Name: Holiday Light Box- Halloween

Instructor: Tim Webb

Skill Level: Absolute Beginner

Age: 18 years old and above

Date: Wednesday October 1 – 6:00pm to 9:30pm

Cost: $65

What are Community Classes?

Learn more about Community Classes here.

Class Description:

A fun, 3-4 hour class with other enthusiasts to build a cedar wood box used as holiday decoration for your home. The decorative front panel with holiday theme cut outs is held in place with small magnets so that it can easily be swapped out for other decorative panels as the seasons and holidays change. In this class, the front decorative panel will be themed for Halloween with a choice of Jack O’Lantern faces, bats, vampires, witches, owls, black cats, or other various “scary” designs. The instructor will provide a variety of templates for the decorative panel, but students are free to bring their own templates or drawings as well as design their own (think pumpkin face carving). Each student will also receive a small battery powered LED tea light that can be placed inside the box to shine through the decorative panel to glow in the dark. A small remote control allows enables multiple colors as well as cycling colors, strobe, and fade effects.

The dimensions of the holiday box are approximately 5 1⁄2 depth x 7 width x 14 height (inches). The pumpkin stem on the top functions as a nice handle but can also be easily removed when not used as a pumpkin theme. Since it is made out of weather resistant cedar, it requires no finish for outdoor use but can be finished or painted (not performed in the class). We will also demonstrate how to use a simple hand saw and drill to create additional decorative panels for various holidays throughout the year. We plan to offer this class every two to three months themed around a different holiday and for students that have previously built the box, they can skip the box building and focus exclusively on designing and creating additional front panels.

During the class you will learn the following woodworking techniques:

– How to measure, mark and crosscut a board using a tape measure, square, miter saw or hand saw

– How to transfer a pattern to a board

– How to use a drill and a scroll, coping or fret saw to cut out decorative patterns

– How to use a bandsaw and sander to cut out and shape the pumpkin stem

– How to locate the center of the top and drill a countersink hole and attach the pumpkin stem

– How to measure, mark and drill small holes for magnets to hold the interchangeable front decorative panel to the box.

– How to use clamps, a nail gun and glue to assemble the box using butt joints

– Discuss and demonstrate the use of the small, multi-colored tea lights

– Discuss various finishing options

What to Bring:
– A desire to learn some new skills in a fun, safe and supportive environment.

– A positive attitude to share in a community of craftmanship.
– Drink and a snack (if desired)
– Measuring tape, pencil and eye protection
– Optionally you may choose to bring the following if you have these: combination square, hearing protection, dust protection, and any other tools that you think might be helpful.

All other materials (wood, magnets, tea light with remote control) and tools are provided by the school.

Austin School of Furniture has the right to cancel this class at anytime if the minimum amount of students is not reached.

See our Refund Policy here