Online courses

[Brandon Winters]

Hello,

My name is Brandon Winters from Goodlettsville, TN (just north of Nashville). I am 34 years old and a nuisance wildlife trapper by trade. Most of the animals I deal with are inside of a structure. Part of dealing with problem wildlife is repairing the damage they caused in order to gain access inside the structure. So, I do have a little knowledge of home construction, but I am by no means a carpenter.

I have recently become intrigued with wood working (making furniture). I do have construction grade tools such as miter saw, table saw, jig saw, circular saw,nail guns, bench planer, hand power planer. I can use these tools for basic jobs (installing wood siding, minor framing, basic millworks) but I don't know proper terminology, and like I said I'm no carpenter.

What I enjoy most about my trade are the jobs that require old style trapping i.e. using steel traps to capture coyote, fox, beaver, etc. The techniques and equipment used for this have not changed much for many, many years. It's rewarding to be able to complete such task with these old, time tested techniques and tools. I suppose that is why I am interested with hand tool wood working. I am not opposed to power tools, but would like to learn the old way (I figure if I can build it with hand tools, I can do it with power tools too). I do not have any handplanes, chisels, marking tools, etc. or a proper bench (I will obviously need to acquire these tools).

I have read The Essential Wood Worker and The Anarchist's Tool Chest, and I have been watching many youtube videos. While books are good, I learn best from watching. I have looked into Rob Cosman's online hand tool course and The Renaissance Wood Workers hand tool school. I like Rob's experience, teaching approach and the high quality of his videos. I think Shannon also has a good teachinga pproach. The Renaissance wood worker course seems to be more geared to the beginner, but the videos are not as high quality as Rob's and I think Rob is more qualified. So I need some guidance. Which course is best for a newbie.

Thanks for your help,

Brandon

[Jim Koepke]

Brandon,

Welcome to the Creek. I lived in Western Tennessee for a short time in the early 1970s. You can add your location to your profile and people won't be asking where you make home in a year or two.

Most of my woodworking knowledge comes from books and on line learning. I did have a general shop class about 50 years ago.

I do have some videos on inlay. That is something that I want to try someday.

A lot can be learned from watching old episodes of the Woodwright's Workshop with Roy Underhill.

A lot can be learned right here at SMC. Some of us are even willing to help those who live close by in person.

At the top of the Neanderthal Haven postings are some "Stickeys." One of them is the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs. This is full of tool restoration and usage information.

I am not sure of the software here, but it seems to let me place tags at the end of postings so that I can make it easier to find posts that appeal to me or have something to be reviewed later with the site's search function.

One important thing to remember when ever knowledge of artistry or a craft is shared, the person offering the advice is what works for the person supplying the advice. Much of what works for me, may not work for others.

As an example, many will suggest a new plane from one of the outstanding makers of planes as your first plane to have as a benchmark by which to gauge all others. For some of us, that could price us right out of the hobby.

When my foray into woodworking began, there wasn't enough money in my life to afford a new quality plane. I learned a lot about planes by fixing up old ones.

Good luck and most of all, enjoy what you are doing.

jtk

[Harold Burrell]

When my foray into woodworking began, there wasn't enough money in my life to afford a new quality plane. I learned a lot about planes by fixing up old ones.

There is much wisdom in that statement right there...(as well as everything else Jim said).

[Mark Haviland]

Brandon,

I am also a beginner with hand tools- I sold all my power tools last year and now only use hand tools. I have learned a lot from SMC and from reading hand tool user blogs- one of the best is Close Grain.

I also highly recommend Paul Sellers books and DVD's Working Wood vol. 1 & 2. He is a master teacher and the video quality is really good. They are expensive but I think well worth it. He also teaches you all the fundamental techniques without requiring a massive collection of expensive hand tools.

I also have learned a lot from watching online episodes of the Woodwright's shop- the last four or five years are on the PBS site for free.

I haven't used Rob Cosman's course or the Renaissance Hand Tool School so I can't give my opinion of them.

Good luck

Mark

[Bob Warfield]

Brandon, I've been watching the Rob Cosman online school since the beginning. I can't tell you how much help it's been for me. There isn't really a "planned episode", for lack of a better term, week to week. It's more like watching and learning from a pro as every little problem comes up and how to work thru them. I have all the DVD's but like you I learn much faster watching someone do the work in real time, unedited. Needless to say I am a Rob Cosman fan.
Bob

[Steve Branam]

I am also a beginner with hand tools- I sold all my power tools last year and now only use hand tools. I have learned a lot from SMC and from reading hand tool user blogs- one of the best is Close Grain.

Thanks Mark! Some other very good sites are Derek Cohen's http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ and Paul Sellers' blog http://paulsellers.com/woodworking-b...-sellers-blog/. Derek doesn't do videos, but he does very nice articles. Paul has a number of very nice YouTube videos that augment his DVDs.

I have several Cosman DVDs and like them. Another set of DVDs that are excellent are Jim Kingshott's. Chris Schwarz's "Handplane Basics" is his best DVD on planes. Just remember that you'll see different variations in techniques between all these folks, so keep an open mind. It's worth learning more than one way to get a task done.

And of course Roy Underhill's DVDs that are now starting to come out are an invaluable treasure trove, covering a wide range of hand tool topics.

Another great set of YouTube videos I found recently are Doucette and Wolfe Furniture Makers http://www.youtube.com/user/doucetteandwolfe. These are a little less explicitly instructional, but are a fantastic inspiration, and you can see a lot of techniques in use.

[David Weaver]

Everyone learns differently. I would suggest getting yourself a few blogs you like to read, and buying Woodworking Essentials by Robert Wearing.

If you don't know how to sharpen, I would suggest a David Charlesworth DVD. You probably will not end up sharpening the way he does in the long run, but you will get a fantastic edge the very first time you try it.

And find yourself a cheap source of medium hardwoods, soft maple, cherry..something like that. If you're thinking "there aren't any", you'd be surprised. There is a local guy who comes by here 3 or 4 times a year. 8/4 walnut is $4 a bd foot, and it goes down from there. Poplar for a buck a foot and often something in the medium category 4/4 for $2 a board foot.

[Gary Hodgin]

Hey Brandon,
Welcome to SMC. I'm just down the road from you in Murfreesboro. I'm not familiar with the online courses but I recently received an email from Popular Woodworking about a series of Shop Class videos that might interest you. There's alot of good videos available and quite a bit of stuff on you tube. SMC is a great resource also. Sounds like you've got a very interesting job. Here's a link to the Shop Class video material.
http://shopclass.popularwoodworking....5&rid=22275970
Gary

[Christian Thompson]

I've learned quite a bit watching the videos (free) from Logan Cabinet Shoppe - http://logancabinetshoppe.com/podcast.php.

Christian

[Brandon Winters]

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

I got to play around with a Stanley #4 this afternoon. It belonged to a (45 year old) friend's great uncle who was a carriage builder, so I think it's pretty old.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Brandon

[Jim Neeley]

I'm a member of both Rob's Hand tool-only and his Hand & Power tool workshops and find great value in each. His Hi-Def video and their zoom gives you a far better view of what's going on than even if you were standing right there. For learning certain techniques, such as cut to the line or dovetail cleanup it's really helpful.

I also like how his work is live and unscripted. He's said a couple of times how he's considered the typical "build one off camera before you build on-camera" but decided against it. As a result you can follow his thought process and is brave enough not to edit out his mistakes. Beyond learning that making some number of mistakes is part of the process, I also follow his thought process as he's figuring out a fix or work-around, and implementing it.

I feel I get very good value from the subscription. I have a wide range of videos from Larry Williams, David Charlesworth, Rob, Chris Schwarz and others and, while I find them very helpful, the editing (which is necessary to fit on a single DVD) makes it appear to be a lot less work than it really is. For example, on his hand & power tool forum he's about 3/4 of the way through building a laminated maple workbench with square dogs, mortise & tendon base, wagon vise, scandinavian vise, hand-cut birds-eye maple veneer accents and has so far issued the 82nd half-hour video on the process. If you want a compressed topic, this isn't it. If you want the closest thing any of us will ever get to being a woodworker's apprentice, this is the way to go, IMO.

Just my $0.02.. YMMV.

[Jack Curtis]

...Another set of DVDs that are excellent are Jim Kingshott's. ...

Out of a massive pile of woodworking dvd's, Kingshott's are the most valuable for general woodworking (vs inlaying, e.g.); and I return to them often.

[Larry Heflin]

I have DVDs from most of the names mentioned already and many are very good and have been helpful, but it is expensive bouncing between the uncoordinated offerings of a bewildering array of experts. Most of their offerings address a specific activity (dovetails, sharpening, etc.) rather than present a foundational approach and comprehensive setting for the specific activity. I'd like to put in another plug for Paul Sellers who offers a beginning hand tool course and runs woodworking schools in the US and UK. I've only recently become aware of his DVD and book course but haven't gotten my hands on it yet. If I were to start over, I would start with something like what Sellers offers. I did take a couple of hand tool classes from him when he resided in Texas. I consider him an outstanding teacher with the student's foundation and progress uppermost in mind. I also appreciate his woodworking philosophy. He has example videos on youtube which you can look up to get a feel for his approach to woodworking.

Larry

[Ashwini Kaul]

I was subscribed to the Cosman online workshops - for the first 6-7months. First hand tool then power.
While I liked his many DVDs, the online version I found slow and very redundant. Also very tangential and not goal directed.
If u have time... its a wealth of information... I did not.

I have subscribed to Woodwhisperer as a Guild member, more to support him as most of his stuff is free.
I find him very useful and down to earth.
I have tried popular woodworking shop class - its not very expensive and they have been building their library up slowly. Many Chris Schwarz dvds can be viewed there. It can be buggy at times however.
I am also a member at fine woodworking - and they provide almost unlimited access to their magazine and online stuff. The video workshops are fantastic. Jeff Miller, Garret Hack, Mario Rodriguez are among some of the experts who post there. This one is actually my favorite!
I also purchased the archival dvds of woodsmith and shopclass and have found them useful.
I have purchased but only seen part of paul sellers course and really liked it.
Oh and dont forget Chuck Bender, one of the nicest guys in the business. I liked his videos so much that I went and took a class with him.
Charles Neil has some useful videos too, although I dont like his subscription format.

I still consider myself a beginner, but the above sources and the woodworking forums have been a fantastic teacher to someone who is too busy to make it to formal classes.

Good luck!