Workshop Overview.  In 2021, Rob's Training the Hand Workshop will be held once each month from April through October, assuming unrestricted US/Canada border crossing is allowed and local COVID conditions allow for the workshops.  Each workshop is 6 days long and is held at Rob's Workshop located in Grand Bay, New Brunswick, Canada. 

Cost:  The one week Training the Hand Workshop costs $2000 USD  (this covers tuition, all materials except handtools, 6 breakfast meals, 6 lunch meals, and 6 supper meals).  To reserve your bench in the workshop just select "deposit" or "full payment" from the drop-down menu and add it to the cart.  If you choose the deposit option, the initial deposit is $1000.  The remaining $1000 is due no later than 45 days before your workshop starts.  

Workshop Details. There are 14 student positions available per workshop.  Seven of the slots in each workshop are reserved for Combat Wounded Veterans participating in Rob's Purple Heart Project.  The remaining seven slots in each workshop are reserved for paying students.  

Think of Rob's Training the Hand Workshop as a "Boot Camp" for traditional hand-tool woodworking with 12 to 15  hours of intensive training daily.  Each day starts at 08:30 am and we train until about 12:30pm when we break for lunch which is delivered to the shop.  After lunch we continue training until around 6:00pm when we break for supper, which is also delivered to the training site.  Then its back in the shop until around 8:00pm; however, we keep the workshop open until 10:30pm if students want to work on their projects, which typically happens.

To get the same amount of instruction and workbench time from other woodworking courses you would typically have to attend a more expensive two-week course and incur the additional lodging, transportation, and food costs.  With Rob's workshop you get two weeks worth of training in just one intensive week of woodworking, ultimately saving you time and money.

Students must bring their own hand tools or you can purchase them at the workshop.  See "tools" below for more information.  

By the time the week is over you will be able to sharpen your tools, use a plane and chisel, six-square a piece of wood, saw correctly, hand cut dovetails, hand cut mortise and tenons, and leave with a small project you have built. 

If you want to jump-start your hand tool woodworking skills or just need an in-depth refresher course, then this is the workshop for you.  In one week you will obtain more woodworking craftsmanship skills and techniques than watching  numerous DVDs or taking numerous weekend courses.  I guarantee it will be money well spent and you will go home a better woodworker. 

Normal Refund Policy:  $250 of your tuition is NON-REFUNDABLE.  Any remaining balance paid is refundable if you cancel up to 60 days before the workshop begins.  Cancellations made within 59 days of the workshop start date ARE NOT refundable. 

COVID-19 Refund Policy:  If we cancel the class or the class cannot be held due to any COVID-19 restictions, 100% of your tuition payment is refundable.

Cancellations.  To cancel a previously reserved workshop please contact us at Robswebmaster@robcosman.com or by using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of any page of our website RobCosman.com.

Location. The Training the Hand Workshop is held in Rob's personal workshop which is located at 275 River Valley Drive, Grand Bay, New Brunswick, E5K 1A7, Canada.  The nearest large city is Saint John, New Brunswick Canada, approximately 20 minutes east of Rob's workshop.  The nearest large U.S. city is Bangor, Maine, located approximately 3 hours south of Rob's workshop.

Woodworking Space. The Training the Hand Workshop is held in Rob's personal workshop in a specially designed teaching area approximately 1000 square feet with 12 student workbenches.  Each workbench has a sharpening station, anti fatigue mats, overhead power cord, bench lamp, vise and bench dogs, shooting board, and bench hook.  The teaching room is abundantly lit with bright, white, LED lights. 

Initial Meet-and-Greet.  We have an initial meet-and-greet at Rob's Workshop for all students who can make it on the Sunday night at 8:00-9:30 pm (Atlantic Time).   This is so you can see the facility; claim your workbench; drop-off your tools; meet Rob, the assistant instructors, and the other students.  If you cannot make the Sunday meet-and-greet please let us know and we will see you on Monday morning.  As the workshop date gets closer we will email you with more details on this "meet-and-greet". 

Daily Workshop Topics:

• Monday: Free-hand sharpening of planes & chisels; how to prepare and use a plane; how to plane wood flat, square, and straight.  

• Tuesday: Hand-cut through dovetails. 

• Wednesday: Dimensioning lumber from rough to ready.

• Thursday: Start work on workshop project: A candle box.  Pieces will need to be dimensioned in thickness, length and width and finished planed.  Half blind dovetails on the second half of the day.

• Friday: Mortise and Tenons for the first half of the day.  Remainder of the  day is spent working on the candle box.

• Saturday: Through wedged tenons in the morning. Remainder of the day spent finishing the candle box.

Daily Schedule.  The Training the Hand Workshop is held Monday - Saturday.  Click the button below to see the typical daily schedule.  

Travel and Transportation.  You should plan to arrive at Rob's shop on Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. for the initial meet and greet. Schedule your departure for Sunday following the conclusion of the workshop. Click on the button below for more detailed information on nearby airports and local transportation.   

 Lodging.  There are no hotels in Grand Bay.  The closest hotels to Rob's workshop are 6 to 10 miles away, located on the west side of the city of Saint John, New Brunswick (note: Not St. John's - that is a different city).  Just search Hotels.com or any other hotel site for hotels in Grand Bay - Westfield, New Brunswick, Canada area and these hotels will come up.  Click the button below to learn about or recommended hotel and other nearby hotels.

 Meals.  All meals, breakfast, lunch , and dinner are included in the cost of the workshop.  Click on the button below for more menu information and to see our sample menus.  

 Tools. Each student (except for Rob's Purple Heart Project Scholarship students) is expected to bring their own tools to the workshop.  Please watch Rob's video on this page to listen to Rob talking about the required tools or click the button below to see the list of required, recommended, and optional tools.  

 Frequently Asked Questions.  Over the years a our students tend to ask  similar questions about the workshop.  Click the button below to read our answers to the most common questions we get.

 Basic Requirements to Enter Canada. Entry into Canada is solely determined by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials in accordance with Canadian law.   We have had students that have had difficulties and have even been denied entry into Canada.  We recommend you click on the button below and carefully read the the requirements for entry into Canada.