Hi Everyone,
I saw a post about those who reside in Oregon, and they are getting a great response.
I thought I'd ask if anyone is from the Central/San Joaquin Valley area of California. Anywhere between Fresno and Bakersfield and east and west too. That is the area I currently reside in.
It's suppose to be a 100 degrees here at the end of the week (crap). That's when I wish I didn't live here. I used to love the hot summers when I was younger, but not anymore. The only good thing is that it makes working in the woodshop in the evenings a little more comfortable than in the winter.
I look forward to soon hearing from anyone residing in the area.
Anyone in the Central Calif. Area
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woodburner
- Gold Member
- Posts: 498
- Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 2:35 am
- Location: Visalia, CA
- Contact:
Anyone in the Central Calif. Area
Sawdust & Shavings,
Woodburner:o
Woodburner:o
-
woodburner
- Gold Member
- Posts: 498
- Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 2:35 am
- Location: Visalia, CA
- Contact:
Hi Gary,
Nice to hear that you will be visiting the valley soon for the Traveling Academy in Bakersfield.
I attended that one last year along with the Fresno class. I'm probably going to hold out until Rick returns to Fresno again this year. He usually comes through Fresno about a month after the Bakersfield event.
Bakersfield is about an hour south from me and Fresno is only 40 minutes north. The current cost of reg. gas (locally $4.06 a gallon and rising) will be preventing me from attending both classes this year. Sorry I'll miss meeting you there.
Have fun, ask a bunch of questions (Rick likes that. No, really, he does) and take lots of notes. Also get as much hands-on time as you can. Rick enjoys it when the students get up off their behinds, get close to see what's happening and to give certain tools a try, especially if you are thinking about purchasing a particular tool.
Get envloved in the class. If Rick asks for a volunteer to help him out, be the first to offer. Ask Rick if he wants some company for lunch. He has a lot of great stories to tell about his adventures on the road for Shopsmith and all about his woodworking past. He is a great guy to get to know.
I've been to many Traveling Academies. I started when Doug Reid used to be the instructor. That was back in March 2002 when I first discovered the company offered these classes. Not knowing the schedule back then
and all excited:eek: , I drove all the way to the bay area to attend the class
. They only offered one type of class back then: "Shopsmith Basics". While at the class I found out Doug was coming to Fresno in 3 weeks. Oh well.
My wife and I both enjoyed it and made a weekend out of it. After the class we visited the "Winchester Mystery House", spent the night and drove up to Sacramento to visit "Old Town Sacramento" and the California Railroad Museum. I love trains too. I really get into building model trains, especially logging trains and locomotives/models that actually run on live steam. But that is a whole other discussion not meant for this forum.
A year before Doug retired is when they started offering the split classes. First it was two: Basics and Woodturning. When Rick took over, he added the third class as an intermediate type, showing how to make different joints and profiles, measuring and layout, and more specific instruction on the special purpose tools.
If you can, attend all three. Each one offers something new and different.
Have fun and let me know how the Bakersfield Academy goes. I'm always curious as to how many students show up. Last year all the classes were nearly full and Rick actually had to stop taking reservations and turn people away for the woodturning class. He likes that class to be especially hands-on so he limits the size of the class so everyone can make some shavings and do some woodturning.
These two Shopsmith instructors are the ones who really got the woodturning bug to bite me. In the past 5-years, most of my investment in tools has been towards woodturning, with my Shopsmith as the center point. I now have over 40 different types of woodturning chisels, an advanced sharpening set-up, a ton of wood for turning all types of projects, the list goes on. Woodturning can become very addictive, in a good way. Once your friends and family find out you like woodturning, the requests never stop and free wood seems to start showing up out of nowhere with notes attached asking for a bowl, a box, a candlestick. You get the idea.
As for the woodturning class, Rick is a great instructor and knows his stuff. It's a basics class geared towards beginners. But he does give you advice on how to find other woodturners to help you along and move ahead in woodturning if you so desire. There are several clubs and organizations all across the country that can help you find a woodturning mentor. Also, there are those who attend the class and find that woodturning isn't for them afterall. That's okay. At least they now have some basic knowledge if the need arises in other parts of their woodworking adventures.
Get there early for a good seat and while looking towards the front of the class, try to find a place on the left side of one of the Shopsmith's so you can get a better view of the wood while its being turned. Just a little advice from someone who has attended a few times.
Nice to hear that you will be visiting the valley soon for the Traveling Academy in Bakersfield.
I attended that one last year along with the Fresno class. I'm probably going to hold out until Rick returns to Fresno again this year. He usually comes through Fresno about a month after the Bakersfield event.
Bakersfield is about an hour south from me and Fresno is only 40 minutes north. The current cost of reg. gas (locally $4.06 a gallon and rising) will be preventing me from attending both classes this year. Sorry I'll miss meeting you there.
Have fun, ask a bunch of questions (Rick likes that. No, really, he does) and take lots of notes. Also get as much hands-on time as you can. Rick enjoys it when the students get up off their behinds, get close to see what's happening and to give certain tools a try, especially if you are thinking about purchasing a particular tool.
Get envloved in the class. If Rick asks for a volunteer to help him out, be the first to offer. Ask Rick if he wants some company for lunch. He has a lot of great stories to tell about his adventures on the road for Shopsmith and all about his woodworking past. He is a great guy to get to know.
I've been to many Traveling Academies. I started when Doug Reid used to be the instructor. That was back in March 2002 when I first discovered the company offered these classes. Not knowing the schedule back then
and all excited:eek: , I drove all the way to the bay area to attend the class
. They only offered one type of class back then: "Shopsmith Basics". While at the class I found out Doug was coming to Fresno in 3 weeks. Oh well. My wife and I both enjoyed it and made a weekend out of it. After the class we visited the "Winchester Mystery House", spent the night and drove up to Sacramento to visit "Old Town Sacramento" and the California Railroad Museum. I love trains too. I really get into building model trains, especially logging trains and locomotives/models that actually run on live steam. But that is a whole other discussion not meant for this forum.
A year before Doug retired is when they started offering the split classes. First it was two: Basics and Woodturning. When Rick took over, he added the third class as an intermediate type, showing how to make different joints and profiles, measuring and layout, and more specific instruction on the special purpose tools.
If you can, attend all three. Each one offers something new and different.
Have fun and let me know how the Bakersfield Academy goes. I'm always curious as to how many students show up. Last year all the classes were nearly full and Rick actually had to stop taking reservations and turn people away for the woodturning class. He likes that class to be especially hands-on so he limits the size of the class so everyone can make some shavings and do some woodturning.
These two Shopsmith instructors are the ones who really got the woodturning bug to bite me. In the past 5-years, most of my investment in tools has been towards woodturning, with my Shopsmith as the center point. I now have over 40 different types of woodturning chisels, an advanced sharpening set-up, a ton of wood for turning all types of projects, the list goes on. Woodturning can become very addictive, in a good way. Once your friends and family find out you like woodturning, the requests never stop and free wood seems to start showing up out of nowhere with notes attached asking for a bowl, a box, a candlestick. You get the idea.
As for the woodturning class, Rick is a great instructor and knows his stuff. It's a basics class geared towards beginners. But he does give you advice on how to find other woodturners to help you along and move ahead in woodturning if you so desire. There are several clubs and organizations all across the country that can help you find a woodturning mentor. Also, there are those who attend the class and find that woodturning isn't for them afterall. That's okay. At least they now have some basic knowledge if the need arises in other parts of their woodworking adventures.
Get there early for a good seat and while looking towards the front of the class, try to find a place on the left side of one of the Shopsmith's so you can get a better view of the wood while its being turned. Just a little advice from someone who has attended a few times.
Sawdust & Shavings,
Woodburner:o
Woodburner:o
Hint: Rick enjoys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.woodburner wrote:Hi Gary,
Ask Rick if he wants some company for lunch. He has a lot of great stories to tell about his adventures on the road for Shopsmith and all about his woodworking past. He is a great guy to get to know.
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
Chuck in Lancaster, CA