Curious about joinery, the science of wood, and tool maintenance? Don't miss out on an exciting new special topics course this fall — Wood as a Sculptural Medium (ARST 3470)

Taught by versatile local woodworker Hank Hambright of the Athens woodworking studio Heavy Friends Furniture, the course explores the theory and practice of a variety of woodworking methods and techniques. Hambright answered a few questions on what he's most looking forward to this fall and how this course can appeal to a wide variety of students at the school.

Close-up of dovetail joint

What are you most excited for in teaching this class?

I am excited to share my passion for woodworking. I came into woodworking first from logging and working at a sawmill, then doing general residential carpentry before finally getting into furniture building. I am excited to be a student’s first exposure to the craft that they might pursue as a career.

What is an example of a project that your students will work on?

While there will be ample opportunity for students to practice more creative woodworking, we will build a few more “utilitarian” projects to develop skills. One such project will be a Japanese style toolbox. This will give students a chance to practice various joinery techniques and give them a place to store tools, some of which we may build in class.

Why is it important that students take this class?

Woodworking is a very versatile craft. Students will find plenty of creative opportunity in woodworking alone but also find that there is ample room for woodworking in other art forms, such as jewelry, metalworking (in the form of fixtures and jigs), and printmaking.

View of toolbox project

What will students learn from taking this class?

This course will be a combination of theory, taught using lectures and demonstrations, and technical practice in the shop, both during and after class time. We will explore both traditional hand tool woodworking and contemporary woodworking using power tools. We will cover all aspects of woodworking including the science of wood, project design, material preparation and sizing, joinery, surface preparation, assembly, finishing, tool maintenance and sharpening. Emphasis will be placed on technical understanding and safety.

What projects are you currently working on at Heavy Friends Furniture?

We are wrapping up all the furniture for a new local restaurant, and building a small production run of boxes for some local knifemakers. Boxes are my favorite project we regularly build. There is plenty of hand tool woodworking, lots of opportunities for creative experimentation, and even wooden hinges, which are so fun!

What do you love about wood?

Wood is a very versatile material, hard enough to be durable and long lasting, soft enough to manipulate using simple hand tools. You can use it as a coarse material for sculptural projects, but also get into very small tolerances, in the thousands of an inch for finer applications. You really don’t need a ton of tools to begin woodworking, some projects only requiring a few hand tools. Wood is everywhere, it literally grows out of the ground. If you are resourceful, waste and scrap wood can make perfectly usable material.

Wood box detail