Class: Introduction to Hand Tool Woodworking with Joshua Farnsworth (3 Days)

Spend three days with Joshua Farnsworth learning the fundamentals of traditional woodworking with hand tools. Students will learn a wide range of skills, preceded by an in-depth discussion about hand tools, workbenches, and lumber. At their own traditional workbench, students will then learn to use hand saws, handplanes, & gauges to dimension a rough board (the most fundamental of skills), followed by learning to cut a variety of wood furniture joints, including dovetails, mortise & tenon, tongue & groove, rabbets, dado, grooves, and whatever other useful joints time allows. And if time allows, students will have the opportunity to cut moldings with dedicated antique molding planes. Here’s a video from a recent class:

COVID-19 Policy:

Before registering for this class, please make sure you feel comfortable attending our school under the current COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic we will reduce this class size from a maximum of 10 students to 8.  We also encourage social distancing, hand sanitizer use, and mask wearing. However, because of the strenuous nature of hand tool woodworking, the wearing of masks can cause breathing difficulties for some students, so mask use will not be enforced. Also, social distancing may be difficult to maintain at all times during the class. Therefore, we discourage anyone from registering if they feel uncomfortable with attending the class under these circumstances. We also discourage anyone from attending that may be in a high-risk category. Further, if you test positive for COVID-19 virus prior to the class, or experience any symptoms common to COVID-19, we ask that you please cancel as quickly as possible (if it occurs within three weeks of the class start date). A full refund will be given, with no cancellation penalty. We want to keep everyone safe, and reduce the risk of transmission. It’s also a good idea to make sure your travel arrangements (airline, hotel, etc.) have a flexible cancellation policy, in case you have to cancel your spot in the class. By registering for this class, you acknowledge acceptance of this policy.

About the Instructor:

Materials Fee:

The class material fee is $20. It is payable to the instructor before or on the day of the class.

How to Get Here & Where to Stay:

The address of the school is 5700 Buffalo River Rd. Earlysville, Virginia 22936 (Google Maps here). The school is convenient to quite a few hotels, stores, and restaurants, and is only 8 minutes from the Charlottesville airport. Many more details are listed on the school’s main page here.

Class Policies, Liability Waiver, & Cancellations:

A PDF document with the full class policies and a liability waiver will be sent in the order confirmation email. All students are required to sign and return this document prior to attending the class. Anyone can cancel a class up to 2 weeks prior to the class for a full refund (minus a $25 fee that covers credit card processing fees and administrative work). Cancellations under two weeks before a class begins will be given a refund (less $25) if we can find someone else to fill the slot. If we have to cancel a class for an unforeseen emergency, inclement weather, or low number of registrations, a full refund will be given to students.

Student Tool Discounts from Lee Valley & Taylor Toolworks:

After you’ve registered for a class, you are eligible for a discount from Lee Valley (Veritas) and Taylor Toolworks. Lee Valley offers a 15% discount, and a discount form PDF will be available for download in your Wood and Shop dashboard after your purchase. For a 10% discount from Taylor Toolworks fill out this form and upload a photo or screenshot of your class order email (under the “Student ID” section). The discounts may not be available after the end of the class, so try to place your orders before then.

Photos from Past Classes: