May 24-28, 2027

Making Indispensable Handtools: Cutting Gauge, Joiner's Mallet & Fret Saw

with Frank Strazza

$1150

a cut list will be emailed so you can BYOW

About this Workshop

These three tools are among Frank’s personal favorites at the workbench—tools he has used, refined, and developed over many years of furniture making and teaching. In this class, students will build these tools while learning not only how they are made, but why their design details matter. For centuries, woodworkers made many of the tools they used at the bench. In this five-day workshop, students will continue that tradition by building a traditional cutting gauge, joiners mallet, and wooden-frame fret saw. Each project introduces precision layout, joinery, shaping, fitting, and toolmaking. Students will also learn how tool design affects performance as Frank demonstrates traditional techniques for working accurately and efficiently with hand tools. The finished tools are designed to become part of each student’s everyday working kit. Students will strengthen fundamental hand skills used in fine furniture making while producing three useful tools to take back to their own benches.

Key Points

  • Principles of wooden hand tool construction
  • Accurate layout, fitting, and grain selection
  • Constructing a traditional joiners mallet
  • Understanding mallet balance, handle shape, and ergonomics
  • Making and tuning a traditional cutting gauge
  • Shaping the gauge stock and fence
  • Making and sharpening a cutting-gauge blade
  • Constructing a wooden-frame fret saw
  • Understanding frame geometry and blade tension

About the Instructor

Frank Strazza

Discover more about this instructor and their work.

Full-Week Program

ENROLLMENT DETAILS

Making Indispensable Handtools: Cutting Gauge, Joiner's Mallet & Fret Saw with Frank Strazza

May 24-28, 2027

$1,150.00

Online Registration Starts December 1, 2026

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