About the Course
Class Description:
In order to become a strong woodworker, one must understand the material and master the tools that shape it. This course will take students through some of the most important challenges a fine woodworker faces in building long lasting, ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing objects. From the design phase, to the cutting and shaping, and into the assembly, students will learn how to create unique Tool Totes and come away with the know how to tackle any scale of project.
The Details:
After a tree is cut, milled and shaped, it is still living, in a sense, as its hydroscopic properties allow it to change dimensionally with its environment. This course will teach students to understand the specific physical properties of wood which will affect the way we design and shape our projects’ components.
Have you ever said to yourself “I can assemble Ikea furniture, what’s holding me back from doing the whole thing and making it myself!” … Well, nothing… aside from the access to tools and a shop, the main barrier is the ability to conceptualize a design, or read plans, and understand the best way to see your project through.
This course will allow students to do exactly that in designing their very own Tool Tote (Toolbox) according to their needs and preferences; the Tote may also have another purpose, like a condiment tray for outdoor BBQing for example.
A variety of assembly methods will be explored, including dovetail, mortise and tenon and pegged but joints. There will be emphasis on the decorative aspects of each joint and their functionality. Every step of the build will involve the introduction of specific tools and their optimal use including various carving techniques to add ornamentation and give each project its unique twist.
Your Instructor:
Rossel Bérard
"The most fulfilling part in making sculptural objects and furniture isn’t the end result, but rather the development and the fruition of an idea. Often, the shape or story of a material spawns the creative process; other times, the theme is preconceived, and the materials are simply a vehicle to and end. Carefully planned or spontaneously formed, each piece Rossel Bérard makes is like an itch that needs to be scratched, revealing the materials’ figurative beauty and the creator’s whimsical thoughts”.
Having received his first chisel set when he was in high school, Rossel carved his first sculpture out of plaster, which was exhibited at the Mendel art Gallery in Saskatoon the same year. Shortly afterwards, he participated in snow carving competitions, was trained in wood carving in Benin, West Africa, became a member of Prairie Sculptors Association with whom he exhibited wood carvings, and carved wooden sculptures in Mexico, Guatemala and northern Saskatchewan.
Over the past 10 years, Rossel has focused his attention on building Custom Furniture in Montreal, Quebec. He has exhibited his work Locally and
Internationally, and he has been an active participant for the EMMA International Collaboration in Northern Saskatchewan since 2012. Rossel now teaches Cabinet Making at Rosemount Technology Centre in Montreal and is constantly humbled by what he learns from his students and their shared explorations with wood.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites. Intermediate woodworking skills will allow for students to go further in the ornamentation aspect of the project (chip carving, low relief carving, power carving etc.)
What You Need To Bring
Measuring tape
Engineer square or Combination square
Bench chisels (1/4”, 1/2”, 3/4”)
Pencils
Not mandatory, but useful if you have them:
Hand tools, chisels, planes, saws, coping saw etc. if you have them
What Is Provided
Variety of hand tools (you can bring your own as well)
Locally harvested Wood
Inspiration from the Boreal Forest