woodworking is a journey
The recess grove woodshop is designed around your journey as a woodworker — from absolute beginners to experienced craftspeople, this is a supportive space for learning, practicing, and building
We offer a mix of classes, clinics, and an open woodshop to make it accessible to everyone
about our woodshop
For many people, woodworking conjures images of industrial machinery: loud things with spinning blades. While those can be wonderful tools, they’re built primarily to aid efficiency and make woodworking faster and more replicable.
By contrast, our woodshop is built around the art of hand tools, and places the craftsperson at the center of the process. It’s not about production, it’s about tactile judgment, studied technique, and human workmanship — the maker and the tool in harmony. While we do have a nice mix of power tools in our shop (and offer training clinics on how to use them), the machines are designed to complement the process rather than lead the dance.
Hand tools allow us to develop hand feel and technique, experiment with form and texture, master joinery, and learn the architecture of furniture and other objects. Here you can build, flatten, profile, shape, whittle, and carve in a space that is both safe for learning and experimentation while also being supportive of mastery.
woodworking pathways
Woodworking is like a language — let’s start with the basics, then learn how to apply those skills, and finally allow practice to grow your abilities, taking your craft to new and unexpected places
1. learn skills
Get a taste, build a foundation of skills, or expand your learning with clinics
2. build projects
Make cool stuff, gain fresh ideas, and access a guided practice
3. woodshop membership
Design and build almost anything, bring your ideas to life, and hone your craft
learn woodworking skills
Beginner Woodshop
A friendly, approachable, hands-on introduction to hand tool woodworking. Get a taste of magic of the craft and its core tools as you saw, chisel, plane, and carve wood on our classic workbenches
Woodworking Foundations
Our core class for anyone looking to begin a journey of woodworking — and the gateway for new woodworkers to join our woodworking community and its project classes, clinics, and open woodshop.
Foundations covers the core aspects of woodworking — from the materials, to the tools, the techniques, and of course, the mindset — as we design a beautiful household object over 4-5 sessions with a small cohort of learners
Carving & Sculpting
Carving is the meditative process of shaping, sculpting, or adding texture, engravings, and patterns to wood. It’s a means of slowing down to connect with the material through a celebration of grain and form.
Our beginner relief carving class introduces beginners to the material and the tools, presenting a way of working with wood that allows for warmth, character, and expression in virtually any object
Clinics
Expand your learning with instructional clinics that build on skills learned in Woodworking Foundations and Beginner Woodshop.
From joinery to finishes, materials to methods, our clinics aim to create smaller blocks of instruction to expose students to new ways of making and open up fresh possibilities in the woodshop. Other example clinics: sharpening, power tools, hand tools, fasteners, and more.
projects
let’s build, make and create things together
‘do it’ classes
Learn how to hang things on the wall (studs or drywall!), repair furniture, wire a light, and more
woodshop membership
Join as a Woodshop Member or Punch Pass holder to use Open Woodshop.
Design, and build almost anything, bring your ideas to life, and hone your craft.
For anyone looking to make something out of left field — or just a beautiful set of custom shelves. Access the space, tools, wood stock, and support you need to step up to the workbench and create something.
Got a vision? Want to play with a design concept? Want to just make cool stuff and have fun? Come work through a project, bounce ideas around, and collaborate. Practice your craft in our one-of-a-kind woodshop environment alongside a community of woodworkers. Daytime, evening, and weekend hours available every week.
Only students who have completed or are taking ‘Woodworking Foundations’ are eligible for a Woodshop Membership or Punch Pass
