WOODWORKING

Mechanical Arts Program Event

October 20-24, 2025 | Sedgwick, Maine
Open to the Public

Understanding wood and how to shape it into cultural artifacts such as houses, furniture, and basic household utensils has a venerable heritage. Man has always been a tool-using creature, and from the prelapsarian commission to “work and keep” the earth into the present day, wood has been one of the most foundational materials he has learned to work. Starting Monday at 3:00 PM, this weeklong class, led by Mortise & Tenon Magazine editors Joshua Klein and Michael Updegraff, will immerse the student in the premodern world of hand-tool woodworking. Using the same time-tested tools that built our material heritage (such as handsaws, handplanes, and chisels), students will learn to prepare and smooth boards, cut joinery (such as mortise-and-tenons and dovetails), and build their own bookstands. Each day will be framed by morning and evening prayers, common mealtimes, and instruction and discussion of the relationship between hand-tool woodworking and spiritual and ministerial formation. This class is designed to accommodate all skill levels from beginners to woodworking veterans. If our present technophilic age has taught us anything, it has taught us that we have a lot to learn from the past. The ancient wisdom of craftsmanship will not only aid our own personal formation, but it also teaches us how we can better love our neighbors and how we might more deeply engage the world that reflects the glory of our Triune God.

Instructors


Mr. Joshua Klein

Mr. Klein is a ruling elder at Pilgrim Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Bangor, Maine and is founder and editor-in-chief of Mortise & Tenon Magazine. He has been selected for the Early American Life Directory of Traditional American Crafts for his authentic approach to pre-industrial furniture making and has presented about historic craftsmanship at museums around the United States. In addition to his regular essays in Mortise & Tenon, he has written articles for Fine WoodworkingPopular Woodworking, and American Period Furniture, and is author of four books: Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) (Lost Art Press, 2018), Another Work is Possible (Mortise & Tenon, 2020), Joined: A Bench Guide to Furniture Joinery (Mortise & Tenon, 2020), and Worked: A Bench Guide to Hand-Tool Efficiency (Mortise & Tenon, 2022). Klein, his wife, and their three sons are currently restoring an 1810 cape on the coast of Maine.

Mr. Michael Updegraff

Michael Updegraff lives in the Maine woods with his wife and three children. He tackles many different projects at Mortise & Tenon, variously swinging a hammer, writing blog posts, restoring sash windows, and troubleshooting obscure software issues. He spent over a decade working on boats, preferring wooden hulls and traditional rigs. He enjoys writing (the work on a novel continues), tinkering on interesting mechanical projects, exploring the woods, and seeking out how our ancestors survived and thrived through a deep knowledge of the natural world.

Elements

Tools & Materials

Riving, cut nail driving, Slöjd (knife) carving


Stock Prep

Choose boards, plane, saw


Joinery

Mortise and tenons and dovetails


Finish Bookstands

With an afternoon tour of the Jonathan Fisher House


Guided woods walk tour

Fell a birch tree with axes, harvest material for carving, carve around a campfire


Meals

Breakfast: Light breakfast (bagels, etc.)
Lunch: sandwiches made in the shop
Dinner: On your own