Mike Siemsen's School of Woodworking

05/25/2021

Hey All! Mike's School is opening up again after the covid problem. If you are fully vaccinated come and take a class.
www.schoolofwood.com

Mike Siemsen’s School of Woodworking focuses mainly on hand tool usage.

04/24/2017

I got some nice press recently at Lost Art Press about my upcoming Immersion Class
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2017/04/09/the-return-of-the-baby-anarchist-class/ nice comments as well!

One of the students from last year wrote a piece for the back page of the recent Popular Woodworking that makes a good read as well. June 2017, #232.

Mike Siemsen at the Mike Siemsen School of Woodworking is now accepting students for his third Hand Tool Immersion class on May 29 through June 5 at his shop in Chisago City, Minn. This low-cost, a…

07/02/2016

Just finished the second session of hand tool immersion. There are now 20 more makers out there with tool chests and tools. Both groups were great fun. Lots of new friendships were started! Woodworkers are good people.!

04/13/2016

Please consider donating funds or tools to help these people get started in woodworking. If you would like to help by donating tools or money or time to the cause use the information below. Sorry but donations are not tax deductible.

ship to:

The New Anarchist c/o: Mike Siemsen, 9912 Green Lake Trail, Chisago City, MN 55013, 651–257–9166, [email protected]

Hand Tool Immersion- Woodworking 101 (This class is full)

Date: 5 days, Monday – Friday, June 13th – 17th, 8:30 to 5:00.
Cost: $450
Materials: Included
Skill Level: beginner

This course is for young adults, to give them the confidence and training to get serious about woodworking with only a basic set of hand tools and a once in a life time learning experience at a minimum cost. This is not a typical woodworking class. In order to assist woodworkers who are trying to get started in life and the craft, we are offering this class to people 18 to 35 years of age. To keep costs down and have some communal fun we will be camping here at the school . And we'll also be cooking together every night as a group to save money on food. There is a shower! Chris Schwarz and I had planned this class last year. Since Chris is on hiatus I have decided to go forward with the class with his support and blessing. The biggest difference will be my bad jokes instead of his. We both feel this class is an important service to budget minded nascent woodworkers. The goal is a head full of skills and a boxful of tools ready to work!

Most importantly, this will be a full-immersion course in setting up basic hand tools and putting them to work on a serious project, a tool chest.

Key Points:

Fix up the vintage tools in your kit and sharpen everything using inexpensive sharpening media
A crash course in understanding wood from a joiners perspective, stuff you will never find in books
How to process rough stock entirely by hand
Building a tool chest using basic hand-tool joints, Rabbets, dados and nails
A historical and complete understanding of modern and traditional glues
Painting with milk paint
Furniture details made by hand: curves, bevels and moldings
Installing hinges
An introduction to dovetails

If you would like to help by donating tools or money or time to the cause use the information below. Sorry but donations are not tax deductible.

ship to:

The New Anarchist c/o: Mike Siemsen, 9912 Green Lake Trail, Chisago City, MN 55013, 651–257–9166, [email protected]

10/24/2015

Off to the MWTCA tool meet and then home to teach a class on building the Nicholson Workbench

10/18/2015

Just posted the Hand Tool Immersion Class to run in June. should be great fun. Looking forward to giving a jump start to some woodworkers.
http://schoolofwood.com/classes scroll to the bottom.
Chris blogged here
http://blog.lostartpress.com/2015/10/18/another-low-cost-hand-tool-immersion-class/

Mike Siemsen at the Mike Siemsen School of Woodworking in Minnesota has agreed to put on a low-cost hand-tool immersion course in June 2016 that is based directly on the two classes I ran in 2015 f...

06/25/2015

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/editors-blog/mike-siemsen-woodworking-in-america-2015

A nice write up about me by Mike Wallace.

Mike Siemsen is one of the speakers at Woodworking in America 2015, scheduled to speak on "Workholding: With & Without a Vise."

05/26/2015

I was just catching up on my reading and came across this post by Don Williams, a man I respect very much. Thanks for the kind words Don. To be included with the likes of Krenov and Schwarz is pretty cool!
http://donsbarn.com/the-80-minute-nicholson-workbench/

Like many in the woodworking universe, I am a benchaholic. We revel in the design, construction and use of exquisitely elegant workbenches: Roubo, Nicholson, torsion boxes, Moravian, Scandanavian...

05/21/2015

Home from HandWorks! Go here to see some great photos by Bartee
http://mysaw.com/handworks-2015/
and here to see a video of Roy Underhill's talk
http://benchcrafted.blogspot.com/
I believe I am the only one pictured on the floor!

Handworks 2015, modern woodworking hand tool makers, woodworking craftsmen and teachers.

05/12/2015

I'm teaching a Middle School enrichment woodworking class this week. Eight kids building a nice bench to sit upon. All hand tools, held together with wooden pegs, fun! I start packing the trailer tonight for HandWorks!! The Great Hand Tool Rendezvous, stop by my booth in the Amana Furniture Shop to see the workbench build in progress, see you there.

03/08/2015

I'm looking forward to the Hand Tool event of the year. HandWorks...http://handworks.co/ plan your schedule so you can be there. The event is free but you must pre-register to win any of the fantastic door prizes so be sure to do that. I will be making a 6 foot Nicholson workbench during the event and giving it away to some lucky person. See you in Amana, Iowa. Get your tickets to see the Studley Toolchest as well http://www.studleytoolchest.com/
This is a concurrent event and you need a ticket to get in. The display is designed so there will be no crowding and you can get a good look.

02/15/2015

Had a good time on Saturday at the Mid-West Tool Collectors meet in Medina, MN. I demonstrated cutting saw teeth with my Foley manual re-toother and added some new rust to my tool pile.