Learn About Our School

The Facilities


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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.



The Benchroom

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The shop is 51 feet x 40 feet or a total of 2040 square feet.

A bench and tool storage space is provided for each of our 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. We even have a few left handed benches for those south paws.

The close quarters require a commitment on the part of the students to be considerate and accommodating, a not uncommon trait of the devoted.


The Wood Room

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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.


The Machine Room

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The machine room is 33 feet x 40 feet or a total of 1320 square feet.

This is a list of the major equipment in our shop and you can also see it in the gallery below.

Band Saws:

  • 30″ Oliver
  • 20″ Yates
  • 20″ Agazzani
  • 15" General 490
  • 14″ Delta

Table Saws:

  • 10″  SawStop - 3 each.

Planers:

  • 18″ Powermatic planer with after-maket Byrd helical cutter head
  • 15″ Powermatic planer

Jointers:

  • 12″ Northfield jointer, refurbished with a Byrd helical cutter head
  • 10″ Oliver jointer with a Byrd helical cutter head
  • 8″ Rockwell jointer, also with a Byrd head

Shapers:

  • Two Model T-50 Italian shapers

Mortisers:

  • Two Davis & Wells horizontal boring machines
  • Griggio slot mortiser
  • Felder slot mortiser

Drill Press:

  • 15″ Rockwell floor mounted drill press
  • 15″ Clausing floor mounted drill press

Lathe:

  • 12″ Oneway 12″ x 36″

Veneer Press:

  • 32″ x 54″ screw type veneer press
  • Mercury Vacuum frame press

Dust Collection System:

  • 2850 cfm. Sternvent with Ecogate blast gates

Band Saw – Oliver 30″

Band Saw – Yates 20″

Band Saw – Agazzani 20″

15″ Bandsaw – General 490

Jointer – Northfield, Refurbished with a Byrd Helical Cutter Head 12″

Jointer – Oliver with a Byrd Helical Cutter Head 10″

Jointer – Rockwell with a Byrd Head 8″

Planer – Powermatic with After-market Byrd Helical Cutter Head 18″

15″ Planer Powermatic PM15

Shaper – Italian Model T-50

Mortiser – Davis & Wells Horizontal Boring Machine

Mortiser – Davis and Wells Boring Machine with Felder Table

Mortiser – Griggio Slot Mortiser

Mortiser – Felder FD250

Clausing Floor Mounted Drill Press 15″

12″ Oneway 12″ x 36″ Lathe

32″ x 54″ Screw Type Veneer Press

Mercury Vacuum Frame Press

So many clamps!