Women’s Basic Carpentry Class Welcome Information

April 2-5, April 27-30, May 7-10, June 4-7, July 23-26

Hello there,

I’m so looking forward to our time together! The basic carpentry class is one of my favorite classes that Wild Abundance offers. We have run it dozens of times, and each one is special. After several days of working and learning together, the students in this class often experience a sense of transformation. This seems to be made possible by the container we create together: During this class, competition and judgment are absent, and excitement and support around each other’s empowerment are paramount. 

The basic carpentry class is not about making a beautiful spice shelf or other personal project (though students do that, too). It’s about gaining confidence, competence, and mastery over tools; and about moving into a space that was previously kept off limits. We love seeing how skills blossom over this long weekend. It’s so fun and rewarding to watch folks who started out scared to death of tools learn to wield them with grace and skill by the last day…ready to go home and make and repair things in their real lives!

Pre-Class Preparation Info

Arrival & During-Class Information:

Classmate Communications & Carpooling

Student Handbook

Other Cool Stuff:

See you in class!
-The Wild Abundance Admin Team, and Parham in particular.

Pre-Class Zoom Welcome Calls Schedule, Links, & Recordings

Click here to signup!

Class Schedule

What to Bring

Here’s a list of things that you’ll want to have with you at class, whether you are commuting or camping here. Please keep in mind that class will be in our outdoor teaching spaces.

Local hardware stores are wonderful, and we encourage you to support them if you’re lucky enough to have one in your community. Another option is to borrow from a friend, neighbor, or local tool library.

We’ve also included links to the items for sale on Amazon or at Home Depot so that you can get a sense of what we’re talking about, and buy them there if that’s more convenient. The first link is usually Amazon and the second is Home Depot, in case you’re concerned with which corporation your money goes to.  

Required Carpentry Tools

Required Non-Carpentry Items

  • Notebook and/or clipboard + Writing Implement
  • Layered, comfortable clothing (hat, vest, very warm jacket, wool socks, boots, and wool long underwear, if coming during April, May, September, or October… mountain weather is unpredictable and may be both hot and cold during your time here!)
  • Closed-toed shoes or boots
  • Long pants
  • Shorts (if hot)
  • Rain Gear (boots, umbrella, poncho)
  • Water Bottle
  • Food
  • Sun Hat
  • Hair Restraint if needed

Recommended Carpentry Tools

  • Dust Mask: Honeywell N95 Disposable Dust Mask, HDX Dust Mask Only necessary if you’re bothered by sawdust
  • Impact DriverWe have a good number of these to share around, but there’ll still be some sharing involved. If you want to make sure you can have a driver in your own hands at all times, please bring one especially if you already have one! Here are some of our favorite impact drivers, with our favorite at the top:
  • Bits – t20: impact ready and at least 2″ like this one:  Makita T20 2″ 3pc
  • Bits – t25: impact ready and at least 2″ like this one: Makita T25 2″ 3pc
  • Tool Belt/Apron/Pants-Pockets: Only necessary if you’re bringing a lot of tools. You’ll probably want some way of carrying tools on you while working. That may just be pants with good pockets!  Or you may like a tool belt or an apron. Choose what works best for you! Here are some options:
  • Tool Bucket/Bag: Only necessary if you’re bringing a lot of tools. You’ll want some way of keeping your tools together if you’ve got more than will fit in your pockets or belt. This doesn’t have to be fancy, it could just be a bucket or canvas bag. Here are some other options.

Optional Carpentry Tools: We have several of the following to share around, no need to buy if you don’t already own. But if you DO already own, we strongly encourage you bring them so that you can learn to use what you have! You’ll get hands-on practice with all of these!

Click here to download the full list!

Your Independent Project for Basic Carpentry 

We’ll be spending about one-third of the class time designing, shopping for and creating independent projects. Please bear in mind that this is a basic carpentry class, not a fine woodworking class.  These projects are designed to give you the confidence you need to plan and execute projects at home. You will have 3 choices of rough and simple carpentry projects: a spice rack or tincture shelf  is a favorite project for folks who are wanting to be able to bring their project home with them on an airplane, a birdhouse, or a tool caddy. Please think about which of these you want to make.

Students will have the opportunity to design their projects, and on Friday we will be going to the lumber yard, where students will purchase materials for their projects. The cost associated with these projects varies on the projects, choice of lumber, and the price of lumber at the time. Cost ranges between $10 and $100, with the spice shelf being the least expensive, and the tool caddy being the most expensive, especially when made with more expensive woods. Lumber yards generally have superior lumber and lower prices than big box stores, but they tend to be male dominated spaces. This trip is very intentionally included in the curriculum, because it can be extremely helpful to get comfortable with this essential (but sometimes intimidating) aspect of building.

Students will be responsible for the cost of the materials for their independent projects. If you have material that you want to bring for yours, awesome! Please leave it in your vehicle when you arrive, and touch base with an instructor during the design process about whether your materials are suitable for your project.

Please do not bring plans for your project from the internet, from books, or other sources. We engage in a design process as part of class which shows you how to make your own plans, both from an idea in your head, and reverse engineered from an existing object. Over the many years of teaching these classes, we have come to understand what variations on the designs we offer work within the timeframe of class and with the skill levels of the students. 

Remember that the purpose of the personal projects is to develop your skills and ability with tools, and that this project is practice, rather than masterpiece. The more mistakes you are able to make within this nurturing space, the better, because these are lessons that you will have learned when you go home, and don’t have our teachers with you.

Arrival Time Day 1: 8:30-9:00

Whatever your destination, don’t arrive for your first session outside the designated times, early or late. We like to have someone on-site to greet you and show you where to park and camp. If you arrive when we don’t have a greeter scheduled, it’s very easy to get confused, lost, and wander up to a neighbor who may be weary of answering the same old questions. We don’t have someone on call 24/7 to assist you, since we’re too busy teaching, administering the class, and running the homestead and we don’t have someone who is always present on campus, so please check out these free and affordable Camping Spots for the Night before Class. This area is stunning and has lots of camping so take advantage of it and explore a new place the night before. Please note: If you have been to our campus before and you are familiar with where the camping and parking locations are, you are welcome to arrive 1 day early. If you have not camped on our campus before, please don’t arrive early as there will be no one to guide you and it is very likely that you will get lost.

Direction to Paint Fork Campus

Address
294 Paint Fork Rd
Barnardsville, NC 28709

The Paint Fork Campus was acquired in 2022 after many years of neighbors complaining about the traffic going to the Sanford Way campus. This campus is spacious & gorgeous, and we’re still working on finishing developing it to make it ‘perfect’ for our classes. Make sure you look for the Barnardsville Paint Fork Road. There are many in the area. I would suggest confirming your route with the directions below if you can. Also, searching directions to the Barnardsville Elementary School on Paint Fork Road is a safe bet to get the quickest route and we are down the road a bit on the left. Download the directions at the start of your drive in case of spotty service.  Here are some directions on how to do that for google maps. 

1. From Asheville, follow I-26 W /US-19 N/US-23N. Take exit 15 from I-26/US-19 /US-23. If coming from the south, turn right off of the exit. If coming from the north, Take a left off of the exit. Make sure you are heading North East on NC-197 towards Barnardsville. 

2. Continue on NC-197 N/Barnardsville Hwy for 5.8 miles. In Barnardsville, take a right onto Paint Fork Rd.  The right turn is before the Baptist Church. Once you turn you will pass an elementary school on your right.  Continue for almost 2 miles.Then we will be on the left. To find additional parking closer to the camping area, you can turn left on Anderson Cove Road which is a gravel road right before our main entrance. 

3. There will be signage or a parking attendant to guide you.

Also check out this parking video.
Here is a map of campus!

Direction to Summit Building Supply

Address To Summit Building Supply Field Trip
252 Possum Trot Rd
Burnsville, NC 28714

From Sanford Way and Paint Fork Campuses:

1. Find your way back to head southwest on NC-197 S toward I-26.

2. Turn right to merge onto I-26 W/US-19 N/US-23 N toward Johnson City.

3. Take exit 9 for US-19 N/US-23ALT N toward Burnsville/Spruce Pine and turn right off of the exit onto US-19 N/US-23 ALT N (signs for Burnsville/Spruce Pine/Mount Mitchell State Park). Drive for about 11 miles. 

4. Turn right onto Possum Trot Rd. Possum Trot Rd turns left and becomes State Rd 1128. Summit Building Supply will be on your right.

Carpooling, Shuttles, Earth, and Neighbor Care

Care for the earth is a central ethic at Wild Abundance. We ask that you help fulfill this mission with us by carpooling if possible. Please check out the Class Contacts spreadsheet on your welcome letter to find your classmates’ contact information, including the city and state where they live. Make sure you are looking at the right tab as this spreadsheet may have other class sessions on it as well. If it’s possible for you to carpool to class, we ask that you consider it. These efforts can greatly reduce the carbon footprint of this class. This spreadsheet will be updated as soon as the class attendees are confirmed, which will generally be 1 month after a class goes on sale. For classes taking place in the Spring and Summer, this spreadsheet will likely be updated in January. For classes happening in the Late Summer and Fall, the spreadsheet will likely be updated in June.  

***********If you don’t want your information shared with other wild abundance students, please email admin@wildabundance.net. ******************

You can access your classmate’s contact info on this GoogleSheet. If you’re having trouble viewing, you may need to open the sheet using Chrome as your browser, or download the actual GoogleSheet app to your phone. 

There’s also a QR code for a What’sApp group that’s very helpful for connecting with your group during class.

Student Handbook

Super helpful for planning your trip! Includes our guidelines for engagement, Accommodation and Camping info (pg 20) , Meals and Food (pg 23), staff contact info, refund policy (pg 29), and more. PDF here. 

Glossary of Carpentry Terms

Carpentry has its own terminology and language. Here’s a helpful glossary that you can use to familiarize yourself beforehand if you like and reference after your class.

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