Hammerstone School Carpentry for Women

The table saw, which is essentially a large circular saw flipped upside down, justifiably earns its reputation as one of the most dangerous tools in a shop/on a job-site. Almost all of the serious carpentry accidents suffered by people I know have been table saw related. This doesn't mean we should avoid the tool. One of the "soft skills" we address in all of our classes is transforming paralyzing fear of a dangerous implement into healthy respect which allows us to safely ...harness the power of the tool for our own designs. And the table saw allows us to tackle jobs that would be slower, less accurate, or downright impossible with any other tool. Hammerstone also recently invested in a SawStop table saw which allows us to teach this class with less risk. SawStop technology detects the electrical conductivity of the material the blade is cutting. If it encounters your skin, a brake cartridge is slammed into the blade within 5 milliseconds and the momentum causes the blade to drop below the surface of the table almost instantaneously. While the SawStop saw drastically reduces the risk of using a table saw, there are other dangers associated with the tool, most notably kickback, where material pinching around a spinning blade sends that material rocketing back at the user. All of these dangers can be addressed through safe set-up and use of the tool, which is the purpose of this class. In the class we will learn how to safely set up and adjust your saw for different types of cuts. We will practice ripping lumber, as well as cutting wood across its grain using a cross-cut sled and a miter gauge. We will look at different types of saw blades, and use both a regular saw blade and a dado stack. Each student will get ample practice time at the saw, as well as the opportunity to learn by observing each other. Sign up today! http://hammerstoneschool.com//table-saw-fundamentals-augu/ #womenusingtools #learncarpentry #tablesaw #sawstop #powertoolsarecool

Check out this AWESOME project by #hammerstonealumnae Ellen! Ellen, who attended a 2-day basic skills course and a 5-day rough framing course, wrote to tell us about an exciting project she just completed. She and her husband and brother tackled the huge challenge of ripping off a rotten porch and replacing it with an enclosed sunroom (which looks really inviting from the pictures she sent). Ellen said that she worked alongside her family in all aspects of the construction,... from foundation to trim. She says she used every tool on site, including the circular saw, reciprocating saw, table saw, drills and drivers, and multi-tools (just to name a few). They started in the fall, and wrapped up just after the holidays. She wrote: "if you think you can’t do construction, please try a basic class first and see where it takes you!!! I am a very confident beginner now!" What projects have you worked on since completing a Hammerstone course? Send them our way! We would love to share your projects with the rest of the Hammerstone community. Email [email protected]. #womeninconstruction #womenintrades #womenusingtgools #learncarpentry #womenbuilding

Save the date! May 7-8 I hope you all know about the tremendous work our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate does in Tompkins and Cortland counties. What you may not know is that they hold Women Build days where all volunteers and crew leaders on site are women. Even more exciting, once a year they host a Women Build Weekend event, appropriately timed to coincide with Mother's Day (this year, May 7th and 8th). We Hammerstoners try to participate every year, both by leadin...g instructional sessions, and simply pitching in on the construction. The Women Build weekend is also a huge fundraiser for the affiliate, and since it was cancelled last year because of COVID-19, they are working extra hard to make up the difference this year. We hope you will save the date of May 7th and 8th to join us helping out! You can register to participate or contribute at www.givegab.com/campaigns/women-build-weekend-2021, or reach out to Shannon MacCarrick at [email protected] or 607-844-3529 to learn more. #womenintrades #womenbuild #womenusingtools #womenempoweringwomen #learncarpentry #carpentryforwomen

As the director of a carpentry school, I have become accustomed to receiving unusual phone calls and mail. Recently, a package arrived without any phone call alerting me that something was on its way. Inside the envelope were some cleverly designed table saw push-sticks. "Once again to promote shop safety I am making dozens of table saw push sticks and distributing them around our world of crafts", the included note began. Fantastic - I could use some new push sticks! Ho...wever, the most interesting part of the package to me was the reprint of an article from the magazine "Tradeswomen" from spring of 1997 about Carolyn Grew-Sheridan, an accomplished woodworker and the sender's late wife. I read about Carolyn, and then I looked up the magazine which I had never heard of before. "Tradeswomen" magazine! Imagine, a publication written by and for women in the trades. 65 issues were published from 1981 to 1998 by Tradeswomen Inc., a San Francisco Bay Area organization that still exists. What strikes me most, as I read books and articles about the women who came before us, is how little has changed. National labor statistics still show women only making up 3-4% of building trades workers. Even though I try hard to surround myself with other women trades workers, I still see this disparity reflected in my reality teaching at SUNY Delhi (3 of our 45 students in the Residential Construction program are women). And the stories told in the articles from 40 years ago about the challenges women encounter trying to enter trades work and the harassment faced on the job could have been written by my contemporary peers, or even myself, today. We have certainly come a long way, but clearly have a long way to go, and Hammerstone is one small part of changing our perceptions about who is cut out for carpentry and trades work. I like to imagine a world where inspiring stories periodically show up in all of our mailboxes, reminding us that there is a history of women who came before us making the change that made our path possible. It is up to us to remember them, and honor them by picking up where they left off, opening more doors for the women who will come after us.

Learning carpentry is no joke. Our students have found that learning in an all-female environment is safe, supportive and fun. #learncarpentry #womenempoweringwomen #carpentryforwomen #womenintrades #WomenThatBuild #womenusingtools

Last Hammerstone Classes of 2020 - https://mailchi.mp/92067e0ab5d5/may-6526250

August at Hammerstone - https://mailchi.mp/b1c1391f2fcb/may-6517850

Happy Independence Day from Hammerstone - https://mailchi.mp/fa3b993db5e6/may-6499878

Hammerstone School Summer Changes - https://mailchi.mp/f90f27d9bd4b/may-6490270

Hammerstone School Covid-19 response - https://mailchi.mp/1410fa2ec82c/may-6403769

Happy Women in Construction Week!