Woodsmyths Woodworking

Anyone who is taking this furniture making class is probably not looking to start a career as woodworker. I signed up for the the class to scratch my wood working itch to see if it might turn into a cool new hobby. I was hoping to learn some things about building furniture and seeing if it was something I want to explore further. The intro class is a 10 week program and I made it to week 5 before throwing in the towel. Neil has no business teaching anything. The guy has a major anger and control problem.
The class is run from a converted garage behind his house and he doesn’t have enough tools to accommodate everybody in the class. Space is tight. Which is manageable and means we had to take turns and learn to work as a group so we all didn’t need the same tools at the same time. Not a big deal. However he made it a huge deal. He micromanaged everything to the point of driving quite a few of us insane. He’s like the Anal Retentive Carpenter on an angry coke binge.
By week 3, he didn’t know any of the names of us dudes in the class yet he knew all of he names of the women in the class. Why? Because he was routinely hitting on them in pathetic ways. And probably burning mental images of them into his brain for lonely nights at home when his internet connection goes out.
Week 1: The completely useless and extremely painful safety lecture. He talked for 3 hours about: really nothing. He told drinking stories and babbled about nothing that really had to do with safety. Captain Obvious. There wasn’t much useful safety content. It was painful to sit through. I assume he doesn’t lead by example since he violated all of his own safety rules routinely.
Week 2 – 4: We started on a shelf project. Most of the components were precut and the bulk of experience was sanding things with an orbital sander and drilling screws. Think graduate level Ikea assembly. During the drilling part, he handed out a bunch of phillips driver bits that are used in drills. These are $.99 pieces. He handed out five of them and when we were cleaning up, we could only find four of the five. He went on a tirade that we weren’t respecting his tools and had all 7 of us crawl around on the floor for 20 minutes looking for it. We never found it. Neil found it later — in his own pocket when he was doing laundry.
When anyone asked questions about anything, he would get really agitated. Like we were dumb dumbs for not knowing wood is sold in ¼ lengths. Duh.
The following week, we were measuring pieces for our shelf project using a tape measure. We had a tape measure we were sharing among the group. Neil walked by our work bench and asked who was using the tape measure. None of us responded because none of us were using it. He went insane. He started yelling and screaming about keeping the work area clean. He started cussing like a scene from The Exorcist, opened the door to the shop and then chucked the tape measure out into the street. This is the same guy who the previous week gave a lecture about respecting the tools and had us crawling around on the floor for a $.99 piece.
The guy has no business teaching. There are plenty of other good working schools in the city where you can learn the skills of a potentially very rewarding hobby.

He is a madman and a liar. I took his class (well started to) part way through he threw me out. This was after mr. safety threw a tool key at my head, a load of wood onto a running table saw table, and my project into the snow. He tried to give me money back. I said no and didn’t take it. He sent heck to me with a note (I would be happy to share with anyone who asks) saying he was taking to heart what I said and was canceling classes. Low and behold new schedule is up. If you want to try to take a real and SAFE course try CHICAGO woodworking school on Ravenswood. I understand eccentric (which I admit I am) but Neal is dangerous. And truly does not want to teach craftsmanship. I said I wasn’t going to post but when I saw Neal was lying I had no choice. I feel I sam saving someone’s limbs or fingers from possible harm. Sorry Neal but you are a manipulative liar who gives a bad name to craftsmen all over.

Had «custom» made bookcases made by Neil (wood myths), spent over 1200. per bookcase.
The trim has fallen off most… why…because he adhered them with what looks to be a hot glue gun, NOT trim nails. And hot wax on the smaller pieces of trim.
My newly found cabinet maker asked me if the bookcases had been one of my beginning projects… I was so embarrassed but told him I had them made & the cost. He shook his head and said, that’s terrible.
Chalk it up to another life lesson.
Once you’ve seen quality cabinetmakers work… then you’ll have a better frame of reference and comparison.
There are those who open a box of cake mix and think they are bakers.
And then there are those who have eaten that cake and think they found a great baker.

I’ve always admired nice furniture and I’ve always wanted to build things that were meant to last. After moving to the city I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to learn and so I checked out a few different woodworking courses. Some of the other schools seemed as though they were for students to just dip their toes in the water. I chose Woodsmyths after reading through the website and finding that students «learn the fundamentals of wood and wood furniture building.»
Within two or three weeks, we’d finished a nice pine shelving unit. I was describing it to my father – a bricklayer and woodworker himself – and the first thing he asked me was «How’d you cut the dado?» Before I finished saying that Neil demonstrated the cut, he followed up with «Good, good. You shouldn’t be on the table saw just yet.» Now, my father gave me a power drill for Christmas when I was eight, but almost twenty years later he still advised that I get a little more comfortable with the fundamentals before working with a table saw.
There were about five or six of us in the beginner course. We showed up every Monday and worked through the evening while an old radio hummed quietly to itself in the corner. Every now and then, Neil would hear something like Boston out of the corner of his ear and he’d crank the volume up to tell you about a really good show he’d been to. Either that or he’d notice a big pile of sawdust building on the table in front of you and he’d tell you to clean it up – short and to the point – the same way I’d heard my father and his friends address each other on the jobsite. Neil keeps his shop clean for his students’ safety and there is no arguing with him on that fact. He won’t sugar-​coat it, but it doesn’t mean he’s mad at you or that he doesn’t like you. He wants you to understand that you are around very dangerous machinery and that you should keep your workspace clean.
After completing the shelf, a traditional toolbox, and an end table in 10 – 12 weeks, I signed up for Neil’s advanced class. There were three of us. Neil set an oak cabinet in front of us, gave use each a tape measure and pencil, and said, «Ok folks, get to work.» It was three or four months since my first woodworking class, and I felt very comfortable approaching such a project with what I’d learned in the beginner course. We measured, selected wood, and made the cuts ourselves with Neil guiding us rather than mostly demonstrating as he’d done in previous weeks. As we finished up, Neil even had me calling in to order the glass for the doors of my cabinet rather than just doing it himself.
With about seven months of classes under my belt, and a beautiful oak cabinet to show for it, I feel comfortable sharing that woodworking is a skill that requires time, patience, and attention. I read recently that tailors’ apprentices sew trousers for ten years before even touching jackets. It took me seven months to build four very nice pieces and I feel like I have a strong foundation to continue learning.
I’m also glad to know Neil and to say that he’s a genuine guy. He’s a tough Chicago tradesman and he’s very straightforward for the sake of safety, but like I said earlier, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you. He respects woodworking and he gets along with people who share that interest.

I’ve know Neil for years and yes he is a bit of an eccentric, but he is really a great craftsman. He is also a safety nut… and he does tend to hammer on that a lot… but its for your own good… really…you do not want to cut off your fingers! Because of that he may seem a bit overboard but if you really want to learn to make some cool stuff, please just pay attention and do what he says and try not to complain.
Its to your benefit and you will make some cool stuff… I have some of that stuff still, some shelves, a cool little storage table and lots of frames.
For what you learn it a good price and I didn’t cut my fingers, which is super important to me especially since I do bodywork and I just wouldn’t be any good if I did. He really is a good person but you just need to look past the grouchy old guy :)

These are fun classes in a real professional shop (as opposed to a pure school facility) with plenty of hands-​on training and an instructor who is passionate about woodworking and teaching. You come out of these classes with a set of valuable skills and work that you can display proudly.
If you haven’t done much woodworking in the past or have used primarily only hand tools, this class is a great introduction to using power tools safely and effectively. You’ll get hands-​on experience using the radial arm saw, table saw, router, scrolling saw, drill, and a couple of sanders. You also learn a lot about the building process and correct order of steps when creating furniture to yield the best results. You gain valuable knowledge about the properties and physics of wood, the economics of furniture building, and a host of other practical aspects.
This class is about skills, approach, safety, and process more than projects. If you’d like a project-​oriented class that gives you specific instructions about how to build a particular table and doesn’t relate that knowledge to woodworking skills and principles in general, this isn’t for you. The projects in the class are geared towards teaching techniques and skills that you can apply more broadly (how to cut a dado, how to make a mitre joint, etc.)
That being said, you come away with some great stuff — a huge bookshelf, a really nice old-​fashioned toolbox, and an end table with storage space… all in 10 weeks! Make no mistake– this class is a DEAL as far as Chicago woodworking goes– less than $ 400 gets you 30 hours of instruction and all tools and materials are included. You can barely BUY three pieces of handmade wooden furniture for that little!
Finally, a note on the instructor. Neal’s a great teacher and a real expert, seriously. Yes, he’s a quirky guy, no doubt about it, and comes across at first as a no-​BS tough guy, especially in the first session (the excellent introduction to safety). But this is because his main priority is that you learn how to operate tools safely, and that means that he wants you to take it very seriously, even if it means scaring you a little bit and testing the waters to see if you’re serious about it as well. And he is extremely passionate about wood and woodworking and wants to make sure you learn to do things in the best possible way without hurting yourself or breaking the tools, which is why he will, yes, flip out if he sees you doing something stupid that could potentially injure you or someone around you. It takes some getting used to, but in the end it’s not a bad thing, and I’m a lot more vigilant about safety than I might otherwise have been in a «softer» class. And Neal’s really a more sympathetic teacher than he might first seem– he actively solicits feedback, encourages questions, and makes sure people feel comfortable with what they’re doing.
So, in short, I think this class has been fantastic, and everyone in my class liked it enough that they’re all thinking about taking the advanced class sometime in the future.

This seems like a nice, small neighborhood class and wood working shop, and the owner/​teacher is probably an excellent cabinet maker. However, if you want to be insulted and made to feel like a bad schoolboy/​girl, this is for you. I came to his 1^st class held for 3 hours a week, we were told by him not to believe anything he is about to say, as everything is a complete fabrication, lie or maybe the truth. Then he proceeds to make sure everyone knows he is an excellent nationally rated gymnast in the past, multiple marathon finisher, great skier, and pilot with a plane. Then he actually gave a good safety lecture on woodworking tools. We were told to make sure we dress well when coming to class, and some stories about sloppy dressers in past classes. It seemed everyone in class was old enough to know how to dress. Some confused classmates looked at each other, after he told us to dress nice when we show up to his class, for which we were strongly reprimanded with a «one more chance for you or that’s it». My other classmate got taken outside and accused of other things. The next day he actually called and asked me if I really wanted to continue the class or not?! Needless to say, I asked for a refund. No one should suffer trying to learn a fun, new skill. I wanted this to be a good learning experience, but it felt like I was walking on glass at Catholic grade school. No doubt the teacher is knowlegable and skilled, but beware of his strange temper.

My uncle lives in a house that he nearly single handedly built himself in the woods of Vermont. It’s sturdy, beautiful, and expertly crafted.
So I thought, «surely I must have some of this handiness in my previously totally non-​handy self.» But before I plunked down thousands of dollars for lathes, circular saws and other manly machines you can buy at Home Depot, I thought I’d test the waters with a woodworking class. Finding one in Chicago proved harder than expected until one say I saw a flyer at a local coffee shop advertising Woodsmyths. It sounded like exactly what I’d been looking for: hands on, experience with a variety of common woodworking tools, and a mix of instruction and projects.
The class started out fine enough: there were about 10 people, we read some handouts, received some brief instructions, then got down to business. I liked that we’d get to work on things ourselves that we’d then take home to keep, but the instruction left a lot to be desired. The teacher is a bit eccentric and seemed more concerned that everyone finished their projects than whether they actually learned anything. I felt rushed, didn’t feel encouraged to ask questions and when I did, the instructor often just fixed my problem for me instead of showing me how to do it.
After 10 weeks and $ 350, I had three items I’d crafted mostly myself: a toolbox, a simple bookshelf and a storage box-​style end table. The last of these I really liked and still have, the others didn’t survive my most recent apartment move.
And disappointingly, I don’t feel like I really learned all that much. The teacher was a stickler for safety (a good thing), so I feel mostly comfortable operating woodworking machines. But I don’t feel like I know better now than I did before the class what to do with them.
I know Woodsmyths also offers a more advanced class that people seem to take, so maybe others had better experiences that I. So if you can’t find any other woodworking class options, it may be worth giving this one a go. But don’t expect to be anywhere but a tiny step closer to building your own cozy bungalow in the New England woods.