With: Jason Breen  and Chris Madigan

Cost: By Donation

Class size: 8 Adults

Success in building with wood depends on sharp tools. Edge tools like knives, planes, and chisels, as well as saws and drill bits, are supposed to be sharpened regularly. We will teach you how. We will cover basic sharpening of flat chisels and plane blades, handsaws and maybe even some drill bits and carving tools using grinders, water and oil stones, sandpaper, and files. Bring your own tools to sharpen and help sharpen tools for the Mill. Participants should bring their own eye and ear protection if they have it. Dull tools and sharpening stones are welcome, too.

About Chris Madigan: I have lived in Mill Hollow since 1976 and built my home, shop and barn here using timber framing. Much of the wood in his house was harvested from this and adjacent land. He has been a professional timber framer and carpenter for 45 years. 

About Jason Breen: I am  a custom furniture maker and studied instrument building and history at Marlboro College. I paid for that education building timber frames and cabinets. Historical and traditional tools have inspired  my work since inheriting my ancestors’ hand planes. A member of the Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers, I live and work in Brattleboro, Vermont.