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Discover the Best Woodworking Classes Near Me
Woodworking involves crafting objects from wood such as creating cabinets, furniture, toys, and decorative items. Many people enjoy woodworking as a hobby, though others transition into a career in this field. If you like working with your hands, this might be a great job skill for you.
For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, woodworkers make a median salary of $36,717. That’s high pay for a job that doesn’t require a college degree. That said, finding woodworking classes can help you learn this creative and rewarding profession.
Why You Should Learn Woodworking
Woodworking might seem like an old-fashioned or antiquated skill to some people. However, learning it can provide many benefits that make it worth your time. For instance, mastering this art helps when:
- Starting a Fun Hobby: Woodworking can provide you with a relaxing pastime that mitigates your stress and keeps you productive. Rather than simply watching TV to calm down, you can produce gorgeous items to give to your friends.
- Meeting New People: Depending on your location, you may find clubs and groups where you can meet other woodworkers. For example, state-based organizations may teach you new woodworking skills and help you connect with new friends.
- Transitioning to a New Job: Woodworking can help you find a job in many fields such as carpentry, art design, and furniture creation. Even if you don’t start a full-time career as a woodworker, you can try a side hustle or part-time gig to boost your income.
- Enhancing Your Creativity: Artists love woodworking because it increases their creative outlets. For instance, sculptors and painters may use woodworking skills to produce more elaborate art designs.
These benefits make learning woodworking an excellent option for many people. That said, it requires certain skills that you must take time to practice. You can learn these abilities in multiple ways, depending on your learning style and schedule.
5 Ways to Learn Woodworking
You can learn woodworking using multiple methods, including setting up a shop in your garage and practicing by yourself. However, formal classes work the best for most people because they include guided lessons that make woodworking simpler. For instance, you’ll learn proper measuring and cutting skills, as well as design ideas for your projects.
This woodworking training includes in-person classes, live online courses with an instructor, self-paced instruction on platforms like YouTube, apprenticeships with a woodworking professional, and on-the-job training. Each option provides different benefits, including personalized training, self-guided woodworking exercises, and practical experience in real jobs.
In-Person Woodworking Classes
If you’re new to woodworking, in-person classes may work best. They provide hands-on training with skilled instructors in multiple topics. These include woodworking safety, tool use, and design concepts. You’ll also get easy access to various tools and materials, making your learning process simpler. Check out the classes in these locations to find one that works for you.
New York City, NY
NYC provides multiple educational opportunities for budding woodworkers. These include specialized courses centered on crafting specific objects such as tables or furniture. Others provide more comprehensive and exhaustive training. Here’s two that may work well for you.
Woodworking: Build a Custom Table
Woodworking: Build a Custom Table takes place in Gowanus, Brooklyn, just off 3rd Avenue between 9th and 10th streets. It focuses on guiding you through building a simple customized table for your home. You’ll not only learn basic tool use and safety but how to join wooden pieces.
LIke most woodworking classes, your instructor provides you with all the material you need to start. This course accepts people with varying experience levels, including beginners and more advanced learners. During training, the instructor adjusts the experience based on your skills.
Class size typically maxes out at about six, meaning you get more hands-on time with your instructor. They can help you learn various woodworking techniques and correct your errors. When you finish, you take your table home with you and can build more to sell or give away.
Tools & Techniques: Traditional Relief Carving in Wood
Tools & Techniques: Traditional Relief Carving in Wood takes place in Long Island City in Queens. It focuses on teaching wood carving techniques with chisels, gouges, and mallets. Though a little trickier than other courses, it provides hands-on support for absolute beginners.
For example, the instructor provides basic materials, tools, and design support for first-time carvers. More advanced learners can bring their own materials, tools, and designs, if they prefer. In class, you’ll master wood carving with chisels, incision tools, and finishing products.
The instructor typically sets classes at about four people, giving you plenty of personal time with them. When you finish, you will feel comfortable crafting gorgeous wooden art. You can combine these skills with general woodworking procedures to produce tables, art pieces, and chairs.
Los Angeles, CA
The sprawling Los Angeles metropolis unsurprisingly includes many high-quality woodworking courses. Many of these cover basic skills, while others focus on intermediate or advanced learning. Understanding your options can help you choose a program that works best for you.
Woodworking (Beginner)
If you’re new to woodworking, Woodworking (Beginner) provides hands-on training that suits your skills. Located in Walnut, a Los Angeles suburb, it covers hand saws, portable power tools, larger cutting equipment, safety techniques, and shop policies.
You’ll also learn how to craft wood pieces and attach them using various techniques such as drilling. All materials and tools come with the course, minimizing your expenses. Even better, you’ll work in Mt. San Antonio College’s woodworking room in a large and comfortable space.
Class size typically hits about 10 people, though this varies based on course availability. This smaller size makes it easier to connect with your instructor and other students. After finishing, you should have the confidence to start on most simple woodworking projects.
Woodworking (Intermediate/Advanced)
Mt. San Antonio College’s more advanced woodworking course builds on the lessons learned in the beginner’s class. You’ll work with the same instructor from the first program, meaning they’ll better understand your abilities and how to help you improve.
Subjects include elementary joinery, adhesives, production techniques, design, and cost analysis. You’ll also learn about jobs in this field such as carpentry, furniture building, and art design jobs. You can then pick skills based on your interests such as more advanced carving.
Like with the beginner course, class size is typically around 10 people. Many may be students you know from the previous program. As your skills improve, you’ll learn about more advanced craftsmanship skills, including wood carving and finishing.
Chicago, IL
Chicago’s woodworking classes include multiple unique options, based on your skills. For example, the handmade wooden bowls course in Evanston teaches you how to produce attractive dishes for your home. You can use these bowls for soup, salad, and even cereals.
The Evanston Art Center provides a basic woodworking for adults course that teaches you how to use hand and power tools, as well as elementary design concepts. This class works well for people with no experience who want to craft simple and attractive items.
Boston, MA
Boston residents can take a simple Introduction to Woodworking class in Brookline at The Makery that teaches the basics of this skill. You’ll master tool usage, basic safety, joinery, jigging, sanding, and finishing. You can then craft multiple similar bowls for your home.
You can then pursue a woodshop certification course to learn more advanced skills, including workshop procedures, material handling, and tool safety. Earning this certification makes it easier to pursue a woodworking career, if you want.
San Francisco, CA
If you’re a beginner in San Francisco, attend Woodworking Access on Howard Street. It includes basic tool use and safety lessons, as well as machine management and woodworking design. This immersive course ensures that you better handle this career’s demands.
More advanced learners can Cutting Board Workshop, which helps you create a sturdy cutting board that you can use to craft other projects when you’re finished. Then, you can take these skills and advance to more complex courses in the area.
Houston, TX
Woodworking I: Woodshop Tools at TXRX Labs teaches Houston residents how to handle multiple hand and power tools. These include table, miter, and band saws, as well as jointers, planers, and drill presses. Learning these tools can help you start your training more easily.
You can then attend the tool sharpening class from TXRX Labs to learn proper tool upkeep, including sharpening and adjusting. Mastering tool maintenance can help you transition to a professional career and minimize common wear-and-tear issues.
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta residents may enjoy Highland Woodworking’s fundamentals of woodworking course. It highlights basic skills in this field, including shop safety, hand and power tools, and elementary design processes. These should help you start with basic projects such as tables and chairs.
Similarly, Woodcraft of Atlanta provides a Fundamentals of Woodworking class that teaches you various skills as you craft a small, wall-hanging cabinet. You can then adapt these skills to produce various furniture pieces and other products for customers.
Virtual Woodworking Classes
If you can’t find an in-person woodworking class near you, online options may help you. These courses cover woodworking basics and more advanced techniques and include guided instruction from real professionals. Furthermore, learning woodworking online provides many benefits, including:
- More diverse class loads
- The ability to work wherever and whenever you want
- No commute to your class
- A more diverse array of course options
That said, virtual woodworking courses have downsides. For example, you get no hands-on support from an in-person trainer. Likewise, you’ll have to purchase all materials and tools, which can increase your learning expenses. That said, online woodworking classes work well for self-motivated people who want to learn a skill by doing it themselves.
A Few Online Woodworking Courses
If you’re interested in online woodworking classes, there are a few options that may work well for you. These classes focus on specific techniques such as wood burning, to improve your skills. Others may help you gauge your abilities to become a better woodworker through guided support with an online professor with years of experience.
Virtual Wood Burning (Pyrography) for Beginners
This beginner-friendly course, Virtual Wood Burning (Pyrography) for Beginners, taught by Jade Scarlett, teaches you how to use wood burning tools to craft attractive styles. You’ll learn about basic wood burning techniques, tool handling, crafting attractive designs, and proper safety steps. This course is designed to help you transition smoothly into this skill.
While this course doesn’t cover woodworking skills like cutting or joining, it works well for people interested in more stylish wood designs in their art. If you want to improve your basic woodworking skills, another class may be necessary.
In-Progress Portfolio Critique
If you’ve already taken some beginner’s woodworking courses and want someone to assess your skills, this online, In-Progress Portfolio Critique may work well for you. It provides an online platform where you can get tips and suggestions for improving your woodworking.
For example, your instructor may suggest more advanced crafting techniques like carving that can improve your projects. This course works best for people with some woodworking experience or those more interested in artistic designs.
Private Group Woodworking Classes
Do you want to create a woodworking class for your company as a team-building event or for your family and friends? CourseHorse can help you. They provide live online group classes that should work well for most people. These personalized and private courses include guided education from skilled professionals who understand your needs.
For example, CourseHorse can set up woodworking classes for private groups based on your team’s size and experience. They can also find instructors and other professionals who understand your needs and can provide better support. Even better, private courses like these typically include smaller sizes that provide more hands-on time with trainers.
The Benefits of CourseHorse
CourseHorse provides an adaptable booking platform for people interested in woodworking. For example, you can easily change your group size after booking when one or more people cancel. That helps make your booking easier and minimizes cancellation fees. As a result, this is a great option for businesses with a limited budget or with rapidly-changing personnel.
Even better, CourseHorse charges no booking fees, which further reduces your expenses when planning woodworking classes. Though there’s no options available on their site now, they can create a private class option that works well for you. After you book one, they’ll send a confirmation notice to you within 24 hours to ensure you can prepare.
What if your workplace has multiple computer platforms? Adaptability won’t be an issue with CourseHorse, as they support most learning platforms These include Apple and Windows operating systems. As a result, your team can learn from home if they’re remote or right in your office without fussing with connectivity and adaptability issues.
So, before booking a class, reach out to CourseHorse to learn more about class availability and costs. They can discuss any necessary preparation steps such as booking ahead of time, connecting online, and more. They’ll make this process smoother and easier for you and ensure that your courses go as effectively as possible for your team’s needs.
What Will I Need to Learn Woodworking?
All beginning woodworkers need hand and power saws to cut their wood properly. Start with tools like a circular saw to cut wood with a rapidly rotating blade. Other tools, like jigsaws, help you produce accurate angles and more intricate shapes. More complex tool options, like a compound miter saw, help you produce diverse angles for various projects.
You’ll also need tools to improve your wood such as planes, sanders, and files. You’ll need these items to eliminate splinters, smooth your wood, and produce unique shapes. Furthermore, you’ll need drills, screw guns, hammers, and mallets when attaching wood pieces. These items help you produce better and more attractive designs.
Don’t forget measuring tools such as rulers, levels, and squares, when learning woodworking. These items let you craft accurate wood pieces for your projects. For example, levels help you produce even board surfaces, while squares let you measure and cut at various angles. Without these tools, you cannot produce high-quality items.
Lastly, you need wood on which to practice your skills. Start with inexpensive options at first such as pine or plywood, to avoid unnecessarily high expenses. As your skills improve, you can try more durable and high-quality woods such as oak and cedar. These options cost more and require more skill to cut effectively but will produce better items when used properly.
Note that if you take professional woodworking courses, your instructor should provide these materials for you. That helps streamline your training by ensuring you have the best and most appropriate materials to start. This also protects you financially if you decide woodworking isn’t for you after investing thousands of dollars in tools and other materials.
Is It Difficult to Learn Woodworking?
Learning woodworking can be challenging to get right. You must learn how to properly measure and cut wood while working safely with power tools. Many people struggle making straight cuts, measuring their pieces properly, and attaching crafted pieces competently. That said, these issues can be handled if you take your time, work slowly, practice regularly, and attend woodworking classes. Learning new skills requires devotion, and while it may take time to master, you can become a woodworker with patience.
