliver jointer with a Byrd helical cutter head.
8″ Rockwell jointer with another Byrd head.
Shapers:
Two Model T-50 Italian shapers
Mortisers:
Two Davis & Wells horizontal
boring machines
Griggio slot mortiser
Drill Press:
15″ Rockwell floor mounted drill press
15″ Clausing floor mounted drill press
Lathe:
12″ Oneway 12″ x 36″
Veneer Presses:
32″ x 54″ screw type veneer press
Mercury Vacuum frame press
Dust Collection System:
2850 cfm. Sternvent with Ecogate blast gates
The unique quality of furniture made by people involved with the program is due in a large part to the belief that the material should be used in a sensitive manner.
Our wood room is stocked with lumber that is generally two inches thick, and preferably sawn “through and through” (across the entire width of the log). “Rotary cut” lumber, commonly available, is a production method that gets a larger yield of dimension lumber, but destroys continuity from plank to plank out of the same log.
Elements of a project are bandsawn from rough stock with attention paid to grain graphics and character.
The ability to select parts from a plank or from related planks is one important step in the process of obtaining the harmony evident in a well thought-out piece.