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Over the past few weeks at the school, in the Impractical Studies program, students have completed their grain graphics and shaping exercise, made three planes including a jointer, smoother and a curved bottom plane. In doing so have sharpened and dialled in their handtools. Last week they have begun cutting carcass scale through dovetails and begun making more shop specific tools for their task at hand. This week, they have moved onto Joinery & Surfaces. In the Upward Spiral and Composing programs, joinery and surfaces and edges treatment are well underway. Our Resident Craftsman Caroline Woon, has returned and has just completed the upper rear assembly of her chair. Several visits from alumni in the past few weeks including Fergal Spain and family from county Sligo Ireland, always nice to see so many familiar faces around the school. In my own shop, I continue with my work, dismantling, cleaning, lubricating and tuning of each of Jim’s old machines, and getting myself organized. This past week, I moved my chair parts home from the school and more of my personal wood. My shop is 165 square feet in size, so when I bring something in it needs to have a place. The bandsaw and jointer are connected to power and have been looking at the options for connecting the shaper, table saw and mortiser, which are three phase machines. When the jointer arrived, it’s simple guard was in need of repair. The metal base was bent, and the wooden sole of the guard was cracked and was attached to the metal base with duct tape as the holes for the brass machine screws were stripped. I dismantled and cleaned and straightened the base, then repaired the sole and reattached it as shown below, maintaining all original paint. The restoration work is slow, but steady and very gratifying.

This coming week, I will return my attention to the tablesaw trunions and the sliding table. I have waited for more than a decade for a shop of my own again, and a place to continue with my work. In the Fine Art of Cabinetmaking, Jim wrote “The best shop for you is one in which you can do good work and feel happy doing it.” I am happy, and enjoying the work very, very much. 
Be well and enjoy your work,
Robert

This week at the school, we began the spring intake of the Impractical Cabinetmaker Program. We have students joining us from Canada, United States, Singapore and Cyprus enrolled in Impractical Studies, Upward Spiral and Composing. In the first week of Impractical Studies, Graphics & Edges, we have just completed the Gumby exercise. The exercise focuses on preparing our tools, careful selection of wood, and shaping including surface preparation and edges treatment. In the Upward Spiral program students have rough milled the stock for their solid wood piece and have moved onto dovetails. In the Composing program, students have selected the wood, mocked up, rough milled the stock for their pieces and have joinery underway. Our resident craftsman, Caroline Woon, who has just completed her second year of study, is taking a well desired break, joining her family in Europe for a few weeks.

A little over a week ago, JK’s original machines arrived in my home shop. I have spent the last week dialling in the placement of each and am awaiting the electrician to come by to connect them. I have begun the process tuning up each of the machines. I suspect this process will take several weeks, but will give me the opportunity to become familiar with the subtitles of each machine. This week, I began with the tablesaw and mortiser. I dismantled the chuck on the mortiser, cleaned and lubricated it which now runs freely and takes bits from 0-15mm.

This coming week I will remove the table and clean and lubricate the trunions which have not been moved much in the last decade. I will then turn my attention to the sliding table. I have included a few photographs of my little shop. The main shop is approximately ten by twelve feet and the adjacent wood room, which is also home to Jim’s old eighteen inch bandsaw measures about nine by five feet. His hand tools, hang above the bench and old mechanical press sits next to his old Italian shaper. Before he passed, he said he wanted his tools used. It was based on this comment, and a conversation I had with Yvonne that I have decided that the hand tools I have collected, pampered and used for more than twenty five years will remain at the school. As I sit in my shop writing this I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude, as I begin the return to my work.
Be well and enjoy your work,
Robert

I have been away a while. It seems, that since the fall of 2009, I have been at a loss for words. In the coming weeks I will begin to bring you up to date with the exciting developments at IPSFC. In a few months we will be entering our tenth year of providing quality craft education for the aspiring amateur. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people from across the world who have joined us over the years and are reminded that this school not only exists for you, but be cause of you.

This past week we moved my bench, JK’s hand tools, wood to my new home shop. Yvonne and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a few very special machines, which we will share with you in the coming weeks on the Journal. Every time I walk through its doors, I am reminded my partner in life and work who has been with me my entire life as a craftsman. Without my soul mate, none of this would be possible.
Be well and enjoy your work,
Robert

I always thought of myself as a woodworker, but spent most of my life not really knowing what was possible in this craft. The Artisan Program changed all that. Studying the fundamentals for six intense weeks at Inside Passage broadened my perspective. I learned a new way of working that opened my eyes to all kinds of possibilities. I had to go back for more!

So, I enrolled in the Craftsman Program. It was a major commitment of time, energy and resources, but definitely worth it. Every day I was pushed to my limit, and then some, but that’s what helped me grow. The support of Robert and Yvonne, and of my fellow students created a welcoming atmosphere at the school that made it a great place to learn. Robert’s teaching, and the James-Krenov-way-of-working that is the foundation for this fine school, brought me to a place of confidence in, and enjoyment of, this craft that I don’t think I could have found anywhere else.

Most recently, I had the opportunity to make a reproduction of Vidar’s chair in the Journeyman Program. This was just what I needed to push my skills to the next level. Chairs are challenging to make, and this chair was no exception. It presented studies in grain graphics, shaping and fitting of complex joinery that demanded my full attention.

Robert, thank you for generously sharing your expertise and for helping me see what was possible. My work will always reflect the huge influence that you and the school have had on my woodworking career. In the beginning, I had high expectations of Inside Passage. Now, I’m happy to say they were all exceeded!

I completed the artisan program in 2012. I have always been someone who was interested in woodworking but had never spent enough time practicing to get really good at cabinetmaking. I was also alone in my craft and wasn’t aware of what was required to get the kind of results I achieved at the course at Inside Passage. I have a busy job in Australia as the director of a charity helping children and young people in Sydney and after many years in the position decided to take an extended break to follow that passion. I searched online and found Inside Passage; I emailed Yvonne the schools administrator to find out more about the program. I was worried about whether I would qualify for the course. She assured me that I would be fine and that there were people at different skills level attending and I would be able to complete the work. She was right and I felt very confortable in the classroom.

Yvonne also sent me an accommodation list of people in Roberts Creek who are happy to rent a room, I contacted a local and stayed in a beautiful house at a very reasonable cost that was two minutes from the College. I am still in contact with some local people; two visited me in Australia recently.

Robert Van Norman the Resident Craftsman and Teacher made me feel valued and respected as a student and was always willing to help me fix mistakes Id made, “not that I made that many mistakes”.

The course changed my understanding of the craft and I learned so much about how to sharpen tools, appreciate timber and its qualities, use hand tools and machinery and produce a beautiful piece of furniture. It was intensive and very instructive with Robert demonstrating every step of the way. As I said other students were at different skills levels and we often worked in teams, this helped me to build confidence in the work.

Apart from the new skills I learned I also made new friends in the course and am in contact with some of my fellow students to this day. Robert and Yvonne made me welcome and I am deeply indebted to their kindness support and friendship. Roberts Creek is a beautiful place in the forest and on the sea. The experience did change my life and I know that I will return to the School one day for further study.

Now that I’m back in Sydney I have begun to build a number of pieces of furniture including a side table and two chairs. I am also designing a series of pencil cases in Jarrah a native Australian timber.

Inside Passage, two words that make me feel so many things. I was fortunate in attending the two year program this school has to offer, the “school of life” I will always refer to it. This place is a place in which I learned to respect so many things, the process on working with wood, the hands that make it happen and the state of mind that is required to make work of this quality. I was intimidated when I first got there, I had little experience in working with wood, and the technique I brought to the school was nothing but a confused mind trying to make something happen. I never imagined that so many shapes and processes could be made in such a “simple – complex” way. Once started, I realized how fortunate I was in having Robert Van Norman as my teacher, a true honor for me sharing that space with him. Yvonne and Robert have put together a program in a way that I learned concepts and practical solutions that I couldn’t even think about. This program made me be conscious about my skill as a craftsman and as a human being. Roberts Creek is a place in which you will bring your game to the highest possible level, a place in which your mind will flow with the rhythm that nature offers, learning every day about yourself and about your work. Skill is hidden within our selves, and will remain in there if we are not able to recognize our strengths and weaknesses. Mr. James Krenov sends a strong message on each one of his books, messages that will teach each one of us differently. Robert is loyal to the way of teaching that Mr. Krenov will like to see happen in this school; more important to the simplicity of life once you discover yourself. Mr. Krenov wrote on one of his books, “I don’t love working – it is working well that I love.” Inside Passage taught me how to work more than well, it will be now time to make my dreams happen, I am prepared to do so.

When I first applied to the Inside Passage, my knowledge of James Krenov was quite limited. Yes, I had heard of him but had not yet read any of his books. I was unprepared as to how profound of an impact this program was going to have on me.

Already in the four months I have attended the program, I know my life has been affected and changed forever. The learning atmosphere is one that resonates with me. Not only are we divulged into this craft and the qualities of wood but it is also a wonderful journey into the self of every single one of us. This has honestly been one of the most challenging, rewarding, and personal growth journeys I have experienced.

I can’t say enough good things about my experience at Inside Passage during the 12 weeks I spent at the school over the Summer of 2010. I’ve attended a few different woodworking schools, and finding a School that instills such thoroughness, integrity and commitment to excellence is very rare. You can tell that Robert really cares not only about the craft of fine furniture making, but also about being a great teacher.

I signed up for the Artisan Program, where I learned the fundamentals of fine furniture making using hand tools and machines, and then immediately followed that course with the six week Resident Artisan Program, where I was able to put my skills to use building a small cabinet.

I was amazed at how high a level of craftsmanship Robert was able to teach to all of us during the program. He never takes short cuts or lets students with less experience fall behind. He was very patient and always willing to answer questions, even those that were asked repeatedly. I appreciated how he would put in extra time for individual attention when anything was challenging and also give extra small projects to people who were moving ahead quickly. When I was working on my cabinet during the second part of the program, Robert was great about giving me the flexibility to design my own piece, but was always available to help me work through problem spots.

The facilities and equipment at the school were excellent and I thought Robert and Yvonne fostered a nice, collegial atmosphere amongst all of the students. Spending the summer 300 yards from a beach with views of snow-capped mountains in the drop-dead gorgeous Pacific Northwest was a treat as well, although I found myself drawn to the woodshop most of the time.

Inside Passage is a really unique school and I consider myself lucky to have had the time to attend their program.

To summarize my experiences during the 6 week Artisan Program is daunting. The program was exceptionally comprehensive with an excellent balance of theory and hands-on with the emphasis on developing hand skills and an intimacy with wood. Robert has a gift of reading a student’s ability and nudging it forward in a positive and rewarding manner. I found the atmosphere to be very fresh and energizing and this I think is due to the influences of Robert, the craftsmen and support staff (Yvonne) of the school. The location of The Inside Passage is an experience of its own. The memories and skills I came home with are a gift of a lifetime. My 6 weeks passed by far too quickly!

Driving back gave me lots of time to think about my time at Inside Passage and appreciate the experience. I really miss the time in the shop with all of you. I enjoyed the experience more than I can describe. Being there 6 consecutive weeks makes a tremendous difference in your emotional attachment to the people and to the type of work you are doing. Looking back at my time with you, I know that I made the right decision choosing Inside Passage and spending 6 weeks in Roberts Creek.

I am re-reading The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking and appreciate its sentiments for the first time, especially the first 60 pages. Thanks to you, Robert, and to Jim for the inspiration to spend more time feeling, listening, smelling – just sensing wood. I have no idea if what I make will be any good, but it will be more in tune with the wood itself.

I know first-hand how tough it is to make a start-up operation work financially. I also understand the emotional and physical strain that it brings to the proprietors. I think the way you two work together is impressive. Keep that alive and Robert please stay healthy! In addition to providing kudos for both of you, however, I would like to support the school in some way that makes sense. I was thinking about helping you build out the gallery with student work. I would make available for the next 3 years an amount each year for acquiring student work. The pieces would stay in the gallery for 2 years after acquisition date and then would be mine to leave there or move. The gallery would win, in that it has more work to display. The students would have some income. I would acquire beautiful work at a fair price.