$155.00
This class is offered as an exercise in elegance. Once assembled these dovetails go unseen. They are a rarity since other methods to join corners with miters mostly use routers. These “secret”, blind to the untrained eye, dovetails are an elegant demonstration of craftsmanship.
An additional $20 materials fee will be required for each student at time of class.
Required
Optional
Contact Mokuchi to purchase tools. As a Japanese tool retailer Mokuchi provides guidance on selecting tools and a student discount.
4-6 maximum
Mokuchi Studio – Port Jervis
9am – 6pm
You sharpened and set up a Kanna (Japanese plane)! You made a pile of beautiful shavings! You resharpened a few times, made more shavings and now your plane needs some adjustment. Or, you want to expand your skills. This half day class focuses on the use and tweaking of the Kanna.
You will learn how to create a flat surface, how to square an edge, how to position your body and move while planing. You will also get plenty of time to practice and ask questions.
You will gain a broad understanding of how Japanese woodworking distinguishes itself from Western approaches during this two hour talk and demonstration. The session will include an overview of traditional hand tools used in a range of work scale, from making small objects to full size timber frame building. This will be followed by a brief demonstration of the use of all basic tools: nomi (chisel), kanna (plane), nokogiri (saw) and marking tools including sashigane (square) and sumitsubo (ink line).
Everyone will be invited to pull a Japanese plane and make a thin wood shaving! A short history will be given along with key design element and aesthetic preferences. Lastly, of course, joinery will be discussed with samples to handle.
Waterstones enable you to get the sharpest edge in an efficient and clean manner. No messy oil or grinding down your tools! In this one evening session, students will learn to sharpen woodworking chisels and plane blades, as well as pocket knifes and kitchen knifes using Japanese water stones. Tool sharpening with waterstones is a fundamental part of Japanese woodworking. It is also a very useful skill if you’re maintaining any tools that benefit from the sharpest of edges. Chefs interested in the skill for knives are very welcome in this class!
Care and maintenance of sharpening stones will also be covered. Discussion will also address the differences between grits, the optimal grit sequence to get the sharpness needed for your task, and how to maintain a flat sharpening surface on your waterstone. A sharp tool is a safe tool.
This class or equivalent experience is a prerequisite for all other classes, except for Japanese Woodworking Introduction
In this first one day class of the design series we will start broadly with concepts, goals and aesthetics. After forming a vision we will move towards more specifics: lumber selection, wood grain, orientation, sequencing, sizing and joinery choices.
Balance, economics, fluidity and awareness will be addressed.
Will include a sketching session with Q&A and a walk in the woods.
This class is intended to establish the foundation for sound, conscious and harmonious designs.