DAY 9 & 10: Rubbed The Wrong Way, Reading Guinnee Pigs, and First Cuts

DAY NINE and TEN have been non-stop. We've actually started cutting into our projects which means we are putting in double time so that we can somewhat finish them by Friday. PK is trying to console us by saying that most people are lucky if they glue up by Friday, but I'm hoping that I can get this done and ship it out so I don't have to take it on the plane back to SF with me. I wasn't expecting this class to be stressful, but I keep having these moments of panic where I think I'm cutting the wrong thing, then I realize I'm doing what I should be, just to have that panic grab me again. Needless to say there is a lot riding on finishing this project.

These past few days have started early, 7am or so, and ending late, 10pm-ish. But it's hard to stop when each step of the process is so rewarding. I can't adequately describe the satisfaction of fitting a joint and having all the pins and tails line up, but its a lot like trying on a perfect pair of jeans, or biting into a ripe nectarine, or building a replica of the golden gate bridge out of Lego's.

On top this busy schedule I'm also being a guinea pig of PK's new book. I feel pretty lucky that I'm getting to read the first two chapters and I have to say so far it's really good. Bill B, who's an English teacher, also gets to be a guinea pig. PK's book is half memoir half philosophy of craft, and without giving anything away, the history of craft and the way craft has changed in just the past 130 years is really fascinating, well at least PK's interpretation of it is. If you want to read more on craft I'm pretty sure that for Mondays post I left a little list of good books to read. If you have any suggestions feel free send them to me.

I don't want to get too off topic, so back to class, Tuesday we had a lecture on abrasives. What I learned was, hand plane your wood and you wont have to worry about sanding. Really I learned quite a bit more, but you can probably find out all you want to know yourself on the Internet.

As a group we went to Suzuki's Sushi Bar in Rockland. We start everyday out with restaurant reviews and Suzuki averaged a solid 8. The prices were fair, and the food was good. I would recommend the rolls, the noodle dishes were, meh. They carried some great beers including one of my favorites, Hitachino Nest. Do the Hitachino White.

Suzuki's

I mentioned earlier that we started our projects on Tuesday, by Wednesday they were starting to look like furniture.

Starting our projects (Near to Far: Daniel, Marie, Bill P.)

(Near to Far: Bill B., Francis, Phil)

I love Marie's sweeping dovetail pattern

The Price of Learning

I've just completed my transactions for tools, the course text has arrived in the mail, I've bought my plane and bus tickets, found a place to stay, and the school has officially charged my credit card, so I thought it appropriate to give a rundown of what the price of this two week woodworking basic course has cost if starting from scratch.

THE RUN DOWN

Tools-$397.87

Text-$12.56

Travel-$601.90

Bed-$450.00

Course-$1240.00

TOTAL=$2702.33

TOOLS

Tools were purchased from Lee Valley and Garret Wade. Garret Wade offers a 10% discount to CFC students, except for Lee-Nielsen and Festool brands, but I bought a Lee-Nielsen #5 Plane and set of 2 scrapers and recieved the 10% discount on both. (Super stoked about that)

Tools purchased included:

-Marking and Cutting Gauge

-Nielsen Low Angle Jack Plane

-Lee-Nielsen set of 2 Scrapers (.02" & .032")

-Marking Knife

-Folding Rule

(The school also recommends an 8" sliding T-bevel but I haven't found one that is affordable. Woodcraft has a nice 10" one but it would be the only tool I would need to buy from them and they are charging $10 shipping. I'll bug a friend to drive my car-less butt to Santa Rosa to buy one in the store.)

TEXT

The course text for the two-week begginer course is Peter Korn's, Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship. Amazon had the best deal at $12.56

TRAVEL

Air

Jet Blue had the cheapest flights from San Francisco to Portland Maine. My semi-round-trip ticket (because I'm spending 3 days in NYC) was $564.90

Bus

Since I don't drive, I'm taking a bus from Portland ME, to Rockport, ME. A round-trip ticket is $37.00. Greyhound has services, but I'm

using Concord Coach Lines becuase it lined up conveineintly with my flights.

BED

I wish I was staying in this North Haven Boat Barn-Inspired house designed by Christopher Campbell, but budget is definatly a concern for me. The school offers housing in private houses and apartments in the area for $295 a week. You can also stay with the program insturcter/school founder Peter Korn for $400 a week. The school also sent me a large list of B&Bs, Inns, Housing Services, motels, and locals who will sublet a room from $375-600 a week. I chose to see if there was a cheaper option and there was on Craigslist.

I can't say what the perks of staying with P.K. or other locals may be, but the house I'm staying in is only $450 for the two weeks. And Deb, the woman I'll be staying with, may be the nicest person alive. She offered to pick me up from the bus station as well as the use of a bike and car. Unfortunalty I don't have a drivers license or care for driving so I had to decline the last offer. I get the feeling eveyone in Maine is this nice, but I don't want to set any expectations.

COURSE

The two week Basic Woodworking Workshop cost a total of $1240.00