About

Help launch BARN's new Japanese woodworking program as you learn to set up Japanese-style chisels and planes. These tools never arrive ready to use; they always require fine-tuning, and this class will teach you the steps.

The class will work on tools that BARN is buying for use in beginning Japanese woodworking classes. But once you get hooked on this style of woodworking, you are likely to buy your own tools and will need the information covered in this class.

To set up the wooden-body planes used in Japanese woodworking, you will learn how to flatten the back of the blade, shapen the bevel edge on water stones, and fit the chipper blade. You will fine-tune the wooden block and condition its base with a scraper plane. Then you will learn to set and adjust the blade.

Turning to the chisels, you will learn how to fit the handle ring, and how to prepare the back of the blade and sharpen the bevel edge.

Details:

• Open to beginners 14+.
• There is no materials fee for this class.

Instructor: Gary Bella  grew up in western Pennsylvania.  After college and art school, he moved to the Bay Area in California and began working in Marin County with several firms in residential construction. Later, he specialized in finish carpentry while developing a design/build business. He took classes with traditional Japanese teahouse carpenter Makoto Imai and later worked primarily with Makoto building traditional houses and tea houses in California, New York and Washington. After he moved to Bainbridge in 2003, he continued to build Japanese-inspired projects for private clients. He was among the master craftsmen who restored the Japanese guest house at the Bloedel Reserve.