Compass Star Inlay Workshop

Compass Star Inlay Workshop

Date: Sunday, October 5, 2025

Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM

Place: Jim Seroskie’s Shop

11 High Meadow Lane

Amherst, NH 03031

This hands-on workshop will be taught by Michelle Wong and will focus on making a Boston-style compass star. Please bring the following sharp tools to the workshop:

• Marking knife, flat backed, single bevel – required
• Combination square –required
• Bench Chisels: Bring as many as you have!; ¼”, ½”, ¾”, 1” minimum required
• Scalpel – #4 handle with #25 blade preferred (amazon), Xacto knife acceptable – required

Optional (Very helpful)

• Small bench chisels – 1/16” and 1/8” are very helpful
• A bench plane – #3,#4,#5 or in that range. We need at least 3-4 for the class to share. They will be fixed in a vise and used upside down to shape inlay pieces
• Block plane
• Card scraper
• Tweezers Beauty 360 Precision point (not slant point) or similar – CVS $3.50
• Drafting compass

Optional (If you already own them, please bring them!)

• Small router plane with a narrow blade (widest ray dimension is 5/16 – optional – can use bench chisels)
• A sharp #7 or #8 plane blade that is wider than 2 ¼” Swiss made or equivalent chip carving knives – no.1 or no. 2
• Two cherries or equivalent microchisel -1.5mm

Materials will be provided courtesy of Michelle and the Guild. Thank you very much.

Please note that this workshop is geared toward intermediate to advanced woodworkers, and attendance is limited to 10 people.

Regards,

Lou Yelgin

Hand Tools Leader

Michelle Wong’s Bio

Michelle got into woodworking through renovating two older homes in the Boston area. She found carpentry work expensive and often poorly done so she started doing it herself. She worked on rough carpentry, finish carpentry, and finally cabinets and built-ins. Michelle also refinishes and restores vintage/antique furniture, including caning, reupholstering and guilding. After completing the last possible built-in in her current house, she started building furniture. She built her first piece of freestanding furniture from rough lumber in 2021 while attending the North Bennett Street School program. She appreciates all styles of furniture and enjoys using both hand tools and machines.

Michelle was the recipient of the Best in Show award at the 2024 New England Woodworking Competition for her breathtaking 18th-century Federal-style card table. This masterpiece was adorned with intricate inlay, banding, and stringing and also received an award from the society of American Period Furniture. She is a member of the NH Furnituremasters and a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen.