GET READY FOR A BUSY SUMMER!

May 5

Hello Hammerstone Fans,

April is a crazy month in upstate New York. 85 degree days are followed by freezing temperatures. One day I’m looking at the lawn thinking it needs to get mowed soon, and the next day it’s covered in snow. May usually brings slightly more stability and warmth, though we’ve been known to have to provide hand warmers and extra hats to our students even in June classes as unpredictable weather strikes.

There’s a palpable excitement around here as we start getting ready for our very busy late spring and summer schedule. Material orders for our tiny house classes have been placed. Larch for our Adirondack chair and picnic table classes is being delivered and processed. The shop and property are getting tidied up and ready for students. On top of which, we’ve been working on creating some new Hammerstone promotional items for you! I hope you’re eager to hear about all these things.

Finally, a lot has been changing in the world regarding COVID so we’ve once again clarified our COVID policy. We hope you’ll read to the end of the newsletter for the specific details on that.

Happy Hammering,
Maria

BUILD A PICNIC TABLE
MAY 23-25

Our Build a Picnic Table class is coming up later this month and there are still a couple openings left in the class if you would like to participate. In this 3-day class, you’ll learn the skills taught in our basic skills classes (measuring and marking, using the circular saw, using the drill and driver), and some additional skills (chop saw, router, heavy duty fasteners). Plus, the finished project in this class is a beautiful table built from local, naturally rot-resistant, larch. Imagine having company over for a summer cookout and being able to eat at a table you built yourself!

We hope you can join us on May 23-25.

APRIL BASIC SKILLS CLASS

I did not get to participate in the April class personally – it was in the capable hands of Lead Instructor, Em, and TA, Kelly. However, perusing the class photos, it’s clear I missed out on a lot of fun. You can see the joy our participants experience getting to know one another, building skills in a supportive community, and at some points, just goofing around. We hope you’re able to join us sometime this season to experience the fun for yourself.

Our April Basic Skills class was (*hopefully*) the last class of the spring to be taught in our indoor space at the Red Barn Cabinet Shop. We’re excited to move back to our open air barn at Hammerstone headquarters for the rest of our courses. Of course, if we encounter inclement weather, the indoor space is always available as backup.

MORE TINY HOUSE COURSE DETAILS

We’ve spent a couple of newsletters discussing the curriculum of some of our tiny house courses, including framing, dry in, finish carpentry, and building science. In this newsletter, I’ll talk about the final tiny house course: roofing.

INTRO TO ROOFING – SEPTEMBER 29-30

Whether it is slate, tile, metal, asphalt, wood, or plaster, your roof is the most important first defense against the elements, and getting it right is critical! In this two-day class we will discuss the pros and cons of the wide variety of roofing materials, including their cost, longevity, aesthetics, appropriateness to local climate, and environmental impact.

In general, roofing is a specialty trade that many contracting crews sub out to specialists who install roofing every day. However, as an independant contractor or as a homeowner or hobbyist working on smaller projects, you often encounter small roofing jobs that don’t warrant the expense or time constraints of hiring a subcontractor. For example, if you’ve built a shed or a chicken coop, you’d probably want to roof that yourself. Additionally, understanding some of the fundamentals of different types of roofing, and especially the importance of well detailed flashing, allows you to speak with contractors you hire with more confidence and knowledge.

In this class we will practice the installation of two different types of roofing. Our tiny house and shed will be roofed with agricultural style, corrugated, metal, and we will install asphalt shingles on a practice roof.

ROUGH FRAMING – BUILD A SHED

We continue to receive inquiries about our Tiny House Framing course, even though it has already filled. We are, however, offering a second framing class this summer: our Rough Framing – Build a Shed class on July 11-15. This course is identical in curriculum content to our Tiny House Framing course. Both courses teach the fundamentals of stick framing, the most common method of constructing a house these days. The only difference is that one structure is built on a trailer (the tiny house) and the other is built on “skids”, wooden runners that allow the shed to be easily transported.

If you’re interested in learning how to build small structures, whether tiny houses or otherwise, we assure you, you will learn the same fundamentals in the shed framing course. We are even happy to field questions about tiny houses

BASIC SKILLS FOR NON-BINARY AND GENDER NON-CONFORMING FOLX

You may have noticed that we are offering a new version of our basic skills class this year – one that is explicitly welcoming of all non-binary and gender non-conforming folx. Most of our classes are open to women and non-binary folx assigned female at birth. To our class on June 25-26, we invite all gender non-conforming folx, including those who identify as male or who were assigned male at birth. This class is also still open to women and those who do not necessarily identify as gender non-conforming. Tell a friend!

HAMMERSTONE SWAG

It tickles us to see Hammerstone swag out in the community. I personally love being asked if I’ve taken a Hammerstone class when I’m wearing my t-shirt. And I know there are a few stop signs in Ithaca with Hammerstone stickers on them

Well, we’re excited to offer ever more ways to proclaim your Hammerstone love through what you wear. In this newsletter, we’re unveiling a new Hammerstone shirt, but look for more swag items in the future. This new shirt design is subtle – the kind of shirt someone will stare at until finally asking you what it’s about. Like a secret signal, those in the know will give you a nod or a wink when they see you wearing this shirt.

Come to our website to order one today, or pick one up when you attend your next class!