This hands-on woodworking workshop introduces the fundamentals of working with wood through demonstration and making. Designed for beginners, the program begins with a brief tour of Visible Vault: Open Collections Storage, where visitors explore the Museum’s architectural tool collection and consider how tools shape design and craft.  

The workshop continues with a live demonstration on shaping curved wooden forms, including transferring designs with templates, rough-cutting on a bandsaw, and refining shapes with a router and custom jig, while highlighting how grain and texture influence technique and design. 

Attendees then put these skills into practice by creating their own modern plant stand, learning essential woodworking techniques such as shaping, alignment, and glue-and-dowel joinery while reinforcing safe tool use. Each participant leaves with a finished piece, hands-on experience, and a deeper appreciation for wood as a living material. All materials are provided, and no prior experience is required. 

Schedule:  

Session 1  

10:00 am – Intro in Visible Vault: Open Collections Storage  

10:15 am to 12:30 pm – Woodworking Workshop  

Session 2  

1:30 pm – Intro in Visible Vault: Open Collections Storage  

1:45 to 4 pm – Woodworking Workshop  

About Bruce VanSledright 

Bruce VanSledright runs VanSledright Woodworking Studio where he creates and produces unique pieces of custom furniture for clients. He has been working in wood for over 40 years. Some of his furniture pieces have been featured in Fine Woodworking magazine. He also teaches furniture-making classes, most recently at Woodcraft of Greater Washington DC where he often collaborates with his colleague, Carey Wheeler.  

About Carey Wheeler 

Carey Wheeler has been working with wood for the past 25 years. Although he loves to turn wood, he is primarily interested in making different types of furniture. Being a grandfather of 5, his primary focus is making different items for them. Carey also teaches Fundamentals of Woodworking and is very interested in passing on the craft to the next generation of woodworkers. He often collaborates with Bruce VanSledright in teaching the design, layout and building of different tables.  

This program is made possible by support from our VISIBLE VAULT sponsors, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Formica Corporation, Ken and Ginny Grunley Family Trust, Beverly A. Willis Estate, Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation, Armstrong Flooring™, a brand of AHF Products, Esri, ShawContract®, CENTRAL BUILDING & PRESERVATION L.P. and Lilly Endowment Inc.