INTRODUCTION TO HAND TOOLS

INTRODUCTION TO
HAND TOOLS
9 hours
Before the industrial revolution, everything from furniture to coffins were made by a craftsman with their
hand tools in a modest shop. An Introduction to Hand Tools will take you back to those days when power
routers and sanders hadn’t been invented yet.
In the first evening we will introduce you to bench planes. These planes are often the symbol of
woodworking and are a ubiquitous image. Bench planes are known as the work horses in the hand tools shop,
so understanding them is clutch. Vic Tesolin will take you through the various planes and what they are
used for. He will also demonstrate their use and how to tune them as well as buying them. Whether you
decide to go with new planes from a current tool maker or vintage tools, Vic will talk you through the
purchases and what to look for in vintage tools.
The second evening will be spent looking at chisels, saws, and measuring and marking tools. All of these
tools are used to bring wood to dimension and to cut the joinery that brings a woodworking project
together.
Joinery planes are the final group of tools that Vic will cover during the third evening. He will discuss
how to setup and use these tools while he makes a hand-made box right before your eyes. This simple box
will illustrate how easy it is to build projects with hand tools and will serve to wrap up the course tying
in all of the tools in a project. This is a real meat-and-potatoes woodworking course that dives into the
tools and techniques of making with wood.
DATES
Thursday AUG 20 / Friday Aug 21 (6:30-9:30 PM), and SATURDAY AUG 22 (1:00-4:00 PM)
COST
$180
VIC TESOLIN
Vic Tesolin is a highly accomplished woodworker and the technical advisor at Veritas/Lee Valley Tools. He is
also a veteran of the Canadian Army where he served for 14 years in the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.
After his honorable discharge, he completed the Nine Month Craftsman program at Rosewood, then went on to
serve as Resident Craftsman at the school, creating fine furniture to commission and working part-time as
an instructor. From there, he took the helm at Canadian Woodworking magazine as editor.
In HIS current job at Veritas/Lee Valley he works with the design, engineering, and manufacturing teams who
make some of the finest woodworking tools in the world. When not travelling to deliver workshops, He still
designs and builds furniture in a modest shop in his home in Carleton Place, Ontario.
Vic Tesolin is the author of The Minimalist Woodworker, scheduled for release in September 2015 by Spring
House Press. The book deals specifically with the needs of woodworkers that only have a small space at
their disposal.
Vic truly enjoys sharing his woodworking knowledge and has an infectious love for hand tools and their use.
A prolific writer with many published woodworking articles, you can follow him on his blog at
www.minimalistwoodworker.com