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I receive quite a few emails from viewers/readers asking if I teach classes. Although I no longer offer classes out of my own shop, I do occasionally teach on the road. This January, I’ll be teaching two classes at the William Ng School in Anaheim, CA. You may remember this is where TreeFrog and I attended the Darrell Peart Aurora Table class. William has an incredible facility and I can’t wait to get back! So here are the details with class descriptions:
Modern Hall Table (Jan. 18th – Jan. 22nd, 2010)
This modern hall table was designed with two goals in mind: to capture attention and to teach you numerous key woodworking techniques. The jatoba legs feature compound curves that are cut on the bandsaw and finished with various hand tools and rasps. The legs are attached to the aprons via traditional mortise and tenon joints. The drawer and front apron are all cut from a single piece of wood and the custom drawer pull is attached via stainless steel dowels. 
The drawer joinery also features stainless steel dowels in a creative reinforced rabbet joint. The frame of the top features splined miters and the raised center panel is wrapped with a decorative wenge strip. This unique project will challenge your woodworking skills, as well as your creativity. Sign up here!
Greene & Greene Inspired Frame (Jan. 23rd – Jan 24th, 2010)
This unique picture/mirror frame is my personal take on the Greene & Greene style. It incorporates numerous details inculding cloud lifts, subtle curves, ebony treatments, and a unique inlayed half-lap joint. This joint requires you to use some of the same skills required for decorative router inlay (a handy skill to have in your back pocket!). The class will also cover the use of various jigs and templates. Sign up here!
On a side note, I actually taught a small class on the modern hall table a few years ago. Its a pretty intense 5-day project but its a lot of fun! I threw in some pictures below so you can see what a class might be like.
I hope to see some of your smiling faces at the William Ng School in January!
27 Responses to “Teaching Classes at the William Ng School”
What? No shots of you teaching me? Holy crap!
lol now why would I put pictures of you building a completely different project on this post? Well, having picture of Tom on my site might be a reason in and of itself I suppose… :)
Congrat’s on the teaching job, an awesome accomplishment indeed. Too bad it has to be so far away because that counts me out. You know for the next January teaching option up here in Minnesota is very nice, except the sub-zero weather, deep snow, and to top it all off-icy roads you could come and teach a class up here, just a thought.
Nate
And Marc after you are done in Minnesota swing on over to Michigan.
I would second the MN trip. Its lovely here in January. /wink
Dear Santa, I have been a very good boy. This year for Christmas I would like plane tickets to Anaheim and a spot in Marc’s John Hall Frame class.
So what is skill level would you recommend someone have to be in the table class?
You should be comfortable around tools and have some familiarity with the jointer, planer, router and tablesaw. That’s really about all I would personally recommend.
What!? You mean I can’t just show up unannounced at your door with a six pack (of cannolis) and a slab of wood saying “help?”
Cereally, congratulations! (one more step in world domination, er, syndication, right?) While it will be some time before I can scrape up plane fare (let alone afford the classes I so desperately need), I am certain that there will be many who will be clamoring for more due to this.
Just as a side question: how many students are allowed per class? and do you have a personal comfort level regarding too few or too many students?
Dude, you show up at my door with a 6-pack of cannolis and we’ll be in the shop as soon as the coffee is made! lol.
I know the table class is limited to 16. Personally I am comfortable teaching however many we can get. But I think the students’ experience is much better when the class has as few students as possible. But obviously, William can’t keep his doors open that way, lol.
That is fantastic. It is great that you are passing on your skills and knowledge. I would so much like to attend either of those courses but alas Anaheim is a bit of a commute from Victoria, BC Canada…. mind you, with vacation time, some planning, and hitting the lottery it might just work…hhmmm.
Kidding aside, good luck and do all us Wood Whisperer Guild members proud.
hey mark I live out in orange CA and would love to take your class. would you allow someone 15 or younger with plenty of woodwork experience in your classes.
Hey man. I think you’ll have to take that up with William Ng. Just give the school a call and he’ll help you out. Age restrictions are not my decision to make. If it were up to me though, I would be more than happy to teach a responsible teenager. Believe me man, I’ve taught some adults that made me nervous as hell, lol.
peart said no.
william said hed talk to his insurance company. lol! but seriously, he did.
Hey Marc,
Would you be happy to teach an old forgetful? At least William doesn’t need to check with his insurance company.
Or does he? Haha.
Drool, drool!!! I’ll keep playing the lottery.
I really like the new frame you showed in your Friday (1/1/2010) Weekly Wrap-Up. I remember you mentioning someone from the Hall family did not want you to teach a class making the John Hall frame. I assume this new frame is what you will be using in the William Ng class. Nice job! I wish I could take one of your classes… maybe next year.
Great looking table. Interesting construction of the front of the draw to the sides.
A few more years and I will be able to swing coming and have the skills to get the most out of it. I agree with Nate we need to get you to MN. But not in January….trust me it sucks. There is only one place for decent cannolis. If you come maybe I will get someone back home to air mail them from Brooklyn…..
Sadly, above my skills I suspect – but you keep gettin’ those gigs because I have a free place to stay down in Irvine… :)
Hey Derek. Keep in mind the classes are available to woodworkers of all skill levels. William, his staff, and I will be there to walk every student through the process and tailor the instruction to your needs. So if you have the means, don’t be afraid to jump right in! Feel free to email me if you have questions about it.
NOOOOOOOOO!!!! Why did I have to see this? Of all the times to come out to SoCal. Grrr… Please oh please tell me you will be doing more classes at the William Ng school in the furure? I live in Orange, Ca. and have been following your site for some time so to see this, I mean, grrr… Will you be doing any meet greet events while you’re out here or will you just be hanging out at the school? You know, no trip to SoCal is complete without a trip to the Greene and Greene Gamble house. ;)
From my discussions with William, it looks like we may be able to make this a twice a year thing. I will keep you posted on any future class announcements.
This is most excellent news. I look forward to hearing of future classes.
I’ve gotta ask…
As I watch the part of the video talking about the Greene and Greene inspired frame, I see the ‘Take a class with the Woodwhisperer’ picture to the right…and can’t help but notice the similarity between the picture frame and the William Ng logo.
Coincidence…or an homage to Mr. Ng?
Great work Marc. I’ll dream about taking these classes in nice warm SoCal while I freeze my fingers off in my poorly insulated, barely defrosted garage workshop up here in Toronto where it’s currently about 10F.
Ian
Well, that’s kind of like saying two Led Zeppelin tribute bands sound similar. :) They both take their influence from the original, and as a result they are very similar. Ok maybe that was a bad analogy. haha
Although it wasn’t intentional or deliberate, I would have to say I am influenced by every piece of woodwork I see. So my brain certainly may be borrowing elements from things I’ve encountered and I don’t even realize it.
10F?!?! Yikes that sounds cold buddy. Seems like Spring hit Arizona early. We are looking at temps in the 70′s all week long.