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North Bennet street school- My journey

24K views 92 replies 25 participants last post by  helluvawreck 
#1 ·
like a dream

I have been trying to describe the feeling to my family for 3 weeks now. Its hard to put into words. The only thing I can think to relate it to is that of someone meeting a celebrity they care greatly about. Like a kid heavily into basketball meeting an NBA star then spending a couple years with him…on a pivate court…with others as obsessed and determined about basketball as he is. Even when described its not easy to comprehend unless you experience it.
4 Weeks ago I took a plunge. Applied for North Bennet street schools 2 year cabinet and furniture making program. I honestly never even thought I would hear back from them. I still honestly dont know why I got chosen! I was informed there was one bench left for the Febuary 2011 classes. A month from then. The next day I was on my way to boston to tour the school and fill out my financial aid paper work. Now here I sit typing this, unable to sleep, unable to sit still, unable to do anything really other then think about monday morning when I will be getting up to go attend my first day of school. I have no formal back ground. Only tons of research, hardwork and determination, will and total pure and unconditional love for my craft. For me this is the experience of a lifetime. I feel totaly honered by this and it feels unfair to me at times that not everyone that loves woodworking gets to go through the utter excitment and shock of being able to attend this wonderfull school. I remember reading Dan Faia's articles, and one of Steve Browns new ones right before I enrolled. And never mind lance…litteraly a genious. The opportunity to learn from these men is one of the most incredible things you could possibly ask for in this life. The library there doesnt hurt either!
I feel I need to blog about my whole 2 year experience. I want to try and give the community here of woodworkers a bit of a taste of what lifestyle and experience is like. Hopefully inspire some to try and enroll, help excite some who might be going themselves soon and last but not least bring encouragment and excitement to those who wish to go but for whatever circumstance cant. I will try and blog almost daily if I can with constant photos and updates. I feel that hopefully I can share some helpfull tips and lessons that I pick up along the way that might be hard to aquire elsewhere.
I will be starting up a blog on a blogsite but will post every entry here as well and I will also be posting updates on my twitter page. I want to really keep up with this so I really hope I get some of you to follow this series. I know 2 years is a long time but really…if we arent woodworking we are on here so take 10 mins and read…you MIGHT learn or get inspired!
Leave some comments or drop me a PM and let me know what you all think of this! Also if anyone knows what a good site for blogging is please let me know and give me your tips. Thanks!
Ill post a new entry Monday!
 
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#6 ·
Good luck at NBSS… this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Thanks for doing the blog. I have visited the school for a day and would love to take a workshop there. It is soooo impressive!
Looking forward to the blog entries!
 
#10 ·
Congratulations! I can well understand your excitement. I'm sure this will be the beginning of something really good. I've read all the FWW articles by faculty members there and I always learned something valuable from them. Good luck and God's speed!
 
#11 ·
Congratulations! The knowledge that you gain is something that can never be taken from you. As I read your blog I will come to wish I was 45 years younger. But I know that I wouldn't want to go through it all again.
 
#13 ·
I'll tell you what I think of it. At 61 years of age, I will simply say I would almost drop everything and go with you if I could get in which of course I couldn't. Ain't nobody gonna let a 61 year old worn out helluvawreck into a place like that. Of course I'm just going on with you. Unfortunately, I couldn't go because of my family obligations no matter how bad I wanted to. However, I'm sure gonna congratulate you and pull for you along the way. I hope it works out well and wish you the best of luck and God speed. You put that blog up and most likely I'll become a follower of it. God bless.

helluvawreck

https://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
 
#14 ·
Thanks for all the great responses guys! I am glad to see there is a seemingly large base here that is interested in the experience. I will absoloutly follow through with a daily blog on my experiences. I know not a day will go by where I dont learn something or have something to share so I will absoloutly share with the community. Thanks for the support!
 
#15 ·
So incredibly jealous coopman! I'm local to NBSS (well, 30 minutes) and have spent many nights debating taking a LOA from my job to take the 9 month course there. I'd absolutely follow a blog if you create one!

Good luck, and take it all in!
 
#16 ·
Congratulation and best wishes. I live in the area and have been fortunate enough to take four workshops in the cabinet and furniture making program. Each one has been an amazing experience. I learned so much more than just the intended content of the courses by being exposed to such talented instructors.

Enjoy the ride!
 
#17 ·
I am glad that your dream has come true. For me my life took a different path. But I will enjoy reading about yours. God speed on your endeavors. You know we might even pick up a tip or two.
I would like to make you a buddy so I will see all your posts.
 
#19 ·
Congratulations! This is like getting into Harvard for us East coast guys! The Red Woods school would be my second choice along with working with David Marks. Can't wait to read along. What is your twitter account under so I can follow along there too?
 
#20 ·
Rxmpo, thanks for the kind words and yes it is exactly like garbage except…well, better!
As for twitter I would love for you to follow! I had been trying to tweet alot because it's so easy to do constant updates and I like it but noone was really following so I died on it a little bit. If I can catch some support I would love to get into it! Supercoopman is my twitter name.
 
#21 ·
Day one

Running on no sleep and a heap of adrenaline I boarded the bus that I will be riding for the next 2 years everyday and made the trip to Boston bright and early.
I arrived at NBSS an hour early however I was able to get right in and start filling out yet…MORE paper work.
Then it all began…Miguel gomez-Ibanez gave a beautiful speech. Describing how this was the happiest day of our lives as it was his when he was in our spot. It was a treat being in his preasence never mind getting ecouragment from him.
We all did introductions and it even brought one of my classmates to tears she is so happy to be there!
The partnership that forms in the classroom and in the building period is astonishing! You are all there for one reason…to do good work. Some more so then others, but the ones with true passion and heavy duty drive thrive off of each other and we can all sense that. After getting the grand tour by Lance and hearing some extremely funny stories from him that I honestly dont think were intended to be funny we were presented with the "incubator". Our bench room for the next life time. Its small and pleasent and Dan Faia warmed us up to it very quickly. With his kind teaching manor he briefed us on drafting and gave us our drafting tool list. At lunch time most of us made the journey downstairs to the store to purchase our drafting tools and then headed back upstairs to work. I got completely lost in drafting. I lost track of time or even the total sense of it. 4 hours of the afternoon felt like 5 minuits. I had no drafting experience whatsoever but Dan and the schools calm and simple teaching methods make you feel like a total champ from the get go. It was refreshing for me being totaly self taught to have someone to ask any question to and get one on one attention. Its actually difficult to get used to the fact that you can get this much personal attention.
I will post photos of my bench and my first drafts…tomorrow I will continue to try and work my way through the packet of joinery to draft. Please post any questions you have and I will try my best to answer all of them!
Furniture Wood Bottle Flooring Floor


Furniture Table Building Wood Flooring


Wood Office supplies Triangle Ruler Line


Font Rectangle Parallel Engineering Schematic


Rectangle Font Parallel Engineering Pattern
 

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#22 ·
Day one

Running on no sleep and a heap of adrenaline I boarded the bus that I will be riding for the next 2 years everyday and made the trip to Boston bright and early.
I arrived at NBSS an hour early however I was able to get right in and start filling out yet…MORE paper work.
Then it all began…Miguel gomez-Ibanez gave a beautiful speech. Describing how this was the happiest day of our lives as it was his when he was in our spot. It was a treat being in his preasence never mind getting ecouragment from him.
We all did introductions and it even brought one of my classmates to tears she is so happy to be there!
The partnership that forms in the classroom and in the building period is astonishing! You are all there for one reason…to do good work. Some more so then others, but the ones with true passion and heavy duty drive thrive off of each other and we can all sense that. After getting the grand tour by Lance and hearing some extremely funny stories from him that I honestly dont think were intended to be funny we were presented with the "incubator". Our bench room for the next life time. Its small and pleasent and Dan Faia warmed us up to it very quickly. With his kind teaching manor he briefed us on drafting and gave us our drafting tool list. At lunch time most of us made the journey downstairs to the store to purchase our drafting tools and then headed back upstairs to work. I got completely lost in drafting. I lost track of time or even the total sense of it. 4 hours of the afternoon felt like 5 minuits. I had no drafting experience whatsoever but Dan and the schools calm and simple teaching methods make you feel like a total champ from the get go. It was refreshing for me being totaly self taught to have someone to ask any question to and get one on one attention. Its actually difficult to get used to the fact that you can get this much personal attention.
I will post photos of my bench and my first drafts…tomorrow I will continue to try and work my way through the packet of joinery to draft. Please post any questions you have and I will try my best to answer all of them!
Furniture Wood Bottle Flooring Floor


Furniture Table Building Wood Flooring


Wood Office supplies Triangle Ruler Line


Font Rectangle Parallel Engineering Schematic


Rectangle Font Parallel Engineering Pattern
Thanks for the update it's great to know all the details of what's happening ,I look forward to more information.
 

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#35 ·
Day two.

First off thank you for the many responses I recieved last night and throughout the day. I enjoyed reading them and drew alot of encouragment from them. I also thank you for the questions asked! It really shows the interest in this series and I will answer them as best I can first off.
In answer to doordude, those questions are not weird they are normal. We can really do whatever we want for lunch. A few went out today actualy and got subs, as there as many great subshops on the north end. I have been brownbagging and used the microwave we have but I am sure I will go out a number of times. In answer to Julie, NO. The school takes on all types. We have someone in the upper bench room who has been a furniture maker for 20 years and decided to join the school and he got the same fundamental classes as everyone else and went back to start so to speak. We also have some with little or no prior experience and they are welcome and kicking butt. Its about will, work and love really.

As for day two it was a great day. We were all settled in the room and the 11 of us got much closer as a whole today which was nice. We helped each other on occasion with drawings. Went for walks to the upper bench room and looked at the second year students pieces and got inspired, and then just talked endlessly about furniture and woodworking as we worked. Seeing the second year student pieces in construction was truely amazing and left me with a HUGE amount of motivation. I was happily suprised when Lance checked all my drawings in the afternoon and found only one line on one drawing that needed to be erased and thats it! It made me thrilled and helped me press on. I spent alot of time today, more then I wish I had, walking around and talking to other students, listening to lance and dan and taking in knowledge outside of drafting so tomorrow I will hit it hard. I also learned some about machinery today, as we had an issue with the new Powermatic 12" long bed jointer with the plastic handles breaking so Lance and Dan gave us a briefing on "how to not break those handles" and it ended up in Lance giving a basic education of the jointer which included some things I honestly never knew about the fence and alignment.

I plan to hit it hard tomorrow and maybe have a little late of a day because i would like to get through my packet of joinery to draft and move on to drafting furniture. I have a goal of being done my shaker night stand and almost through my tool box by the end of the first simester so I have to kick it up. Over all the school challenges you hard but in a easy and calm way in which you honestly dont realise you are being challenged.
Me and another student also got into a nice loooong disscussion with Lance about tapered housed sliding dovetails to the point that we got into the period history of the joint and Lance even broke out a modified wooden shoulder plan made to match the angle of the dovetail.

Here are my photos for the day. Questions of course…
Rectangle Triangle Flooring Floor Material property


Rectangle Font Parallel Pattern Drawing


Rectangle Font Automotive design Material property Parallel


Rectangle Font Parallel Engineering Pattern


Rectangle Parallel Font Automotive design Engineering
 

Attachments

#36 ·
Day two.

First off thank you for the many responses I recieved last night and throughout the day. I enjoyed reading them and drew alot of encouragment from them. I also thank you for the questions asked! It really shows the interest in this series and I will answer them as best I can first off.
In answer to doordude, those questions are not weird they are normal. We can really do whatever we want for lunch. A few went out today actualy and got subs, as there as many great subshops on the north end. I have been brownbagging and used the microwave we have but I am sure I will go out a number of times. In answer to Julie, NO. The school takes on all types. We have someone in the upper bench room who has been a furniture maker for 20 years and decided to join the school and he got the same fundamental classes as everyone else and went back to start so to speak. We also have some with little or no prior experience and they are welcome and kicking butt. Its about will, work and love really.

As for day two it was a great day. We were all settled in the room and the 11 of us got much closer as a whole today which was nice. We helped each other on occasion with drawings. Went for walks to the upper bench room and looked at the second year students pieces and got inspired, and then just talked endlessly about furniture and woodworking as we worked. Seeing the second year student pieces in construction was truely amazing and left me with a HUGE amount of motivation. I was happily suprised when Lance checked all my drawings in the afternoon and found only one line on one drawing that needed to be erased and thats it! It made me thrilled and helped me press on. I spent alot of time today, more then I wish I had, walking around and talking to other students, listening to lance and dan and taking in knowledge outside of drafting so tomorrow I will hit it hard. I also learned some about machinery today, as we had an issue with the new Powermatic 12" long bed jointer with the plastic handles breaking so Lance and Dan gave us a briefing on "how to not break those handles" and it ended up in Lance giving a basic education of the jointer which included some things I honestly never knew about the fence and alignment.

I plan to hit it hard tomorrow and maybe have a little late of a day because i would like to get through my packet of joinery to draft and move on to drafting furniture. I have a goal of being done my shaker night stand and almost through my tool box by the end of the first simester so I have to kick it up. Over all the school challenges you hard but in a easy and calm way in which you honestly dont realise you are being challenged.
Me and another student also got into a nice loooong disscussion with Lance about tapered housed sliding dovetails to the point that we got into the period history of the joint and Lance even broke out a modified wooden shoulder plan made to match the angle of the dovetail.

Here are my photos for the day. Questions of course…
Rectangle Triangle Flooring Floor Material property


Rectangle Font Parallel Pattern Drawing


Rectangle Font Automotive design Material property Parallel


Rectangle Font Parallel Engineering Pattern


Rectangle Parallel Font Automotive design Engineering
Thanks once again for sharing this opportunity you have. Every little detail is of most interest to me. I'll forward to more updates. Enjoy!
 

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#47 ·
Day 3....already!?

I honestly cannot believe that 3 whole days have gone by. It feels like the blink of an eye and its unbelievable! Today was a wild day. I did indeed bust my tail like I said I was going to. I pushed myself to the limit with drafting. I made quite a few mistakes. Only a couple were large but many were mistakes that Lance picked out and I feel that only Lance could pick out which shows how much he has truely mastered every aspect of his craft. I got my butt handed to me by him on one of the drawings but to be honest I loved it. It made me feel my work was truely appreciated because he took the time to examine it and show me every single thing wrong with it and showed me the path to improve it. He also complimented many of drawings which puts you on a major high.
In the late morning we had a meet and greet with the other bench rooms. We all hung out for an hour and ate donuts and talked about furniture. I stayed with juan-pablo blanco and analyzed the tall case clock he is making down to the last detail. He is great to get nerdy about period furniture with.
After that we had a lecture and demonstration from Dan Faia about bench grinder safety and proper use. He gave us the low down on cleaning them, checking the wheels for cracks and how to use the special tools to expose a fresh edge and keep them true. This is a segway into tomorrow when we start grinding ALL our tools for fresh edges and then honing them to perfection. After that we start work on our marking guage. All while still….drafting of course.
I didnt take any photos today because I left in an incredible rush after staying late and almost missing the bus completely but I will catch up tomorrow night with many pics.
I have moved on to curves and edge profiles in my drawings and as of tomorrow I am starting the scale drawings for all the joints in the shaker night stand we build. All in all, a long tiring day but I learned so much that it was beyond worth it!
I also got some new tools. 2 Starret squares, a new stone, scrapers, french curves and a round burnisher with no handle. I am going to lay out and turn a handle on my own and apply it to the burnisher. Tomorrow night There is a workshop going on so we can stay till after 9 o clock which I plan to. Gotta take advantage as the time is already flying by!
Questions as always are welcome!
 
#59 ·
One week down

Sorry LJ's I got a little behind in my posting. Thursday night I started coming down with an aweful flu and fought it through the day Friday at school and all weekend. I am starting to feel better and wanted to update my blog for you all!
Of course Thursday and Friday consisted of yet more drawing and as of the end of the day Friday I only have 4 drawings left in the first packet and I am already halfway through one of them. We started sharpening our chisels and I was able to sharpen my whole set on friday morning.
Steve brown wasnt in on Friday so we had the treat of having Eli Cleavland in as a substitute. He's great to be around and very helpful and positive when needed!
Dan Faia also brought in a bunch of his antique hand planes and showed some interesting ones, such as a Sargent smoothing plane, an original Bailey and even a wooden coffin body plane from the 1700's
Tomorrow I should be able to finish up my drawings in the first packet hopefully and then move on to the next.
I dont have to much to update as like I have mentioned we have been straight out drawing. This week should be interesting as we will starting working some wood it sounds like! Ill also be getting some new tools! Some new hand planes and maybe a router plane.
 
#68 ·
New blog location

Hello lumber jocks! I am sitting on the bus right now riding to Boston but I just wanted to let you all know that I have moved my blog to word press! I want to try and draw in all kinds if readers and with the iPhone app posting is 1,000 times easier. I am still going to post a link to the blog here on lj every time I make an entry, although it is easier to just follow me on word press, and please feel free to continue asking more questions here and in the new location. On a side night I finished my first packet of drawings yesterday and last night got a new woodriver #4! I'll update lots more tonight eatnbss.wordpress.com
 
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