Grew-Sheridan Studio

A letter from John Grew Sheridan

2008-01-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your interest in furniture making and woodworking. Please call or visit if you have any further questions.

The Studio is a small but dynamic center for furniture making. My approach is to encourage furniture making at all levels of ability and interest while also pursuing my own work. Enrolling is not an opportunity to create a major cabinetmaking operation in my shop. If you are interested in furniture or sculpture I am open to discussing what you would like to do and what you can afford. Of course, joining the shop does not give you any leasehold possession or a guaranteed right to continue.

The shop has most of the machines and tools that you will need. Sharpening expenses, trash, standard router bits, and glue are included. Sandpaper is available at cost. Wide belt sander time is billed separately or free, if brief. My truck is available for lumber yard trips for a nominal $10 fee to MacBeath Lumber. The books of the library are reserved for Studio research. Participants may collect their own hand tools and I can make recommendations.

A commitment to the usual shop maintenance is expected and will usually be only a nominal amount. It includes sweeping, emptying the dust collector, and the like. Sustaining a woodworking shop in San Francisco can be challenging and to be able to do so is always something for which one is grateful.

The shop phone is available for emergency use and not usually for personal use. Participants are expected to use cell phones or phone cards. Generally, headset music is preferred.

Finding time for Introductions is complicated by my responsibilities at the Academy of Art College. I can be at the shop in an evening for the Review of Wood as a Material, some paperwork, and a discussion of your participation. The cost is $60 (check to Grew-Sheridan Studio, when we meet). Reservations are necessary. We will set a mutually convenient date. Tuition payments are due in advance. Partial payments are accepted, as are some trade and scholarship possibilities.

I look forward to hearing from you,

John Grew Sheridan

Instruction in woodworking

2008-01-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

All skill levels are welcome, including beginners. Instruction is adapted to each student's experience and proficiency. You will be assisted in developing projects to meet your own interests and skills. Design, planning, construction and use of all tools and equipment are covered as each project progresses. Techniques covered include hand-cut and machine-cut joinery, bent laminations, sculpturing, turning, veneering, and steam bending.

The majority of the work done in the classes is hardwood furniture, though some of the students concentrate on
other areas such as sculpture or turning. Commercial work cannot be accommodated.

During the class you will have use of a professional wood shop and research library. The shop is equipped with SawStop and panel saws, jointer, planer, lathe, grinder, disc and wide belt sanders, radial arm saw, band saw, drill press, horizontal boring machine, milling machine, shaper, scroll saw, clamps, benches, portable electric tools, and hand tools. Supplies are available through the studio or you can bring your own materials. No recycled construction materials or wet wood are allowed.

You are welcome to visit the shop, which is located at 3450 Third Street, #5E, San Francisco, just South of Army/Cesar Chavez Street and adjacent to the new Islais Creek Park, to see if I offer what you are seeking in woodworking and furniture making.

List of tools

2008-01-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

In addition to the benches, machinery, electric tools and clamps of the shop you will use a small kit of personal tools. Some are provided as a part of the introduction and some are your separate purchase. Tools can be purchased from Lee Valley/Veritas of Canada, Woodcraft Supply, Woodworkers Supply of New Mexico, and Highland Woodworking Supply.
Your first project will be a shop-made, dovetailed tray to hold your personal tools:

You'll be provided with:

6" Ruler with end marks (1/32" end marks are essential).
4" Machinist's square
Awl
Ear muffs

You'll have to purchase:

12' Tape Measure, 1/2" or 3/4" width. Check a good hardware store (Center, Fox)
Mechanical pencil, .7 HD lead and long eraser.
Architect's Rule with various scales (1/8, 1/4, etc)
A blank or grid-lined sketch book.
Sliding Square tool Lee Valley, 05N32.01 ($31.50)
Chisel Set 1 - 3/4" paring chisel or a set of chisels. I will loan a few at first.
Consider: Narex from Highland Woodworking in Georgia in the 7 chisel boxed set or from Lee Valley, or Marples blue handled in the 6 chisel set or Lee Valley yellow handled chisels or the Woodcraft Supply sets
Safety glasses (Center Hardware on Mariposa or Fox or Cole Hardware; glasses OK)

In addition, there are small things to make and tools to use and consider:

Sanding block -- a shop project that you will make.
18/20 oz wood or urethane mallet
Scriber, knife, or Japanese knife (shop-made or general, #38l, $3.15)
Block plane (Lee Valley or English Stanley or Lie Nielsen)

Introductory class

2008-01-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your interest in the woodworking classes.

We will start in an evening with handouts and a review of paperwork and Wood As A Material. In the regular class we will practice milling and making with machines and tools. The first projects are a tray for your tools, a sample dovetail, a practice mortise and tenon joint, and a small bench or table of your design.

There are only up to seven people in each class. You can reserve your place by calling for an appointment and by sending or bringing to the shop the first month's tuition of $220 and $60 for a textbook and small selection of tools. Half of this payment will not be refunded if you decline to start the classes. I will provide a few things .You will need to buy your own tape measure (1/2" x 12'), Veritas sliding square tool, chisels, and safety glasses. Eye glasses are fine for woodworking. A variety of tapes and glasses are for sale at Center Hardware on Mariposa and other hardware outlets. Please take a moment to discuss any purchases of tools.

The handouts at the beginning are abundant. The textbook is :

Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual
Jackson and Day, 2005 Edition from Lee Valley Tools
HarperCollins
ISBN 000-716442-4
2006 edition (not the 1995 edition) in hardcover

Please review the Student Tool List for additional information.
Please call if you have questions.

Biography

2008-01-14T12:13:00.001-08:00

John Grew Sheridan is a designer and builder of furniture and sculpture. He studied woodworking at Peters Valley Crafts Center in New Jersey after graduating from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, and serving in the U. S. Army. His work has been shown in California and in national shows. In addition to his own studio he is teaching at the Interior Architecture Department, Academy of Art, San Francisco. He has also taught at Arrowmont School in Tennessee; Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine; Sheridan College, Ontario, Canada; Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Colorado; Oregon College of Art and Craft; University of California Extension, San Francisco; Tamalpais High School, Mill Valley, CA; and California College of the Arts. He contributes to Woodwork Magazine. The Grew-Sheridan Studio was established in 1974 by John Grew Sheridan and Carolyn Grew-Sheridan (1947-1996). Portfolios and examples of the work produced in the Studio are available for review.

Enrollment

2008-01-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

You can join at any time if space is available; fees will be pro-rated. Classes are mixtures of experienced and beginning students. Proof of medical coverage is required. There is an individual introduction to Wood as a Material and to the shop machinery. The introduction and handouts cost $60 and this payment is due at the introduction.

Schedule and Fees

2008-01-14T12:11:00.002-08:00

Saturdays and Sundays
Noon - 5 p.m.
$660/Quarter