Name: Open Shop
Instructor: Ray McMahon
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Age: You must be at least 18 years old to participate

Prerequisite: Fundamentals of Woodworking

Date: Monday Evenings from 6:00-10:00pm, Four Meetings from October 19th- November 9th

This is our first experiment with open shop hours. Please bear with us as we work out the kinks.

Class Description:

We know there is a big barrier to entry for woodworking. It’s not something you can just decide to pick up one day, and then you have everything you need to get going. No matter how many clamps you buy you can still fall short. Additionally, sometimes the best tool for getting a project done is bouncing ideas off another woodworker. We know setting up a home shop isn’t accessible to everyone, and getting started on building your own projects can be daunting. Open Shop is an opportunity to utilize the school’s woodshop with oversight from our skilled instructors. They will be there to work through your projects with you, help you set up machines, and take you on your next step of your woodworking journey. To be clear, this is a self-paced, bring your own project workshop.

We want to be able to accommodate all projects and skill levels, but unfortunately we have limited shop and storage space, as well as only two instructors. If your project is large, oversized, or extremely complex please reach out before registering to confirm. We might recommend you book a few hours of a private lesson to get you started. 

Students are required to supply their own lumber for the class, but we typically have some extra stock laying around the shop we can sell to students on an as needed basis.

This class is only open to students who have taken our Fundamentals of Woodworking class. For now, we want to ensure everyone has a baseline of safety expectations at the school. Day one will be a quick refresher on the machines. Additionally, instructors will assist and check off on machine set ups as you go. If you are an experienced hobbyist and are looking for access to some of our machines or operations and have experience outside of our Fundamentals program you are welcome to reach out before registering.

What to bring:

• Your own project- we will not be supplying anything to work on. We always have small scraps up for grabs.
• Water and snack if desired
• Please wear closed toed shoes

Austin School of Furniture is a 501c3 Nonprofit, and we rely on donations to keep our doors open. If you would like to support the school please consider donating, or becoming a monthly recurring donor. Even $10 a month makes a difference.

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