The Ultimate Shaker Woodworking Weekend
Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28
Time: 10 am to 4 pm (both days)
Fee: $250 ($225 for HSV members), includes all materials
The Shakers have long been admired for their exceptional woodworking. This workshop offers you the opportunity to sharpen your own skills while making several quintessential Shaker objects: an oval box, a peg rail, and a step-stool. You will also learn more about Shaker design and woodworking by touring related buildings at the Village and examining historic examples of the objects that you are making.
The workshop is taught by Peter Forward and Rick Ryer, two of the Village’s woodworkers and frequent workshop instructors. All materials and tools are provided; some wood will be pre-cut for ease of assembly. Beginners are especially encouraged, although more experienced woodworkers are welcome, too. Depending on your skill level, you may be able to complete an additional Shaker-style project while at the Village.
A master carpenter and cabinetmaker with more than 40 years of experience, Peter has a long-standing interest in Shaker history and design. He enjoys traditional hand-working methods and often uses tools passed down through his family from his great-great grandfather, a joiner in the 1870s. An interpreter at Hancock Shaker Village since 2012, Ryer learned to make oval boxes with master boxmaker Steve Grasselli. Rick regularly gives demonstrations of oval box-making in the HSV Brethren's Shop and has taught oval box workshops since 2013.