Folding Campaign Bookshelf - July 19, 2025
July 19, 2025
9am-5pm
This course will consist of using hand tools along with power tools. You will learn what mortises and tenons are, how to make them, in what order, and how they go together. You will understand how to make finger grooves in the wood and how to get the sliding action of the book self. You will design the folding ends of the bookshelves, attach them using a piano hinge, learn the importance of measuring the wood for a proper fit, and fine tune the action of the sliding fingers. You will also be doing leather work in making a small strap to attach to the back of the bookshelves. This will include using copper rivets, leather punches, cutting knives and how to attach buckles to the strap.
After this course, you will have a better understanding of design and how wood can be used in more of a fun way. You will have a one of a kind piece that will be practical and a centerpiece on any desk. You will also learn a bit of history as you create a bookshelf that would have been used in the 1800s by British officers on military campaigns when all items needed to be small and practical.
Tuition: $105
Materials Fee: $30
This course is for adults 18+, or students 14+ with accompanying adult
Your Instructor
KERRY BECKENBACH
(he/him)
Kerry has been “bending wood” for about fourteen years to create snowshoes and furniture for himself, friends and family. A veteran of the US Navy and a retired law enforcement officer, early in his career Kerry worked in Cook County, MN in and around the North Shore, BWCA. During that time he made winter camping trips into the BWCA that were often too cold, with too much snow, pulling overloaded sleds with snowshoes, cross-country skis. Too many trips to count and yet in reflection, not enough.
Kerry is retired now and living in central MN with his spouse Lynn, who according to Kerry has all the talent in the family. When not bending wood and sharing his passion for creating Kerry can be found under the surface of lakes and oceans as a scuba diver and instructor. He can also be found helping Santa during the busy season.