Furniture Design & Woodworking
Code: W0404-25
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Open to All
Students of any skill and knowledge level.
Making a Basic Puzzle Box
Jun 23 - 27, 2025
9AM-5PM
Concept
Students make their own unique puzzle boxes using hand tools based on the traditional methods of Japanese Himitsu-Bako. Students learn how to use a high precision miter box, pull saw, and a hand plane to make secret sliding dovetail mechanisms. The workshop challenges the student to do precise work with hand tools in a process that is both meditative and satisfying. The workshop includes a detailed demonstration of making traditional Japanese parquetry veneer called “Yosegi Zaiku.”
Media & Techniques
Wood, glue, hand tools, miter box, pull saw, hand plane, precision glue ups, creating veneer, veneering, fine-tuning mechanical moving parts
Faculty
Kagen Sound
Kagen Sound has been a full-time puzzle box maker for 25 years. After studying math in college he gravitated towards the form as an expression of logic and riddles. His puzzle boxes have won numerous awards in the worldwide puzzle collecting community, and are considered an artform that intersects with mechanical puzzles and woodworking.
Kagen Sound, Maze Burr
Tuition: $1,380.00
Studio Fee: $150.00
Registration Fee: $45.00
NEW: Tuition includes the welcome dinner and daily lunch
Registration Information
Join Waitlist for Making a Basic Puzzle Box
Thank you for your interest in the waitlist. When space in a workshop or program becomes available, registration will open on the website. Everyone on the waitlist will be emailed to alert them of the opening. This ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to register for the workshop or program.
Furniture Design & Woodworking
The Furniture Design & Woodworking program at Anderson Ranch draws upon the world of studio furniture, but pushes the boundaries of woodworking by mixing contemporary and traditional techniques and incorporating alternative materials. Anderson Ranch offers an inspiring range of workshops for all levels in topics such as cabinetry, wood bending, kinetics and carving.
The Maloof Wood Barn, divided into a machine room, assembly room, and bench room, provides participants the ideal workshop for realizing technical and creative goals. The machine room houses stationary equipment including SawStop table saws, jointers, planers, bandsaws, drill presses, edge sander, disk sander, drum sander, spindle sander, radial arm saw, chop saw, router table and multi-router. In the assembly and bench rooms, a library of clamps, hand tools, and hand-held power tools line the walls for student use to complete their woodworking projects.
The Furniture Society and Anderson Ranch are partnering this year to offer a scholarship for one BIPOC applicant to attend a workshop for the 2025 summer season. This opportunity includes tuition for a one-week workshop, room and board for a Furniture Design and Wood workshop, and a 1‑year membership to The Furniture Society. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
Anderson Ranch is happy to extend a tuition discount* in summer one- or two-week adult furniture design and woodworking workshops** for Furniture Society members. Please email reg@
Workshop Details
Workshop Supplies
Provided by Anderson Ranch
Equipment
- Bandsaw
- Chisels
- Clamps
- Drill Press
- Flush Trim Saw
- Hand Planes
- Japanese Pull Saw
- Ryoba Pull Saw
- Sanding Blocks
- Squares
Supplies
- Baltic Birch Plywood
- Basswood
- Cherry
- Walnut
What you need to bring
Required Tools and Supplies
- Personal Dust Mask (N95 or higher) or Respirator**
- Personal Hearing Protection
- Personal Safety Glasses**
Optional Tools and Supplies
- Blue Masking Tape**
- Bubble Wrap**
- Cardboard boxes**
- Erasers**
- Packing tape**
- Pencils**
- Sharpies**
- Sketchbook**
- Tools you own that you would be unhappy without
- Water Bottle
* Available for purchase in the studio.
** Available to purchase at the Anderson Ranch ArtWorks Store for 10% off.
Learn more about shipping supplies and artwork to and from the Ranch in the Student Handbook.
Lodging & Meals
Housing is limited and includes shared and private lodging options. Reservations will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier you reserve housing, the better your chance of receiving your preferred option. Please note: Workshop costs do not include accommodations.
NEW: Tuition includes a welcome dinner and lunches. In our effort to foster a stronger sense of community and accessibility at Anderson Ranch, we include the welcome dinner and all lunches as part of the tuition for summer workshop students. Our hope is that this adjustment will encourage all students to come together to share meals and engage in meaningful conversations. The Ranch Café Meal Plan, which is included with Room and Board fees, strives to provide healthy, creative meals that will nourish your artistic creativity. Learn more.
We have established a Business Safety Plan with added layers of precaution that prioritize the health and safety of our staff, students, faculty and guests while continuing to provide you with the Anderson Ranch experience that you know and enjoy.
Scholarships, College Credit & Discounts
Making Art Accessible
Applications for scholarship support are encouraged. Specific scholarships are funded by Ranch supporters, either through endowed funds or special gifts.
Many colleges and universities offer college credit for workshops taken at Anderson Ranch. Discounts are available for students and teachers.
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Code W0202-25
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Open to All
Students of any skill and knowledge level.
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Sculptural Coopered Vessels
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Code W0303-25
This class shows students a fun way of putting many flat, smaller pieces of wood together and building them into a large, organic, and free form. With this coopering-like special glue-up technique, each student achieves a vessel form that starts from a flat board of lumber instead of a big chunk of log. This class also provides the opportunity to learn how to use hand carving tools such as gouge, rasp, file, and scraper and power tools like angle grinder, die grinder, jointer, circular saw, and band saw safely and properly.