Jim setting up the shaper for rabbet. Jim has developed that sensible balance we strive for at the school. The balance between the use of hand and machine tools. Jim’s family are coming from Germany to spend the last week of the six week Artisan Program with him. More »

Robert demonstrates the process of making chisels. Students begin with an old file, which is a good source for carbon steel. Next they are given the opportunity to anneal or soften the steel, then cut, shape and flatten the tool, then harden and temper the steel. Each student made a paring chisel fitted with a handle of cocobolo. A few of the students made several chisels including paring, dovetail, small bevel edge and even a crank necked chisel. More »

A few tools made this week at the school. Each student had the opportunity to make a smoother and jointer plane, a wooden spoke shave and a wood & brass chair scrape. The little wooden square was a side project for Paul put together with an open mortise and tenon joint. Also shown is a compass plane Robert made during the demonstration of Plane Making. More »

Artisan A – Introduction to Hand & Machine Tools this week included students from Germany, Alberta and British Columbia From left are Gary, Owen, Marlene, Geoff and Jim. More »

The First Craftsman Program Graduating Class of Inside Passage School of Fine Woodworking. Our first annual year-end student show took place at the Northwest Furniture Gallery May 11th-18th in Seattle, Washington. More »

Sides of Ian’s sideboard of teak with European beech interior showing mortises, doweling and console holes just prior to assembly. The fit and finish of this piece is exceptional. More »

Ian shoots the edges of his beech veneers for the interior of his teak sideboard. With much of the machine work for this piece already complete he will enjoy the serenity of the benchroom. More »

Robert demonstrating steam bending. Ironically enough, the only time he recalls using this method was to straighten out a piece of Cuban mahogany for the edge of a desk that moved when it was resawn. With that said for subtle curves in thin wood such as the back splats of a chair it is an alternative method to bent laminations. More »

This week we have photographs of the details of the pieces on display to show the quality of the work produced by our students. Photographs of the students and their work are shown in the Student Collection and Resident Craftsman Collection of our Gallery page. More »

Federico sharing his wealth of knowledge on the woods of South America. Federico has been a wonderful resource for all of us at Inside Passage School of Fine Woodworking. More »