Joinery

The purpose of this course is to provide a solid foundation of joinery techniques and applications.

We will start with an overview of joints and move onto layout tools and the importance of accuracy. The first day will also include:

• Hand tools for joinery
• Sharpening review
• Hand-cut mortise and tenons
• Hand-cut dovetails
• Lots of practice time

Day two will begin with the "industrial revolution" - power tool cutting of joinery. We will learn how to use the table saw to cut a wide variety of joints and then spend considerable time using routers and router tables. Plenty of practice time will enable students to fabricate examples of joints of their choice. A wide variety of jigs will be utilized to achieve predictable, repeatable results.

The third day will give students a chance to practice more, and we will discuss how to choose and size joinery when designing furniture or other woodworking projects. We will talk about classic joint failures and how to avoid them. If time allows, we will move onto some more complicated joints such as compound angle joinery and glueless joints.

Tools to Bring*:

• Pencil, notebook
• Combination square (Starret is best)
• Chisels and Mallet
• Backsaw
• Dovetail Saw
• Marking gauge (Veritas wheel gauge is nice)
• Layout knife

* You are welcome to bring these tools if you have them already, but if you don't, wait until after the class- you'll be better able to determine which tools are "right" for you. (over)

Recommended Readings:

Joinery by Gary Rogowski

The Complete Book of Joinery by R.J. DeCristoforo

Classic Joints with Power Tools by Yeung Chan

Good Wood Joints by Jackson & Day

Schedule:

The course will begin at 9:00 am on Friday and go until 5:00 pm each day.