A Wonderland Of Wood At The 22nd Woodfair – July 5, 2011

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

BOYD ROAD – The Humboldt Woodworking Society invites all community members who love wood to the 22nd annual WoodFair, Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Almquist Lumber, 5301 Boyd Rd. The event features a woodworking exhibition, a woodworkers marketplace with 35 vendors of woodworking related items, free demonstrations, music and food. (707)768-1975, HumboldtWoodFair.org. 

Admission is free, and all demonstrations are free. You will see giant logs being made into slabs for table tops, learn how to use that baffling hand plane, see a lumber kiln in operation, observe how the latest woodworking tools work in the hands of professionals, watch as large chunks of wood are turned into bowls, and learn the secrets of guitar making and intarsia. WoodFair, this weekend at Almquist Lumber Co., 5301 Boyd Road, will entertain you with myriad tools and techniques that turn trees into useful objects of great beauty.

The line up of demonstrations starts on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with a Greg Zall, Professional Fine Woodworker and graduate of the Fine Woodworking program at College of the Redwoods, Fort Bragg. He will show us how to make working with hand planes smooth as silk. At 11 a.m., Seth San Filippo, Urban Lumber Co. of Springfield Ore., will begin slabbing large walnut logs with his Lucas Mill.

Throughout the day, local wood turners Tom Cover, Wayne Roe, and Tony Chess will demonstrate various techniques with the wood turning lathe. Expert woodworkers from Freud, Festools and Bessey will give demonstration on how to use their tools safely and effectively.

Harry Fleishman of Lutherie School International in Sebastopol will show how he puts exquisite inlays into the guitars he builds and talks about how his techniques can be used for furniture  too. Glenn Burleigh and Bill Pinches will show radically different kinds of wood carving. And Hilary Stephens of Environmental Technology, Inc in Fields Landing will demonstrate how to use their pour-on finish on a table top.

If that is not enough to keep you and your family entertained, there will also be a Kids’ Corner where kids can do fun wood related activities, and music played predominantly on wooden musical instruments by local musicians. All this is in addition to the exhibition of fine woodworking and the woodworkers marketplace consisting of 35 vendors of woodworking related products.

The complete schedule is online at HumboldtWoodFair.org.

Carpentry workshop for women

North Coast woodworkers Doralee Smith and Barry Smith will present two classes as part of the Humboldt Woodworking Society’s WoodFair 2011.

Basic Carpentry Skills for Women I will meet on Thursday, July 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Basic Carpentry Skills for Women II will meet on Friday, July 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Woodshop at College of the Redwoods Eureka main campus. The fee of $50 per class will cover instruction, materials, supplies and handouts.

Doralee and Barry have designed these classes for women to build confidence and to help start a first project. Participants will gain experience in working safely with hand and power tools. Pierson Building Center provides lumber, a $25 gift card, and a 10 percent discount on all tools purchased at Pierson Building Center for one month for each student. Arcata Do It Best Lumber will supply tools and materials.

Class sizes are strictly limited, so early registration is recommended by calling CR at (707) 269-4000, to reserve a space. For information on this class and other WoodFair 2011 events, visit HumboldtWoodFair.org.

The basics

WoodFair features free demonstrations and seminars, booths presenting the works of North Coast woodworking artisans and furniture builders as well as vendors for tools and woodworking supplies, food and music.

Free demonstrations include woodturning, stringed instrument building, carving, power tool operation, woodshop safety, intarsia, hardwood saw mill operation, and fine woodworking tools and techniques. Admission to WoodFair is free.

Classes in Fine Woodworking Techniques, Basic Carpentry Skills for Women, and Lutherie (Guitar Building) are offered for fees through College of the Redwoods. Sign up for these classes by calling 707 269-4000. Class descriptions, schedules and fees can be found at redwoods.edu/Departments/Community-Ed/woodfair.asp.

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