Oregon Coast Artisan & Trade Education Collective

Getting ready for GRiTT 2026!

We had a great turnout for our grand opening!

Do you want to know how much material, what the cost will be, and what tools and skills are needed to build a table, fence, deck, cabinet, or anything?

It starts with an idea, a sketch, a budget, and then a plan. Once you have a plan you can estimate materials, time, skills needed, and equipment.

That is one of our first classes. Design, Drafting, and Estimation. We will start with a simple project, like a tool box. We will discuss why you would want one. What tools will it hold? Where will you put it? How heavy will it be? What should it be made from? How should it be put together? What tools will I need? What fasteners or joinery do I want to use? What will I need to know to build it? What hardware if any is needed? How much will it cost?

These are the questions for a simple tool box. Imagine what else you would need to know to build a deck or a cabinet.

Once you have all your answers and a sketch, then we can do a scale drawing, or plan. It starts with a basic overhead view, and views of all sides. Here you can start to see how the pieces will go together and determine exactly how big each part is.

For more complex projects there will be detail drawings and cross sections so you can see what will be hidden from the outside viewpoints.

Our first class will be a very simple project that will be easy to draw, dimension, and estimate materials, and cost, so you understand the process.

The cool part is lines are easy to erase, materials are easy to change if you are in the design stage and not already in the building stage. Design and drafting allow for as many changes as needed to get what you want, at no cost but a few pieces of paper and some brainwork.

64065 Seven Devils Road Charleston text me at 253-732-8458 if you have any questions. Class schedule yet to be determined, so let me know if you are interested, so we can make the schedule work for you!

Oregonian article!

A revival of forgotten crafts is happening inside this renovated Oregon coast school The Oregon Coast Artisan & Trade Education Collective will celebrate its opening day after four years of renovations to a former school building in Coos County.

Saturday June 6th! OCATEC Opening Day! Woodworking, metal working, sewing, quilting, silk screening, clay arts, glass, and fine arts all under the same roof!

From noon to 4 ish we will be touring and talking about OCATEC, CNC and other demos, live music, hotdogs and snacks!

Class registration, and the opportunity to talk with us about what you want to do learn and do.

We need some help spiffing up OCATEC for the grand opening. There will be a couple of us there Monday and Tuesday, and Thursday for the final polish. If you can come out let us know!

More useful tips!

Machinist Tips and Tricks Volume 2

I have an idea for those that have a community network of some kind. Get everyone you know to grow some vegetables in just 4 square feet of space. Ideally you would coordinate and decide on what each person to grow to have variety, but also based on the skill of the gardener, and the space they have. Include the amount of time they have as well.

At the end of the season: harvest, weigh, and preserve your produce whatever way is best so that at the end of the season everyone could meet and show what they accomplished.
This would give the community an idea of what is possible. It would be measurable and scalable. If there are enough people, it would also show a percentage of failures and great successes to be noted for future consideration.

Different environments: greenhouse, raised beds, cold frames, in the ground, window boxes, pots, indoors, apartment, public space, rural, etc. should all be included if possible.

Here was a fun project. All wood, full extension, drawer guides. Jointer, planer, table saw, and router table. Requires precision work.