Shaker Museum and North Bennet Street School to Teach Workshops on Traditional Woodworking and Preservation Carpentry Skills

BOSTON, MA, June 30, 2011 (Press-News.org) For the third summer, Boston's acclaimed North Bennet Street School (www.nbss.edu) is collaborating with the Shaker Museum and Library (www.shakermuseumandlibrary.org), to offer a range of workshops in preservation and traditional woodworking at the museum's North Family at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village site.

The 2011 workshops are for anyone interested in acquiring a foundation of time-honored hand skills that they can immediately put to use including individuals who wish to advance their careers in historic preservation, people interested in fine woodworking as hobby or second career, and owners of historic homes and barns.

The workshops are:

A Walking Exploration
Saturday, July 9 10:00 am - 3:30 pm; instructors: Jerry Grant & Peter Smith
Enjoy a walking tour led by the museum's curator and a preservation carpenter to explore the Shaker buildings at Mt. Lebanon. The tour starts at the Great Stone Barn and includes a bag lunch.

Historic Window Sash Repair
Monday - Friday, July 11-15 8:30 am - 4:30 pm; instructor: Jackie Blombach
Learn wooden window sash restoration in this hands-on class.

Garden Tool Tote Workshop
Saturday - Sunday, July 16 - 17 8:30 am - 4:30 pm; instructor: Peter Smith
Begin with a rough-sawn board and create a garden tote using only hand tools. The workshop is designed for ages 15 and up.

Historic Timber Framing
Monday - Thursday, July 18 - 21 8:00 am - 6:00 pm; instructor: Rich Friberg
This course offers students the opportunity to construct a timber-frame structure incorporating traditional mortise and tenon and other joints.

Tuning and Use of Metal Planes Workshop
Monday, July 25 8:30 am - 4:30 pm; instructor: Rich Friberg
A one-day workshop covering techniques such as: flattening the sole, adjusting the throat opening and sharpening the iron. Learn to make perfect shavings.

Tuning and Use of Wooden Planes Workshop
Tuesday, July 26 8:30 am - 4:30 pm; instructor: Rich Friberg
Techniques specific to wooden planes are learned and practiced. Students bring their tools to use in this one-day workshop.

Historic Moldings Workshop
Wednesday - Thursday, July 27 - 28
8:30 am - 4:30 pm; instructor: Rich Friberg
This two-day workshop covers the history of moldings and the use of complex molding and sash planes.

To register, or for more information, visit http://www.nbss.org/workshops/schedule.asp. Or contact Megan Kenealy at the North Bennet Street School, 617-227-0155, mkenealy@nbss.edu, or Becky Codner at the Shaker Museum and Library, 518-794-9100 x 220, codner@shakermuseumandlibrary.org.

Background on the Collaboration

North Bennet Street School is one of the few institutions in the country that offers a two-year training program in preservation carpentry.

"Finding historic structures to work on is often difficult," said the school's president, Miguel Gomez-Ibanez. "We value the opportunity to use the village as a place to teach local homeowners and preservationists in traditional hand skills."

The museum welcomes the opportunity, too. With the closing of its Old Chatham site last year, the museum has been slowly transitioning to the New Lebanon campus. All of the site's eleven structures need repair, and the work must be accomplished in a manner that preserves their historic nature.

"Our goals are to improve the level of historic preservation trades training in the area, to honor the Shaker North Family story by preserving the buildings of that era, and to help the local community connect to our new location," said David Stocks, president of Shaker Museum and Library.

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