~Joint Gymnastics~ Butterfly Joints (intended for women & marginalized genders)

  • 26 October 2025
  • 30 October 2025
  • 2 sessions
  • 26 October 2025, 6:00 PM 9:00 PM (CDT)
  • 30 October 2025, 6:00 PM 9:00 PM (CDT)
  • 14 27th Ave SE, Minneapolis MN 55414
  • 5

Registration

  • These seats are reserved for BIPOC students wishing to pay for registration based on Fireweed's micro-reparations pricing strategy.

Register
Fireweed Woodshop is excited to host a four part series in handcut joinery called Joint Gymnastics! Each part will be a two-class session: the first class will be a lecture, demo, and beginning hands on practice and the second class will be time for students to practice making the joint and ask questions. Joint Gymnastics is a skills-building workshop for students to learn how to use handtools, so the focus is on practice rather than creating a take-home project. Students are welcome to sign up for individual parts.


The four types of joinery we will cover in Joint Gymnastics are the mitered corners with splines, butterfly joints, wedged mortise and through tenons, and handcut dovetails. While students are welcome to sign up for the specific joinery they are interested in learning, the sessions are organized so we will start with the most forgiving joint and work our way towards the most complicated. These classes will build students' confidence in handsaw and chiseling skills. 

Butterfly joints are used to either join two pieces of wood together or to reinforce cracks in wood by inserting a key into the compromised wood. Joint Gymnastics Part Two: Butterfly Joints will utilize chisels, hand saws and the bandsaw to create the components of the butterfly joint. Students will draw their own key shape, learn to chisel a mortise, transfer the shape of the mortise to their key material, then use the bandsaw or hand saws to make the key. Students can choose whether to practice joining two pieces of wood together or reinforce a crack.


The materials fee for this class is $25 and is included in the admission cost.

* We do require masking indoors, whatever your vaccination status *

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Taught by Aria Kampfer and EB

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