Tuition: $1,220 Can
Materials Fee: $45
Please see our Calendar for dates


No doubt you've seen people look at a nicely finished piece of furniture, reach out to touch it, then comment on how smooth it is. Well, that's nothing compared to how people react to a textured surface. We all like a smooth surface, but people respond to a textured surface with equal parts surprise and amazement.

In the woodworking world, texture isn't something you come across too often, but that shouldn't be the case. With some simple tools, and a bit of creativity, you'll be making wooden surfaces that beg to be touched. Even if it's just a small textured area, it will draw the attention of everyone who lays eyes on it.

Maybe the best part of all, adding texture to wood is easier than you'd think. On top of that, we all have tools in our workshop that will do a great job at creating the type of texture that will be the focal point of an entire piece of furniture or woodwork. In addition to standard workshop tools, there will also be a wide range of somewhat less common tools that work wonders at adding texture to wood you'll be able to experiment with.

In this five-day course, instructor Rob Brown will take you through the process of how you can bring texture into your woodworking arsenal with a great deal of success. To start the week off, and to get the creative juices flowing, Rob will share images and samples of many of his textured pieces from over the years. From there, topics will cover wood species selection, the best tools for adding texture to wood, how to scale texture to best compliment the project, Rob's "less is more" approach, as well as a whole lot of other practical tips to make texturing your next project a huge success. Students will also have the opportunity to freely explore creating texture on sample boards, so they can get gain critical hands-on experience with using different wood species, coupled with the right tools, to produce textures they like best.

Over the week, each student will work on a simple, yet attractive, solid wood box. The twist is that each box will have multiple tops; each top is yet another opportunity for textural experimentation.

A smooth, freshly finished surface will seem like a wasted opportunity after spending a week diving into wood texture. This will be a fun course, with lots of experimentation, that will open student's eyes to this often-overlooked, yet incredibly fascinating, woodworking skill.


Pre-requisites: Mastering Machinery or equivalent. This course is suitable for all woodworkers with the ability to safely operate basic woodworking machinery.