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Great course! Steven is very helpful and patient. Great community and collaborative experience.
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I really liked learning the fundamentals of woodworking in this class, and I love how my table came out! The class would sometimes move slowly because there were so many students and only a few machines for a specific task, but I mostly didn't mind. Steve and Mario are both very knowledgable and helpful.
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The class is affordable and good if you’re a beginner. However, the instructor might have anger management issues. He was constantly yelling and snapping at students over simple issues most of time(some were actually his fault) and only stressing people out more when there is indeed a serious issue. So although I liked the work itself, that’s the reason I won’t proceed to a more advanced course offered there. The assistants are awesome so I gotta be fair with them and thank them. Also the other students were great to work with.
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This class was awesome! I’ve never woodworked before but it was pretty easy to keep up. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about wood, the tools, and the process and came out with a really nice chair. Really happy with my decision to take the class and I highly recommend it to anyone considering. I’ll def be taking more of Steve’s classes in the future!
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This is a great class to take especially if you are interested in joinery. I learned how to do mortise and tenon as well as lap joints. Steve is a great instructor who really knows what he is doing and ensures the safety of all students. The teaching assistant, Mario, was also super helpful especially when it came to the glue up process where he's really knowledgeable on clamping techniques. Despite the class being quite large, Steve and Mario took the time to help students if they wanted to modify their projects. As a returning student, it was nice to see other returning students who I knew by name as it felt very community oriented. I would recommend taking the side table class prior to this class as it helps with a stronger foundation. I would also recommend investing in the tools that are recommended in the course description especially if you want to continue to take more classes. Overall it was an very informative foundation class and I will definitely be returning to FIT for more classes.
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There should have been a lot more structure. Steven clearly knows his stuff but seemed stressed about the class size which slowly dwindled after a few weeks. Here are my suggestions:
1. Be very clear about the Goals of the course (eg we plan on making a modern chair. In this course our aims are etc etc.)
2. Introduce yourself clearly and also make everyone else go around the room introducing themselves. After 6/7 weeks I had no idea what anyone was called. Sure, it is not necessary for the class but it is a basic social skill.
3. His assistant Mario was very quiet and it wasn't clear that he was confident with English which is fine but Steven should have directed him more and he would have been more useful. He seemed to know his stuff and was a really nice guy.
4. Don't have favorites. Steven called some people by their first names and ignored others. This is unacceptable for a teacher and can breed resentment. If you don't feel comfortable pronouncing someones name why don't you ask them!
5. There was inadequate instruction around the table saw. This is a highly dangerous tool and he should never be in the other room while a complete novice is operating it. It literally only takes a second..
6. There was a complete disconnect about what tools were required for the course. He should have spent some time on this. He didn't seem to be aware of what was needed or what was recommended..
He has the potential to be a great teacher as he is clearly very skilled. I think he should have shown some of his work as this would have been inspirational to the students. Someone needs to sit in the class, observe and give formal feedback. Sadly, I won't be returning and can't recommend the course to others in its current format.
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Great class that covered machinery + hand tools. The instructor and TA were both super knowledgeable and accommodating. Class size was a bit large so there was some waiting to use machines, but we all finished our tables.
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The class is a little bit crowded and there is a lot of waiting time for machines. Wish there was more hand tooling for the project. Mostly simple machine operations.
Steve (instructor) is a very good teacher though. I liked him.
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This was an excellent class. The professor and his assistant were knowledgeable and conveyed information clearly. The space was uncrowded and the equipment was well-maintained. I highly recommend this class for anyone who would like to try or already has an interest in woodworking.
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Lots of hands on and used quite a few power saws. I plan on taking another class in this program.
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Steven was a great instructor and was always available for each student when we had questions. I highly recommend this class to anyone looking to learn some new woodworking skills.
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Good class, a little disorganized at times as not everyone in the class was a beginner, so introductions / explaination were a little short sometimes. Overall awesome chair and fun experience.
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Great Class! Lots of functional table saw experience including how to cut rabbits and mitres. We all also walked away with a beautiful and functional box!
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Great class, I messed up the bridle joint (too tight) and left it together but unglued over the week between classes, leading to a cracked table leg. Steve fixed it and showed me where the problem in the joint was. Learned a lot of woodworking techniques!!!
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Too many people in this class. Made it delayed the overall process and made it very tiring
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I really enjoyed this class! Steve is an informative and talented instructor and I got great practice.
Steve can be a little scattered. But he spends a lot of 1 on 1 time with students and thats really where I learned the most
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Great class, great teacher
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Great intro to woodworking, we used almost every machine in the shop!
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Very happy with the box we built, and the techniques we learnt.
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Best class I took
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