Dates: Tuesdays & Thursdays, December 2-11 (4 meetings)

Hours: 6:00 - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Kevin Hopkins CF '18

Teaching Assistant: Alana Schwartz CF '25

Interested in woodworking and looking for a way to get started? This introductory course is designed to give beginner students an overview of shop safety as well as some of the most common machines and hand tools used in woodworking. We work towards the completion of a small project while building basic skills and getting comfortable with machinery and working at the bench. This class is geared toward beginners looking to get a peek into woodworking. For more in-depth skill-building, check out our Fundamentals of Fine Woodworking and Fundamentals of Machine Woodworking classes. Many students choose to take Woodworking 101 before a Fundamentals class, but it is not required. 

Tools & Supplies: All tools and supplies are provided for this class.

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Prerequisite: None

Age Requirement: Students must be 18+ to attend adult CE classes. No one under 18 years old is permitted to register for an adult class, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Dates: Saturday, December 6th & Sunday, December 7th (2 meetings)

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Oliver Strand

Teaching Assistant: TBD

Students will build a rectangular Windsor-style bench, perfect for an entryway or beside the kitchen table. This class covers the basic joinery and shaping techniques used in Windsor chairmaking, and will teach you everything you need to start making benches, stools, and chairs at home!. We will use kiln-dried wood, simple hand tools, and tapered mortise and tenon joinery to build a rock-solid bench that will last a lifetime.

Tools & Supplies: All tools and supplies are provided for this class. 

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Prerequisite: None

Age Requirement: Students must be 18+ to attend adult CE classes. No one under 18 years old is permitted to register for an adult class, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Dates: Saturday, December 6th & Sunday, December 7th (2 meetings)

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Brad Wolcott CF '12

An introduction to using veneer for fine furniture. Topics to be covered include veneer selection, glue options, pressing techniques, and work process. Students will leave the class with the skills necessary to incorporate veneer into their own work.

Tools & Supplies: All tools and supplies are provided for this class. 

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Prerequisite: None

Age Requirement: Students must be 18+ to attend adult CE classes. No one under 18 years old is permitted to register for an adult class, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Dates: Saturday, December 6th & Sunday, December 7th (2 meetings)

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Rick Angus

Turn bowls from wet local hardwoods recently cut and provided by the instructor. The bowls are first prepared from a log with oversized walls, allowed to dry, and turned a second time to finished dimensions. Students will receive a refresher in the fundamental gouge and scraper cutting techniques and review all procedures used in the Fundamentals course. We start with a bowl blank freshly cut from a log. Before cutting it, we examine the grain lines and visualize the “bowl within the wood” and make a plan to reveal it. Blanks of wood will be mounted between centers, and the grain pattern will be planned. We shape the outside of the bowl, remount the blank in a chuck, and cut the inside, leaving slightly thick walls. This bowl is allowed to dry (for three to six months) and distort to an oval shape (approximately). Next, students receive a similar but dried bowl prepared by the instructor. We examine our once-turned bowls and find the grain pattern planned when it first was turned. It is remounted on the lathe, and the final shape is revealed through a process of removing the “high” spots of the oval until it is round again. This is based on visualizing the grain pattern and truing the spigot so that the dry oval bowl spins on nearly the original axis. The remainder of the process is cutting the outside while between centers, remounting in a chuck and cutting the rim and inside, and finally mounting in a jam chuck to finish the foot.

Tools & Supplies: *There is an additional $50 material fee due to the instructor on the first day of class. The instructor accepts cash or checks. All other tools and supplies will be provided for this class.

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Prerequisite: Fundamental Techniques in Bowl Turning or equivalent experience (at instructor's discretion). If you have questions about prerequisite requirements, please email ce@nbss.edu.

Age Requirement: Students must be 18+ to attend adult CE classes. No one under 18 years old is permitted to register for an adult class, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Dates: Saturday, December 13th & Sunday, December 14th (2 meetings)

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Rachel Prentki CF '18

Hone your chisel skills while making a stately dovetailed tray. In this class, students will learn how to lay out and cut dovetails accurately by hand. We will cover how to use marking gauges, chisels, saws, and mallets to create strong and beautiful joinery while also covering how to avoid or fix common mistakes. 

Tools & Supplies: All tools and supplies are provided for this class.

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Prerequisite: Experience with dovetails or other hand-cut joinery preferred. Students should feel comfortable using chisels, saws, and combination squares. If you have questions about your experience, please contact ce@nbss.edu.

Age Requirement: Students must be 18+ to attend adult CE classes. No one under 18 years old is permitted to register for an adult class, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Dates: Saturday, December 13th & Sunday, December 14th (2 meetings)

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Kolin Schmidt CF '21

In this class, students will learn to make oval bent-band boxes using basic hand tools and steam bending. These boxes are of a traditional style often called "shaker" boxes. * Working with prepared box bands, students learn to bevel, steam, and bend bands; then fit and tack them to lids and bottoms. Students will make 3 different-sized nested boxes, and some techniques for finishing them will be covered as well. All skill levels are welcome!

*The term "Shakers" refers to the people of The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, a religious group that separated from the Religious Society of Friends (also known as "Quakers") during the 18th Century. While the group itself is no longer active, their aesthetics of simplicity and utility were highly influential to the history of American furniture making in what has come to be known as the "Shaker style." They were also known for their communal culture, pacifism, abstinence, and equality of the sexes at a time when this was well outside of the mainstream. Both "Shaker" and "Quaker" are terms, originally pejorative in nature, that were given to these groups by outsiders.

Tools & Supplies: All tools and supplies are provided for this class.

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Prerequisite: None.

Age Requirement: Students must be 18+ to attend adult CE classes. No one under 18 years old is permitted to register for an adult class, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Dates: Saturday, December 13th & Sunday, December 14th (2 meetings)

Hours: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Eric Goodson

Making locking lidded boxes is a wonderful introduction to the world of green wood turning. Wood shrinks as it dries, but it does not shrink equally in all directions. This project takes advantage of this variation to create a small box where the lid clamps shut when twisted onto the base. This course is designed for students with a basic understanding of side-grain bowl turning who would like a challenge. The instructor will discuss the history of these Scandinavian boxes, the grain orientation necessary to create the piece, and the various steps and techniques in turning their boxes. Special attention will be paid to ways of measuring diameter and profile to ensure that the lid properly fits the base, how to turn with the lathe running in reverse, and how to handle a slöjd knife safely and efficiently to carve the locking mechanism.  Each student will create one box.

Tools & Supplies: *There is an additional $15 materials fee due to the instructor on the first day of class. The instructor accepts cash, checks, credit, or Venmo. All other tools and supplies are provided for this class.

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Prerequisite: Students should have some prior experience with bowl turning. If you have questions about your experience, please contact ce@nbss.edu. 

Age Requirement: Students must be 18+ to attend adult CE classes. No one under 18 years old is permitted to register for an adult class, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Dates: Monday, January 12 - Thursday, April 9
*Monday - Friday schedule / Class does not meet on holidays, at night, or on weekends
No Class: January 19, February 16, March 17, and April 2

Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Eli Cleveland CF '09
*With additional guest instructors

Overview: Build a solid foundation in the most essential woodworking skills with this in-depth, comprehensive furniture-making course designed for both beginners and those looking to build expertise. This intensive class will guide you from basic hand and machine skills to advanced techniques in furniture making. Through a series of demonstrations and exercises, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to build most tables and case pieces. Complete a number of small projects before moving on to building a shaker nightstand and a cabinet on stand. This class is suitable for beginners to lifelong, enthusiastic hobbyists and everyone in between. For those who wish to apply to one of our Career Training programs and who don’t have much prior woodworking experience, this course provides prerequisite skill-building. 

These major topics are covered throughout the course: 

• ​Tool sharpening (flat-edge tools)
• Hand tools skills and development
• Joinery (various mortise and tenon & dovetail joints as well as compound joinery)
• Machine room safety, machine set-up, and procedures
• Lumberyard trip (measuring for and selecting the correct lumber for a project)
• Turning (spindle and faceplate)
• Veneering
• Case and table construction
• Finishing

Tools & Supplies: Please bring the items on this supply list to the first day of class. Need an item? Our NBSS Store/Gallery carries dozens of tools and supplies in addition to NBSS branded items and handmade goods. You may make purchases online, in person (Monday- Thursday 7:30 am - 2:00 pm), or via email at store@nbss.edu. Tool orders must be made via email or over the phone.

Attire: This is a general list of how to dress for the shop environment, please contact ce@nbss.edu if you have any questions.

• Closed-toe, comfortable, and protective footwear (sneakers or boots)
• No loose clothing
• Long pants suggested
• No loose jewelry
• Long hair must be tied back

Technical Standards:  Though this is an introductory course, the nature and length of the instruction require that students meet these Technical Standards. For any questions about your ability to meet these standards, please contact ce@nbss.edu.

Prerequisite:  None

Veterans: Qualifying veterans may use VA benefits, including the Post 9/11 GI Bill® or Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) benefits, to cover the tuition for this course. Withdrawal from the course may impact VA housing benefits for those receiving them. To express interest in using VA benefits for the Three-Month Furniture Making Intensive please send an email to ce@nbss.edu including the following information. 

• Full Name
• Address
• Phone #
• Email Address
• A current Certificate of Eligibility / Apply for your benefits here:  https://www.va.gov/education/how-to-apply/

Price: $9,612 is the full cost of the class. A $950 non-refundable, non-transferable deposit is due at the time of registration. Students will have the option to pay in full or pay over time with a payment plan when registering for the program. The payment plan available will be listed at the bottom of the class listing. Note: General Registration and Cancellation Policies do not apply to this class. View more details on our CE FAQs page.