Hand Carved Wooden Benches

Carve a bench! In this course, students will craft a bench using the techniques of green woodworking, utilizing freshly cut wood in shaping the legs and tenons. We will witness the magic of shrinking wood and relative ease of working with hand tools. Legs will be shaped using a draw knife, spoke shave and shaving horse. The seat will be from rough sawn logs, flattened and smoothed with hand planes. This project is a great introduction to hand tool woodworking- using a small set of tools and accessible materials.

Day 1: We’ll begin by welcoming participants and sharing introductions before learning about the project and practicing best uses of our hand tools. Students will learn from demonstration and guided instructions as they begin working on their own benches!

Day 2: We’ll return on the second day to continue carving benches, honing in on our hand tool skills from Day 1. We will also move along to the process of finishing our benches, adding final touches before regrouping to close and reflect! You’ll leave with your own, functional bench, improved hand tool woodworking skills, and a carving community in fellow students!