NC State Craft Center?

[enngirl5]

Hi everyone. My boyfriend has recently started woodworking and wants to take a class to get some "formal" training. We live in Raleigh and I work at NC State. Has anyone taken any of the woodworking classes at the NC State Craft Center and if so would you recommend them? Are there any other classes in Raleigh that you could recommend? So far he has made two adirondack chairs, a medicine cabinet for my bathroom, a bookshelf and some other random things. He really enjoys woodworking but again he's pretty much a beginner and self-taught at this point and he really wants to know the right way to do things. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I would have thought these classes would be easy to find in Raleigh but I can't really find much of anything! Thanks everyone!

 

[ScottM]

Welcome. I have never taken a class at the NCST Craft Center but I have been there and they have a wonderful setup. As far as other WW classes in the area both Woodcraft and Klingspor offer classes at their stores. Here are their current listings.

http://www.woodcraft.com/stores/store.aspx?id=532&page=classes

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/calendar/

 

[cyclopentadiene]

I have taken a class at the NCSU craft center. The program is excellent as the university requires that they actually teach instead of handing you lumber and indicate here are the tools. The instructors demonstrate techniques for each class project then the student has time to repeat the task. The instructor then makes his way around the room and assists with things you are doing incorrectly. I took a class joints in wood which used hand tools to make simple and complex joints throughout the course. I may not necessarily make a rabbett joint using a handsaw but it was still beneficial to learn the techniques. I have never been successful with dovetails using a jig but the hand cut dovetails were quite simple once I was shown how to do them.
I highly recommend the classes for the novice or the advanced. They are inexpensive and very good.
Another area to learn is to join one or more of the local clubs. I am a member of the Piedmont Triad Woodturners Association that meets once a month. The meetings include a demo each month andI learn something new every time.

 

[Jim Wallace]

I teach the woodturning class at the Crafts Center. They have wonderful shop and great teachers who can help a beginner or advanced student. You can enroll in a class, or you can join the Crafts Center. As a member the class tuition is lower and you have access to the wood shop whenever the Center is open. This means that you can try new things using their tools, and find out if you want to pursue a particular type of woodworking or not without having to make a big investment up front. I recommend you take him over there and ask George or Mike to show you around. They're both really nice guys.

Jim Wallace

 

[enngirl5]

Thanks for the quick replies everyone! One last question, is it mainly young NC State students or is the crowd more diverse like with older people in the class?

 

[Jim Wallace]

The classes are quite diverse. Most include students and adult community members. It's often a good mix of men and women as well.

 

[BSevier]

Is there a link available for the classes at NC State Craft Center?

 

[Jim Wallace]

http://www.ncsu.edu/crafts/