CLASS UPDATE:
Wood working classes in Toronto are open for reservations.
Gift certificates are available and make great gift ideas for your crafty partners and spouses!
email me for more information and thanks for the interest.
If you live in the Toronto area or you’re planning to visit sometime, I’m now offering private wood working classes in my home woodshop.
The beauty of a private class is that content and direction can be custom fit to suit exactly what it is you’d like to learn!
Maybe it’s some help with a design or project you’re working on and just want someone to ‘bounce ideas’ off of. Or perhaps you’d like to focus on a specific skill like hand planing or sharpening methods-what ever it is you’re looking for I’m willing to help.
I’ll keep the coffee hot and you’ll just need to worry about getting here. It can be as formal or informal as you’d like and we can cover as much as you think you’ll need.
Spending some time with me in my ‘hand tool only’ woodshop will give you valuable insight into how I go through my own process of furniture design, dimensioning lumber with joinery techniques and considerations being addressed. We can cover all of the small steps in between as well!
If it’s a three hour session to get your head around half blind dovetails or just someone starting out in wood working and would like to know which tools to buy and why, I’m open to anything and I welcome you to contact me here.
3 HOUR SESSIONS ARE $100.00
( taxes included-coffee and materials are free !)
Books and videos can be an incredible resource for learning the craft but standing at a workbench with the wood shavings at your feet and an array of hand tools here at your disposal- you’ll be surprised at how quickly the learning curve can melt away.
If you’d like to find out more information or would like to schedule a class, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
tomfidgen @ yahoo dot ca
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“Hi Tom-
Thanks so much for a great day yesterday. I learned a lot about how to flatten a board and it was great to practice instead of just watching a video. I hope to book some more time with you in the future. ”
Randy
“Tom, Saturday was an incredible experience for me- I learned more in four hours then I did in four years of trial and error! Thanks again for the invaluable insight and allowing me to come into your ‘unplugged woodshop’. I can’t wait for my next class.”
Dave from Burlington
“Tom, thank you for all of your help on Saturday. What you showed and taught me in a few hours would have taken me weeks – if ever – to discover on my own. I was particularly pleased with your pragmatic approach, how you focused on my needs and most of all your patience when I couldn’t get it quite right. I will be in touch to book another session.”
Paul Charlton, Toronto
I took a ‘class’ with Tom this past weekend and really had a blast. After several previous discussions through e-mail, it was decided that I would spend a few hours on a Saturday in Tom’s basement, learning some of the finer points in the use of hand-planing and dovetailing. To say I picked up a few pointers would be an understatement!
We went through some of the techniques behind quickly dimensioning and flattening boards using a scrub plane and a jointer (okay, now I need to buy more tools ), and then carried forward to making a sample dovetail. Tom gave me some very valuable insights into how he works, and what he does to ensure success. All in all, it was money well spent. Getting one-on-one instruction from a seasoned woodworker, and an all-around great guy is something that is really invaluable.
Byron Peterson, Toronto
