Wood Thumb Woodworking Workshop: $94 Cutting Board Class

Wood Thumb teaches a 2.5-hour walnut cutting board class for $94, and you do not need a single hour of woodworking experience to book it. The shop sits at 968 Mission Street in San Francisco's SoMa district, CA 94103, and the price includes all materials. If you have been searching for a woodworking workshop in San Francisco that puts power tools in your hands on day one instead of watching a demo, this is the beginner Level 1 class the shop itself calls one of its best.

The shop describes the class as upbeat and a little messy, promising that you will leave covered in sawdust. In 2.5 hours you touch the chop saw, the router table, the drill press and hand tools, which is a wide sample of the machines in a working shop. Wood Thumb lists the tools and materials for the class as chop saw, router table, drill press, hand tools and an oil finish, so there is nothing to buy or bring beforehand.

Completing a Level 1 class also unlocks the next step. Per the shop, finishing one lets you sign up for Level 2 Community Workshops or Open Shop Night. That makes the cutting board the cheapest ticket into the whole system, and the sensible first booking if you suspect you will want to come back.

If a board is not what you want to carry home, the Level 1 menu is broader than it looks. The Wedge Side Table is $148 and runs 3 hours. The shop calls it its most popular workshop ever, and you build a 16 by 16 by 12 inch pine table with the chop saw, nail gun and router table, then choose a stain and use branding irons to mark it. The Deco Shelf is $148, and the Picture Frame workshop is $148 as well. For the frame you bring an 8 by 10 inch photo and the instructors walk you through the build from start to finish.

The Triangle Shelf is the lowest-commitment option after the board, at $94 for 3 hours. The Mug Shelf is the priciest Level 1 project at $196 for 3 hours, with a choice of walnut, white oak or pine, built with the chop saw, nail gun and hand tools. The workshop page also featured a Triangle Shelf session on Oct. 24 at 6 pm, which tells you evening classes run alongside daytime ones. Kids are welcome in any class as long as an adult comes with them.

Level 2 is for people who have already finished a class. The Rainbow Cutting Board is $158 and is about creativity and craftsmanship, a stepped-up version of the walnut board. The Coffee Table is the big one: red oak and walnut, glued up, then cut on the planer, table saw and chop saw, hand-sanded, oiled and fitted with hairpin legs. It runs on demand rather than on a fixed date. You buy a $500 certificate for 5 hours of shop time and pay $100 for materials at the shop, so $600 in total.

The suggested pacing is 3 hours on day one and 2 hours on a second day. That structure points at the other way to use the building. Shop Time costs $120 per hour, booked in 1-hour blocks up to 7 days in advance. You get full access to the woodshop plus mentorship from an expert woodworker. The tool list includes a SawStop table saw, chop saws, a 24 inch planer, router tables, a drill press, power sanders, clamps, chisels, finishing supplies and a Glowforge laser cutter.

Wood Thumb began as the vision of two brothers who wanted a creative community in San Francisco built around craftsmanship and sustainability. They started the woodshop in 2011, making small batches of wood products for stores around the country. The best known was the wood tie, which made appearances on late-night shows and in magazines. The brothers decided something was missing, because their real goal was getting as many people as possible excited about woodworking.

So the shop turned to classes. The about page says thousands of students have joined public workshops, which are open to everyone whatever their background, and hundreds of teams have booked offsites. The first team event was for the Airbnb crew, and regulars since then include Google, Facebook, Twitter, Medium, Lyft, Pinterest and Instagram. A recent blog post covers the Pinewood Derby, where participants carve a race car from an 8 inch block of pine and run it down a gravity track.

Public workshops are booked through the calendar on woodthumb.com. Team events are separate. The shop offers three start times every weekday for groups, so if your office wants a morning, a midday or an afternoon slot, you can choose. For individuals, expect shared communal tables and a shop that promises to leave you covered in sawdust, so wear clothes you do not mind dusting up.

The honest judgment: pick the cutting board if you want the most tool time for the money. The $148 table gives you something bigger to show for the day, but the board teaches almost as many machines for $54 less. Skip the Mug Shelf unless you actually own the mugs, because at $196 it is the most expensive Level 1 option. Call (415) 295-5047 or email hello@woodthumb.com with questions about joining a public workshop. The shop says you do not need previous woodworking experience.

The block sits in SoMa, near the stretch of Mission Street that connects Yerba Buena Gardens and SFMOMA to the Civic Center side of downtown. Powell Street station is a short walk away. Because the cutting board class ends with a freshly oiled board, a good plan is to walk to Yerba Buena Gardens afterwards and let the oil settle in the open air. If you booked an evening class, SoMa restaurants and bars are close by for a post-class dinner.

Booking tip: classes labeled Level 1 are the only ones open to first-timers, so ignore the Level 2 listings until you have finished one. Gift certificates are available for workshops, and a shop time gift certificate is sold too, which makes a class a workable present for a friend who likes making things. The calendar lists sessions by date and time, with the price on each workshop page.