Re: Need Advice. LOML Gave me ...
dave caudill
>What a wonderful gift. Your wife must really like you. Or she would like to get you out of the house for some quiet time. Whatever the case this is a great gift.
I have taken two courses at the CFC and both were excellent. The facilities are top notch, the intruction and instructors are great and the offerings there are pretty broad. I took the basic course which was taught by Peter Korn the Center's director and he is a great instructor. It was all about basic woodworking, doing basic joinery such as mortise and tenons and dovetails. Also wood preparation, wood movement and design and construction. A lot of sharpening goes on as well if you haven't a lot of experience there.
I also took an intermediate course from Chris Becksvoort that was also top notch. Chris has an amazing knowledge of woodworking. The information well was bottomless and Chris was very eager to answer any questions concerning woodworking. Watching him hand cut dovetails was a treat. He does his measuring and marking all by eye and cuts his dovetails so quickly and accurately it is a spectacle to behold.
The area where the school is located is gorgeous. The towns of Rockport, Rockland and Camden are all very nice and the area is very sceninc with lots of activities to participate in while there. Lots of great eats.
One thing you need to do though is make up your mind and get your call in to the school as many classes fill up very quickly after the New Year when the official sign up starts. I think the Garrett Hack class would be great but it is quite likely full by now. Intermediate Furniture Making with Kevin Rodel would also be a great course.
Being at the school amongst others with the same interest in woodworking is very inspiring. It is nice to be immersed for two weeks and do nothing but work in the shop, it is a incredibly rewarding experience. I think you will really enjoy it and get a lot out of it. It really jumpsarted me and got me going after a long time away from woodworking.
Whatever you decide find out as much as you can about the course and do any preperation you can before going to the school. A lot of time can be wasted trying to decide on a project or sharpening tools if you haven't already done that prior to going. This could even mean draing up some rough sketches to show to the instrutors so they can help you get a final design. The first couple days can be a mad rush to select lumber and start milling which can create a bottleneck. If you are ready to go you may be able to avoid this. And choose a project that challenges you and allows you to try some new skills. As the instructors said to me while there. If you aren't learning anything new then you are just renting shop space.
Good luck a let us know what you decide.
Dave