The Class Experience
For any of you who are on the fence about taking one of my chairmaking classes, I have added a page (click here) to the class web pages with comments from some of my students. I recognize that taking a class like this can be a huge investment in tuition, lodging, and travel, not to mention time. I also know that other than Brian’s recommendation I am not a well known woodworker, so hearing about other people’s experiences may be helpful in deciding if one of my classes is right for you.
John Zicker traveled from the west coast to take the rocking chair class with me this past October. He had taken a side chair class with Brian about ten years ago and since then has dreamed of building one of his rockers but was never able to make it to one of Brian’s classes. John had this to say in a note to Brian after the class:
On your recommendation I took a class to build a rocking chair from Jeff last week. You couldn’t have selected a better person to teach people how to build a rocking chair of your design. Jeff not only instructed me in the construction of your chair but in the finer points of woodworking that resulted in the best woodworking project I have ever done.
Read more about John’s experience, along with comments from other students, on The Class Experience page.
Jeff Lefkowitz | January 14, 2013
I would echo what John has said. Having taken several classes from Brian and one from Jeff, I feel I have a good perspective from which to judge. There is a difference, but neither presents a sacrifice. Brian is the creator and this is the feeling in his classes. He loves to talk about why and to challenge the woodworker. Jeff is the teacher. He stresses the how…technique and accuracy. Having been a woodworker for many many years, I found things in Brian’s class that made me rethink conclusions I had drawn from experience. In Jeff’s class, I came away with a more in-depth approach to the same project…building a chair. I won’t say I prefer one or the other, but I can say that if you want to know how to build one of Brian’s chairs, Jeff will greatly exceed your expectations. He is competent and intensive in his approach. His main goal as I saw it was to insure that after I left his shop, I was equipped to build the chair without help…but he offered that as well. Thanks for the experience, Jeff.