Wood is probably the most common building material in use, whether it’s in the building of a home, or a furniture, or really any type of home decor or structure. And rightfully so, as it’s affordable, looks rustic and appealing but can also be painted, is easy to maneuver and manipulate, and is easy to repair or refurbish. With its popularity and usage, chances are you have a number of wooden structures and furnishings in and around your home, whether it’s your floor, the shed in your backyard, your kitchen table, or the framing on your windows. A set of DIY woodworking skills gives you the ability and confidence to repair and refurbish any potential scratch, chip, or structural issue with any wooden object in your home.
Another amazing aspect of learning and honing your woodworking skills is the creative outlet it provides. Not only do you learn how to work with wood and how to manipulate and refurbish it as a material, but you also learn how to build and create with it. Wood was meant to be built with, as you can see in the sturdiness and structural flexibility in any tree, and woodworking skill means you can build with it too. Need a new coffee table? Instead of going to IKEA or looking through Craigslist, you can just build it yourself, to the style and specifications that you want. You can build that table in a variety of ways and styles, and use your creative imagination to not only build a functional and cool-looking piece of furniture, but to show your creative ability for anyone in your home to see.
The common usage of wood in just about every home means that woodworking is a DIY skill that is valuable for just about anyone. And woodworking is easy to learn, but hard to master, which makes it the perfect subject for an adult class, as well as being a skill that you can share in a variety of ways. If you have progressed in your adult woodworking classes to a proficient point, you probably have enough knowledge to teach the basics to your kid, a friend, or really anyone who wants to learn. You can also share your skill through your work, whether for yourself or for others. With the skills you can develop from a woodworking class, you can build a table for your friendly neighbors, or a nice looking stand for your mom’s flowers, or even a doghouse for your furry friend.
Taking classes as an “adult” might feel a little awkward for some. An “adult” is usually defined as someone who is done with schooling for the time being, and the thought of a “class” might make you feel a little juvenile. But a class that teaches you a practical or DIY skill like our Adult Woodworking class is not a typical class like in highschool. The activities, instruction, and hands-on course work is engaging and fulfilling, and it gives you the opportunity to learn a new skill or develop an old one with a more developed mind. Learning skills as an adult is very different than when you were a kid, because now you have a more developed and matured mind, and you can approach the complexities and nuances of a new skill like woodworking in a much more analytical way. It becomes less about watching the minutes tick by until the bell rings, and more about actually learning and fulfilling yourself by gaining a new and practical skill.
Based on our namesake and the actual meaning of the acronym, our DIY classes are a great way to create and complete a piece of furniture from start to finish, a great idea for a date or a girls/guys night out. You get the tools, the wood, and the instruction and everything else is up to you! We don’t give you any “pre-cut” wood; you create the project from scratch, including all the cutting, nailing, and sanding, using tools like a miter saw, a table saw, or a pneumatic nail gun. Our DIY classes usually have a project in mind, like a wall shelf or a small bench, so when you sign up, you will be leaving the class with a completed and stained creation of your own, ready to show off in your home. We also offer a BYOB option in these DIY classes for our 21+ class attendees, so you can enjoy a drink while you craft your woodworking masterpiece.
We also offer a variety of intro and skill specific classes that focus on specific woodworking skills, machine tools, and techniques, for those who are looking to acquire a more in-depth experience and knowledge of woodworking. These classes include a number of workshops that look to provide a comprehensive understanding of a practice like furniture making, or of a tool like the lathe. Some of these classes are extensive 1-on-1 lessons from one of our highly-experienced instructors, and some involve an in-depth practice of a tool to understand everything you can actually do with it. Regardless of what you want to learn, we likely have the class, the space, and the instructor to provide it.
For woodworkers out there with a bit more experience woodworking or working with large woodworking tools, we also have an Open Studio option, and a simple certification process in order to use it. We have a quality selection of woodworking equipment at The DIY Joint that we are happy to let people use, including some heavy machinery in our Open Studio. But these are large and powerful machines, and it would be risky and dangerous to allow someone without proper training or experience to use them. However, we have a simple certification process; simply attend our Open Studio Certification workshop and get the training you need to have access. Then, you can use the tools in the Open Studio to let your woodworking skills really flourish, and create intricate and complex projects.
