 Spring - Summer 2023 Class Schedule available. Click here for more information. |
Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking Instructors:
Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking (CVSW) attracts some of the best instructors in the country.
Weekend and specialty classes include everything from a one night sharpening class with Bob Van Dyke to a 5 weekend class with Will Neptune making an Eliphalet Chapin CT valley lowboy in cherry.
CVSW is proud to host frequent, regular classes with nationally known craftsmen and instructors such as Phil Lowe, Steve Latta, Will Neptune and more. These offer a mixture of single weekend skill building classes and multi-weekend project classes.
Classes with Phil Lowe have included carving a cabriole leg, using traditional hand tool skills, while project classes have featured a Queen Anne style tea table or lowboy, to a serpentine front chest of drawers.
Will Neptune’s classes include the best table saw joinery class you can imagine, cutting dovetails every which way but normal, to advanced projects like a Chippendale piecrust table, a Chapin side chair or a veneered Seymour work table.
Steve Latta brings his own unique approach to techniques such as veneering and inlays in the Federal style, along with teaching a quick, practical way of cutting dovetails on the table saw and doing string inlay using his own design for an extremely effective scratch stock.
I must tell you with great sadness that Richard Bergen lost his courageous battle with leukemia on April 9, 2020. He was a close personal friend for more than 20 years and a huge asset to the school. Richard took dozens and dozens of classes over the years and assisted in most of the beginning classes for many years. Every studio photograph of the school furniture projects was done by Richard- free of charge! Richard never hesitated to jump in and help out any time we needed it, and he was a huge help to hundreds of students. He will be sorely missed.
Bob Van Dyke
Director: Bob Van Dyke
After 18 years as an award-winning chef, Bob began a career in woodworking and teaching.
Tim Coleman
Tim is a furniture deisgner and maker who studied with James Krenov.
Andrew Hunter
Andrew is a custom furniture maker working and living in New York's Hudson Valley.
Matt Cianci
Matt is a professional hand-saw sharpener, hand-tool woodworker, and saw enthusiast who has been using and sharpening hand saws since 2002.
Peter Follansbee
Peter lives in Kingston, Ma., in an early 19th-century house. He worked as a joiner at the Plimoth Plantation for more than 20 years.
Steve Latta
Steve Latta has been a professional furniture and cabinetmaker for nearly three decades. He teaches woodworking at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, Pa.
Mike Mascelli
Mike is a professional upholsterer with more than 40 years of experience in working and teaching.
Will Neptune
Will Neptune is a furniture maker and master carver working in the Boston area.
Darrell Peart
Darrell Peart resides in Seattle and started his career making and selling small wooden items at the city's Pike Place Market.
Mike Pekovich
Mike Pekovich studied both furniture making and graphic design in college and is Editor and Creative Director for FineWoodworking magazine.
Kevin Rodel
Kevin Rodel has more than 30 years' experience building and designing fine custom furniture.
Walt Scadden
Walter trained as a stonecutter at the Art Development Program for Youth at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford., Ct.
Nick Schade
Nick created Guillemot Kayaks in 1993 to share the kayak designs he created for his own use.
Chris Schwarz
Chris Schwarz is a long-time woodworker and writer who has spent the last 15 years encouraging woodworkers to embrace more handwork in their shops.
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Testimonials
Bob,
Just a quick note to say how much I appreciated and benefitted from the recent 5 week intensive. I hope you get as much satisfaction in teaching it as we received knowledge from the class. I didn’t return with a trinket, a box or a table … but I did return with a better understanding of workmanship and the process to get there. That was exactly what I was looking for.
The dovetails continue to improve (someday they’ll meet my standards), the L-fence is already on the saw and you gave me sufficient challenges to keep me busy for some time.
I hope our paths cross again.
Best,
Butch
5/21/2021
Bob,
Thanks for the last five weeks. This was one of the best learning experiences I have ever had. Thanks for your patience and I look forward to taking more courses in the future. Meanwhile, this summer, I'll keep practicing dovetails and I'll look forward to seeing you at the open house.
Myles