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Artisan Academy

Bench offers a rotating variety of classes in hands-on trades

Intro to Woodworking

Our Intro to Woodworking Course covers our Safety Orinetation and Woodshop 101 in one day.

We teach the basics of shop safety and working at Bench and give each participant the chance to use every piece of equipment at Bench to practice a variety of cuts, skills, and techniques.

$100 Non Members  –  $75 Members

November 9th

December 14th

January 8th

February 8th

March 8th


Woodworking 2

In this class you will learn all about:
-Wood movement, expansion and contraction, warp, twist, bow, etc.
-Wood Products: different options available, strengths and weaknesses
-Wood Joinery: various methods, adhesives and fasteners, and various uses
-Wood movement and grain
$100 Non Members – $75 Members

Working with Live Edge Slabs

In this 2 day class you will learn about working with Live  Sawn Material.  Ben Petersen will share what he has learned from his years building furniture from live sawn wood and operating a his sawmill.  You will leave the class with a live edge slab of your choosing, that you have flattened, and a jig that you made so that you can easily do it again!

Day 1 You will select a slab and cut it to its rough dimensions.  *Live edge material will be available for sale at the class, or you are welcome to bring your own material* Ben will also teach you how to  construct your own slab flattening router jig which you will be able to use to flatten slabs of various sizes.  Materials for the Router jig are included in the cost of the class.  We will have routers available for use, but encourage you to bring your own router if you have one, to be able to customize your jig for your router.

Day 2 The real fun begins.  We will start the day setting up slabs and Jigs, and get right to work flattening.  Once slabs are flat we will discuss any necessary measurements for stabilizing as well as finish prep and final finish.

Dates to Come

There are no classes currently scheduled. Request a class!


Box Making

Building a box teaches people to make case goods and cabinets. e.g. dressers, file cabinets, and kitchen cabinets.
You will learn to build 4 different boxes (1 foot by 1 foot less in size): mitered box, finger joined box (box joints), dovetailed box, rabbeted plywood box.
***Pre-Requisite Required: In order to participate in this class, you will need to first complete our Intro to Woodworking Class.
$125 Non Members – $100 Members

There are no classes currently scheduled. Request a class!


Table Making

This class will take place every Thursday evening in June and requires Intro to Woodworking as a pre-requisite.

You will learn how to build a long lasting table base using Mortise and Tenon Joinery. How to join and flatten a solid wood top and attach the top and Base while allowing for seasonal wood movement.

Participants can choose to make a Dining table, Coffee table, or end table from the materials of their choice (material costs separate from class price).

$200 Non Members – $175 Members

DATES to Come