I met Robert a few years ago when I took a two-week beginning woodworking class at a school in Ontario. I was greatly impressed with his skill and his teaching style and thoroughly enjoyed the course. When I was considering taking another course I learned that he had opened Inside Passage. Since I was very interested in taking another course from Robert, and since it is so close to where I live, I decided to take a one-week course from him in the summer of ’05. While there, I decided to take the nine-month course that fall. I wasn’t working at the time, and didn’t really have any other commitments, so it was an easy decision for me.
I have to say that my time there was an experience of a lifetime. People arrive there from many different situations and backgrounds, but I considered myself pretty fortunate, at age 51, to be able to just drop everything on short notice and take a 9-month woodworking course. There was a real excitement in the beginning, I think partly because we were the first class to go through the program. I’m sure every class has its own dynamic, but as a group we really seemed to come together from the beginning, and throughout the course we enjoyed a supportive, creative environment. Of course, Robert’s teaching style had a lot to do with fostering that environment. The result is that you learn a great deal from your fellow students, from their good ideas, their successes, and even their mistakes. This is implemented formally in the weekly “walkarounds” where each student talks about the progress of their project, but it also happens on a more informal basis because you are in such close contact with the others and naturally curious about their projects.
As far as the technical skills gained through the program, I feel it was a bargain. I suppose some people can teach themselves the skills, or possibly learn through an apprenticeship, but it was unlikely that I would have ever learned on my own what I took away from that course. It gave me a confidence that I lacked. I didn’t know much going into the course, but now I feel that I know how to approach all phases of a project, from concept to completion. We learned a great deal about design. Not just an aesthetic sense, but how to go from idea to sketches, to mockup, to final design, and how to evaluate the design and look for subtle changes that can affect the overall feeling of the piece. I also have a much better understanding of the overall process of furniture building. I now know how to use tools effectively, and how to modify them or make my own for special tasks. When I returned to my shop after completing the course, I noticed that it was almost as if my hands knew what to do without me having to think about it. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that I still have a lot to learn, but I know that this will come from experience. The course let me take a leap to a level of skill and confidence that would have taken me years to achieve.
Roberts Creek is in a beautiful area, and the town itself has a real charm and friendliness. The Pacific Northwest is like nowhere else, and I think people from the East are particularly amazed at its unique beauty.
As the course progresses, you will spend more time in the shop, including weekends and evenings. But the truth is, Roberts Creek doesn’t offer that many distractions, and the school is where your friends are. At times the course can be stressful, particularly when you are trying to meet a project deadline. But as I mentioned to another student while I was there, if we weren’t working this hard, we wouldn’t feel we were getting our money’s worth.
Robert and Yvonne are truly kind and generous people who have thrown all of themselves into this endeavor, and it really shows. Being part of that group gave me a real sense of community. In fact, I still visit occasionally to try to keep that connection and always come home feeling inspired and recharged.
My how time flies by! We have just completed our ninth week of the Craftsman Program and students are nearing the completion of their fundamental skills before moving onto our first project. Since our last newsletter, students have been busy completing a number of exercises.
Students were shown the process of cutting through and half lapped dovetails and were given the opportunity to practice these skills before moving onto drawer making and fitting.
The wood behaved well and moved very little. Robert shared with the class the traditional method of making these planes before demonstrating a method he developed since he began teaching.
Plane and tool making will be an ongoing activity throughout the year. Already several planes have been made including smoother, Jointer, Scraper, compass, and spoon bottom. One student has even undertaken a plane less than two inches long for detail work. He will have to make an iron and cap iron of less than half an inch in width for this plane. This coming week, chair scrapes will be made. Chair scrapes can be used in shaping and surface preparation of even the most difficult woods. As the students will be making brass knife and “L“ hinges for their projects, this exercise also serves as an introduction to working with brass.
Thanks giving supper was held at the Van Norman’s, where a crowd of over more than twenty students, their families, and friends gathered to share wonderful food and conversation. Michael Mulrooney turned thirty-nine on the 20th of October. As is tradition, it was the previous birthday person’s responsibility to provide the cake. Jason made a cake in the shape of a wooden hand plane, including milk chocolate cross pin and iron, white chocolate cape iron, and orange peel shavings. Jason’s skills clearly extend beyond the craft of woodworking and Michael has a tough act to follow
This month we began “walk-arounds” which, once projects are underway, will become a weekly activity. This month Cody Bradford, one of our Resident Bench Craftsmen, shared with the class his pear, apple, satin walnut, and shoji wall cabinet. Cody began by showing us his sketches, the mockup, and then the actual piece underway. The cabinet is full of lovely curves and fine details and will be presented at our first faculty-student show and open house on January 28, 2006.The students found Cody’s presentation very thorough and worthwhile. Pete Heilman, our other Resident Bench Craftsman from New York, shared with us the alter he is making which will soon to have a home in a local church
Once the shaping and flattening is complete, we reheat the tool to cherry red and quench it in peanut oil. This process hardens the metal, leaving it a bit brittle. The back is re-flattened and polished. The tool is then slowly heated at the nonworking end of the tool until it reaches near the cutting edge. It is then requenched in the peanut oil tempering the tool and making it more durable. Handles are then fashioned out of offcuts of sustainable exotic hardwoods.
On Tuesday we moved onto double tapered laminations where students began with form-making. Students sketched the desired shape of a leg. Then a piece of 1/4″ MDF was band sawed in the shape of the leg. Spokeshaves, planes,files, and flexible sanding strips were used to fair and refine the curve. Each student then made a tapered-sled to thickness plane laminations to fit their individual form within a few .001″. The laminations were then pressed into the form using flexible cauls creating a tapered lamination which was then cleaned up with planes, spokeshaves, and a file.
Later in the week, we moved onto curved veneered panels. Students began by drawing the top view of a curved door, making a template, and refining it as previously done with the tapered lamination form. A form was derived from this template and once constructed, three layers of Italian bending ply were laminated in the vacuum press in the form with a shop-sawn piece of veneer placed in as a spacer. Once dry the substrate was removed, baked in edges were applied then cleaned up. Students then carefully re-sawed a plank of western maple and removed the edges to be re-applied after veneering. Veneers of 3/32″, were cut, cleaned up with planes and scrapers, then applied using the vacuum press. Once out of the press, these edges are cleaned up and applied edges are shot with a hand plane before being applied on the curved veneered panel. Once complete the surfaces were hand-planed and edges made friendly.
We began the week, as we generally do, by preparing the hand tools required for the week. Students prepared block planes, jointer and smoother planes, as well as card and cabinet scrapers, chisels, and spoke shaves. Students took advantage of our evening hours throughout the week to tune up their tools.
After lunch we moved onto shop-sawn veneers. Students carefully re-sawed a plank of maple, cutting veneers of 3/32″, cleaned them up with planes and scrapers and then applied those veneers—using both mechanical and vacuum press methods—to a baltic birch substrate fitted with baked-in poplar and maple edges. After applying edges to it, the panel was cleaned up using a block plane, smoothing planes, and a file. We burnished the surface with the smoothing plane shavings, leaving a surface ready for finish.
With the veneered panel exercise nearing completion, we moved onto tapered laminations where students began with form making. A piece of poplar was band sawed into the shape of a small leg. Spokeshaves, planes, and files were then used to fair and refine the curve. Each student made a tapered sled to be passed through the planer, in order to achieve their individual form within a few .001″. The laminations were then pressed into the form, creating a tapered lamination, which was then cleaned up with planes, spokeshaves, and a file. Using a two-piece form forces the craftsman to work very accurately. The method that uses flexible cauls was also explained to simplify future work.
As James Krenov suggests after doing precise work it is often nice to just “make shavings”. So, we spent Friday making a small coopered door. Students began by refining their edge jointing skills and learning how to shift the staves so as not to disrupt the grain pattern. They then learned careful glue-up strategies, moved onto hand planing the concave and convex surfaces of the door, and then finally making all edges friendly.
t our school we encourage students to develop a sensible balance between hand and machine tools. This last week, for Robert, it was the challenge to find the sensible balance between his own work, teaching, and the demands of running a school. Luckily, Robert is blessed with a fine support group at the school and in the surrounding community of Roberts Creek.
A fine craftsman, an inspiring teacher, and a dear friend—Michael Burns—joined us for Making Hardware this week at Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking. Michael was accompanied by his wife Julie, a warm and gentle spirit who is capable of brightening anyone’s day.
Each student began with a sketch, made a mock-up, then refined the mock-up, before moving onto making a pull (complete with joinery) of precious wood provided. Wooden pulls are typically done in pairs, making them easier to handle. Shaping and cutting the joinery for two provides matched end-grain on the finished pull. Walk-arounds were done on a regular basis throughout the week to ensure students were given a broader perspective of the work being done by their peers in the class.
In the afternoon of the second day, students moved onto working with brass and performed an exercise in cutting, squaring, and shaping brass using simple tools. Michael began to demonstrate some of the many patinas available – including using cupric nitrate, shavings and heat, and combinations thereof. Patination was taught on an ongoing basis, giving the students ample opportunity to experiment with many of the patinas available.
On Wednesday, Michael began by talking about applications and the appropriate sizes of knife hinges. Students learned about the processes involved—including drilling for pins, reaming holes, countersinking for screws, and shaping. Students each had the opportunity to make several pairs of straight hinges while Michael went on to teach the applications and the process of making offset L hinges.
Bob gave a talk about his goals of improving on commercially available hinges including making the installation easier and improving the fit and finish. Bob also demonstrated the making of ring pulls. He has a sound knowledge of the subject, is a fine craftsman, and has a clear and gentle way of presenting his ideas and thoughts. We hope to see more of him in the future at Inside Passage. For more information about Sanderson hardware, including custom work please contact the school directly.
On Wednesday evening, we were joined by students, former students, former classmates, teachers, family, and friends as Michael spoke and presented a slide show which documented his work and the work of his students, with an emphasis on hardware. There was a full house at the Gumboot Café followed by an open house at the school were our newest addition to the gallery—a coopered lid, dovetailed box of Myrtle by Michael Burns, including hardware of brass, and silk lid stays woven by a colleague of Michael’s from the college – was shown. In attendance were seven College of the Redwoods alumni including Larry Stroud, a lovely man and fine craftsman from Sebastopol, California who also took Michael’s class.
On Thursday, Michael moved onto the making of drop pulls of brass and wood. He brought with him several samples of his own work, as well as those made by Greg Smith, currently a teacher at CR, and Jay T. Scott, a graduate of the CR program. Students then went through the processes of designing and making his/her own drop pull.
The inaugural Artisan D: Joinery class was held this week at Inside Passage where students were introduced to joinery used in fine furniture making. As usual, we began the week sharpening and tuning the hand tools required for surface and edge preparation and the final fitting of joinery. In addition to their block planes, chisels, and scribes, students were provided with wooden smoother and jointer planes made at the school which were then tuned by the students themselves, while they took advantage of evening hours throughout the week.
With the necessary preparation work behind us, students were introduced to a simple yet effective low-tech doweling method using the drill press, horizontal boring machine, and/ or a hand drill. Students were given the opportunity to use these new-found methods to complete a small wall cabinet. The cabinet, done in poplar, was prepared with the same considerations and care used in making fine furniture. Each component of the cabinet was hand-planed and the edges softened to a friendly “happy” state. Students were introduced to the concept of let-go, making the cabinet slightly tapered from front to back. This allows the maker to fit a drawer that runs true and—just before leaving the cabinet—the drawer tightens, preventing it from falling out of the cabinet and onto the ground.
With the cabinet doweled, students planed the back of the cabinet flush and routed a rabbit to accept a frame and panel back. The cabinet was then carefully assembled in three stages: A frame and panel was made with considerations for seasonal movement and grain orientation; open mortise and tenon joinery was used on a fitted panel with a hidden pin (allowing the panel to come and go with seasonal humidity); and finally the frame and panel surfaces, and the edges were prepared for finish and carefully assembled.
Next we covered variations of the mortise and tenon joints—such joints as live, floating, compound, multiple, and wedged tenons. These joints were executed using a router and slot mortiser. Next we moved onto the careful fitting of the frame and panel into the back of the students’ cabinets.
We finished another week of classes at Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking. This week we were pleased to host Julie Godfrey from Massachusetts. Julie studied under modern masters James Krenov and Silas Kopf and was a classmate of Robert’s at the College of the Redwoods. It was especially nice for their families to have the opportunity to reconnect.
A group project was started using the Boulle method, where brass and typically rosewood or ebony is used to create a negative of one another. The scroll saw was used for this process. And Julie emphasized throughout, that organization is the key since there are so many little pieces of wood and brass.
On Thursday evening Julie presented a slide show and spoke a little on the history of Marquetry, from its early forms on up to the modern masters –including the work of Silas Kopf and her own. We had a wonderful turnout for the show including Brad Bielka, another classmate of Robert and Julie’s from Santa Cruz, and his partner Lisa. The open house that followed proved to be an excellent opportunity for students to show and talk about their work, and for the community of Roberts Creek to have a closer look at what our school is all about.
From their working drawings, students made templates of the legs which they then faired and refined, and later used to create full-sized models (or mockups) of their chairs. The mockups were made of poplar and screwed together so that they could be disassembled quickly to make refinements. This process can typically last several days.
After several years of frustration involved in finding an upholsterer to do fine work, Ejler approached an upholsterer who was willing to give him a crash-course, providing he would not bother him again. Ejler has certainly refined the process since then. He showed the group the upholstering—including the seat frame, webbing, use of Dacron and foam, covering, and finishing. The end result was a seat that was comfortable and looked great!
In the end, there were nine refined mockups and nine very happy students. Elephants was held in Ejler and Karen’s honor, where we were joined by family, friends, and former and future students of Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking.
On Tuesday the students were introduced to simple metallurgy when they converted common files into paring and dovetail chisels. We began by heating the file to cherry red using a MPS* gas (common to the plumbing industry) and allowing it to gradually cool. This process softens the steel enabling the maker to shape and flatten the tool with grinders, metal belt and disc sanders, then eventually move onto sandpaper, diamond, and water stones. Once the shaping and flattening is complete we reheat the tool to cherry red and quench it in peanut oil. This process hardens the metal but leaves it a bit brittle.
The back is then re-flattened and polished by the student. The tool is then slowly heated at the non-working end of the tool until it reaches a straw-like color near the cutting edge. It is then re-quenched in the peanut oil, tempering the tool and making it more durable. Handles are then fashioned out of off-cuts of sustainable exotic hardwoods.
After two days of metalworking, we were ready to put all of the preparation to use and start cutting dovetails. We began with a demonstration of cutting the pins and were joined by Gary Kent, a College of the Redwoods graduate, who will be teaching with Robert during the Craftsman Program this fall.
Thursday, students were given the opportunity to cut through dovetails in Doussie—where they soon discovered the difference cutting dovetails in a harder more brittle wood. The remainder of the afternoon and evening students spent cutting through dovetails in Alder and Poplar, two woods of similar properties yet they present a contrast consistent with that of a typical drawer.
We have just completed another week of classes here at Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking. This week it was Plane Making & Surfaces. In this class, students began with the process of harpening and tuning-up a few simple tools used in the process of making wooden hand planes. Block planes were tuned and sharpened, allowing the student to remove end-grain shavings less than .001″ thick. Spokeshaves and chisels were also tuned and sharpened, and later used in the clean-up and shaping of our wooden planes.
We began with a blank of Lyptus, a sustainable hybrid hardwood. Commonly used in flooring, the properties of Lyptus lend themselves well to plane making. Its dense, relatively easy to work with, hard-wearing properties are most suitable for making planes capable of producing very fine surfaces.
After being cut slightly oversized, shoulders were cut using our Inca cabinetmakers saw, then cheeks were cut on the bandsaw. We then returned to the solitude of the benchroom where, using hand tools, the cross pin was carefully fitted to our plane body awaiting assembly. Following a dry run and necessary alterations, our planes were glued then allowed to set.
At that point, students were given the opportunity to begin work on a second plane with a more specific purpose in mind – joiner, coopering, compass, polishing, spoon, bottom … the possibilities are endless!
On May the 23rd, Inside Passage School of Fine Cabinetmaking opened its doors. Our summer schedule kicked off with Veneers and Curves, a five-day class open to woodworkers of all levels.
As James Krenov suggests after doing precise work it is often nice to just “make shavings”. We spent the rest of the week making a small coopered door. Students began by refining their edge jointing skills and learning how to shift the staves so as not to disrupt the grain pattern. They then learned careful glue-up strategies and moved onto hand planing the concave and convex surfaces of the door and making all edges “friendly” or “happy”, as a student once suggested to me.
Our on-site gallery will give students the opportunity to display and sell their woodwork in a setting where the furniture of acclaimed woodworkers like James Krenov, Michael Burns and our own Robert Van Norman will be on permanent display. We are particularly pleased to have, as our first acquisition, the latest cabinet by James Krenov. Please visit our 
The faculty had a special opportunity to visit with Jim Krenov at his workshop in Fort Bragg, California. We had a chance to discuss the curriculum of the 9-month Craftman Program beginning at Inside Passage and to talk about the design aspect of his latest piece.