Ottawa City Woodshop

Father of three here. I grew up with a father who was handy and who made decks, fixed furniture, wired bathrooms, and the like, and my mother was also crafty (quilts, porcelain, painting). Due to the nature of his work he was unable to teach us his skills growing up. So I am really happy to have found Ottawa City Woodshop. Here is the place where I can begin upgrading myself to get some of my father’s great skills, and this time hopefully pass some along to my own children.This wood shop posts new projects every month on their website and you can sign up to classes to make all sorts of things—tables, chairs, boxes, even toboggans. The shop has all of the wood machinery you would expect from large to small. The staff are patient with first timers and are able to give some personal attention while you work. The photos I posted are from a coffee table class.The only problem with the place is—the classes fill up fast! You can email the owners to ask when they post classes so you can try to be there on time to register first (a bit like finding your kids a summer camp in Ottawa…). First timers have to take the “basics” course which is particularly prone to filling up. You have to camp on their website and refresh once a day.

Doing a workshop here to make canoe paddles. We've only just started but it's fun so far! Staff (who are the owners) are patient and accommodating.

Had a class here. The space is fantastic, the folks running them are warm and engaging and patient. Just an awesome experience overall that makes me want to explore woodworking more.

Just completed the Toboggan course; it was great! Can’t wait to take the sled down some hills.The instructors were great and the course was really fun - the fact we learned how to hand build a sled at the same time as we had fun was awesome.10/10 would recommend to friends!

Great place to rid myself of hubs for a few hours. He took a course there to learn how to use the machines and has not come back with missing fingers. Good.The use of the shop is through membership and is well supervised. Great community feeling and sharing of knowledge.

Great place to “build” stuff! This place is “Woodworking for Dummies”. Literally anyone can build beautiful stuff with no prior experience in woodworking. Martin and his crew are great instructors and amazing at helping people build stuff... safely. I’ve already gone their thrice and going back their a fourth time!Every session leaves you with a great sense of accomplishment and a confidence to build better things!

Took the intro to woodworking course hosted by Liz. Was a very good introduction to all of the essential power tools for woodworking. Liz was super knowledgable and provided good guidance, but the course also allowed for lots of time to practice things on your own. If you are just starting out i would definitely recommend taking the course. The shop itself has lots of space and good dust collection set up if you are considering becoming a member.

So much fun learning and creating in this space. Have attended two different workshops with two different teachers and both were exceptional.

I’ve taken two courses here now and both times it’s been a blast. The facility is excellent and has all the professional grade tools you can imagine. They actually just moved into a bigger facility a couple doors down. It’s a great value considering the hours of fun, education, and wooden product you get to take home. I took the hockey stick course taught by Mike and Matt and they were always super accommodating and knowledgeable. It’s a great way to spend the weekend or gift idea for someone!

Great introduction to using power tools safely. Thank you Harrison for sharing your experience and knowledge.