Courses

Without question, the Adirondack chair is a timeless classic—its high back, large armrests, and contoured seat and back are unmistakable. For many, the Adirondack chair defines the ideal deck or lawn chair for a well-deserved break.  This course is the perfect opportunity for you to learn and expand basic woodworking…

Pick up your hammer! This course is designed for students with little or no building experience who want to build a tiny home, small cabin, or workshop. The techniques for building a small frame building are not only for the skilled carpenter; nearly anyone can come away from this course…

Create beautiful and useful things for your kitchen using simple hand tools and birch wood. Participants in this course will be introduced to the Swedish traditions of ‘köksredskap,' or the process of carving functional utensils, including butterknives, small spoons or bread boards. Students will start by splitting a green log,…

Coopering — the craft of joined wooden staves to create a vessel — was an integral skill in many cultures worldwide; from Japan to Ireland, every meal had a food or drink that had at some point been stored in a coopered vessel. The skill and product is still relevant…

There are many designs for the sawhorse, as it is one of the most important tools a timber framer or woodworker has in the workshop. Der Zimmererbock is the traditional version of a sawhorse used and taught throughout Germany, where instructor Gerald David did his training in the timber framing.…

The Windsor chair has graced American homes since the mid-eighteenth century, before there was even a “United States” to speak of. Rich in tradition and lore yet instantly recognizable for its clean lines and simple form, the Windsor chair is a classic project. With a comfortable design as a top…

The axe is perhaps the most indispensable of all tools in the North Woods. A sharp axe, skillfully wielded, makes tasks from splitting kindling to carving spoons and canoe paddles a pleasure. In this course, students will begin with a pre-made hand-­forged axe head, then make a hardwood handle and…

Create the traditional paddle used by Northwoods travelers for hundreds of years. In this course, a North House classic, students will learn about wood selection and wood grain considerations as well as paddle sizing and the theory of shape as applied to handles, shafts and blades. Choose from a variety…

This course introduces kids age 10 and older to the various hand tools and simple skills involved in working with wood in the shop. The course is co-taught by a father and son team, Paul Linden and Avery Carlson (age 16). Avery has been working with many of these tools…

Learn to turn on both power and pole lathes and to explore the historical continuum of bowl turning in this unique course offering. Students will move back and forth between the foot-powered pole lathe and modern electric lathe to delve deeply into a study of old world Norwegian ale bowls.…

In this two day course each student will build a post-and-rung stool as we explore aspects of traditional chair making. On day one, students learn about splitting logs for stool pieces and how to shape stool parts using a shaving horse, drawknife, and spokeshave. On the second day, students use…

Ready to put your feet up? Try your hand at traditional paper fiber rush weaving and complete a small footstool in just one day. You’ll start with an assembled and lightly finished footstool and end with a beautiful piece of furniture you’ll appreciate for years to come. You will be…

Sawhorses are an essential shop resource, and a well-built set will last for years. Help North House prepare for the next decade by building a set of sturdy horses for the shop in this two-day class, ideal for beginners or intermediate woodworkers. Students will create a layout on a sheet…

In chairmaking, the travisher and compass plane make wonderful assistants for excavating, carving and shaping concave surfaces. The travisher is like a curved spokeshave that can hog or make nuanced cuts. The compass plane is like a scrub plane with a curved sole, fantastic for hogging seats and a great…

In this three-day tutorial open to students of all levels, participants will be guided through the process of turning wood on a pole lathe according to their skill levels and personal goals. We’ll cover both the basics and more advanced techniques. Starting with open form bowls, the class will move…