Hoener Farms x Never Stop Building
Hoener Farms x Never Stop Building
Timber Framing Workshop: January 3-10, 2026
Come Join us
To build a love letter to craft.
This workshop will be the ultimate testament to craftsmanship - and we will be learning by real world example. Along the way we will share trials, tribulations and ultimately succeed in building something truly amazing - our knowledge.
Our finished structure will stand as an enduring monument to teamwork, craftsmanship & timber - a shrine for pizza, a utopia for woodworkers and a wicked cool view for the merely uninitiated. L’Temple du pizza will function in the future as a home for wood fired confectionary, and a place for students, clients and woodworkers to relax and revel in craft.
We believe that craftsmanship can enrich and add value to our lives, but only if we let it. Experiencing the work that goes into a project like this will give us a newfound appreciation for traditional craft and for the people who practiced this art that came before us.
After the accomplishment of this class, you will feel empowered and ready to tackle your next project with newfound energy, skill and efficiency.
Pricing: January 3-10; 2026
$1,800 Early-Bird Discounted Registration valid through November 22
$2,000 Individual Registration
The snow is softly falling outside our workshop, the coffee is steaming and a symphony of tools are chopping out neat, intricate Japanese Joinery.
What you’ll learn
Meet the Instructors
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Jason Fox
@Neverstopbuilding
Jason runs Never Stop Building, a design build studio located in Mercer, Maine. They specialize in traditional woodworking, furniture design, timber framing and finish carpentry, utilizing predominantly Japanese tools and techniques.
Jason runs classes at his home and around the country, including the ubitiquous Maine Japanese Woodworking Festival every summer.
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Maximilian Hoener
@Hoenerfarms
Max designs and builds handcrafted furniture, using natural materials from his farm; under the name H.CO Handmade and Hoener Farms Fine Woodworking. His work has a focus on traditional tools, joinery and functional design. The enduring sculptural work of Max’s grandfather, inspired him to leave a corporate career - in order pursue craft full time.
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Jordan Hoener
@therealhoenerfarms
Jordan is perhaps the most important team member of all: chef, facilitator and HR expert - she will make sure everything goes off smoothly and without a hitch. While not working behind the scenes, look for Jordan to be participating in the daily woodworking projects (as she is well known to do just about everything around here).
The Project
A furniture grade building - featuring hand planed timbers, all wood joinery and curved pieces carved from site felled trees.
Our design is inspired by the 18th century schoolhouse that once stood on this site, and informed by the familiar New England “sugar shack”. Paired with a decidedly Japanese design influence, this building makes for an interesting and unique project - a marriage of traditional East with West.
A mix of easy to very difficult Japanese joinery will be used on this project and covered in class:
Kashige ooire hozo sashi - oblique dadoed full mortise and tenon joint
Shachi tsugi - Key haunch mortise and tenon
Wari Tsugi - dadoed and rabbeted scarf joint
Watari Ago - stacked tennon joint
shitage kama - blind half dovetailed stub mortise and tenon
Over the course of 7 days - students will learn about Japanese carpentry, joinery and timber framing - with hands on training covering theory, and implementation.
Newfound skills and freshly tuned tools will be tested while cutting this intricate frame. The workshop will culminate with a collaborative raising of the structure, and a Jotoshiki ceremony followed by a well earned celebration.
This event includes homemade meals, cooked from scratch with many ingredients lovingly grown throughout the year from our garden. Snacks, drinks and 3 meals will be served; with plenty of coffee and tea during the day to keep us firing on all cylinders. We take nutrition and energy seriously around here and you should too.
Meals are subject to changes/alterations. Dietary restrictions will be accommodated to the best of our abilities - please make note of any restrictions/preferences when signing up!
Alcoholic beverages are BYOB for all dinners.
Our Menu
All the Info
tldr:
Accommodations (Not included with tuition):
The Millbrook Inn (10 mins.)
Troutbeck (15 mins.)
The Heartwood Inn at Vassar (20 mins.)
Best Western Inn & Suites at the Falls (25 mins.)
The Inn at Bellfield (30 mins.)
Air bnb rentals (5-15 mins.)
We have negotiated rates at these hotels & special amenities + discounted rental car pricing. Please contact Jordan for booking and housing information. If you are interested in sharing a rental house with other course participants (private rooms) please let us know! If you will be in the area without transportation, we will do our best to help arrange shared transportation with fellow class participants.
Getting Here:
Hoener Farms is located just 90 miles north of New York City and 2 hours (or less) from 6 major airports, in the mid Hudson Valley region.
JFK = 2 hrs.
LGA = 1 hr. 40 mins.
EWR = 2 hrs.
HPN = 1 hr. 10 mins.
ALB = 1 hr. 30 mins.
BDL = 1 hr. 40 mins.
Poughkeepsie Train Station = 35 mins.
Rhinecliff Train Station = 35 mins.
Wassaic Train Station = 20 mins.
About the Workshop:
The best way to learn these skills is by doing them on a real project. The project provides context and answers to many of the “why?” questions that arise when you cut practice joinery in isolation. A typical schedule begins with a group breakfast, a morning instruction session and demonstration. Then follows morning work, lunch, and afternoon work. We’ll end the day with a group dinner and discussion. As students complete their assigned joints they’ll be rotated to other joints, finishing or assembly. At the end of the workshop we will raise the structure and celebrate our group success.
The Location: Hoener Farms in Millbrook, NY
Our property and homestead farm is set on 5 acres in the bucolic forests of the Hudson Valley. Our animals include: sheep, goats, chickens and a single Scottish Highland Cow, who functions as a pet, and our mascot. Hoener Farms produces & sells wool, fruits & veggies, eggs, timber and breeds babydoll southdown sheep.
The workshop features 2400 sq. feet of woodworking nirvana - with heated floors, vintage industrial machinery and anything else you might need to produce solid wood architectural millwork and high end furniture. Handtools and machinery are held in equal regards here - as to is the mix of Western and Eastern tools.
Students will be able (and encouraged) to make use of the studio space during downtime and after instruction - to practice techniques learned during class hours. Practice materials and work holding/work benches will be provided for participants. We also encourage you to spend time with our fluffy friends during your downtime here at Hoener Farms.
Food:
We have worked hard to put together an exceptional menu for this course, and we know one thing is for sure, you won’t be hungry!
Most of the food used for this menu was grown right here on our property (including: tomatoes, peppers, Green Chile, hot peppers, garlic, eggs, eggplant, cucumber and squash).
If we didn’t grow it - we are sourcing and partnering with other local farms to provide the remainder of the ingredients; like Taconic Distillery for local maple syrup and Hudson Valley Fresh milk & cheese. Some specialty ingredients are imported; such as blue cornmeal from the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, Parmesan Cheese from Italy, and olive oil from our sister in laws’ vineyard in Tuscany.
Snacks and drinks (coffee, tea, water, hot chocolate) will be provided throughout the day.
*We will do our best to accommodate allergies and preferences (within reason) please reach out if you have any questions.
Price: $1,800/early-bird registration (valid through November 15th) $2,000 after November 15th.
Price is inclusive of all meals, snacks and drinks (non alcoholic) during the course. Instruction is every day from 8am-6pm with breaks for snacks and meals. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided throughout. Optional activities and practice time will be allowed throughout the course. Accommodations are not included
Other Inclusions: All course plans, shop drawings and 3d models will be made available for student use during and after the course. As plans are finalized they may be made available before the start of the course as well. All materials (timbers, wood etc.) are included and plenty of extra material will be available for students to utilize.
How to signup! A $75 fully refundable deposit is required to hold your place - please see below.
Cancellations or changes:
After your acceptance to the class, the full balance (minus your deposit) becomes due. We will have an option to pay in two installments. Should you need to cancel after December 10th, a full refund is contingent on filling your place! Cancellations prior to December 10th will receive a 75% refund (unless we are able to fill your spot).
Schedule: January 3-10, 2026
January 3 - 9 Daily class itinerary and building.
January 10 - weather permitting : Raising day and celebration!
As this course takes place during the winter months, we will be flexible to weather considerations and may need to alter our raising day plan. Contingencies are in place for bad weather and all course days will take place in a climate controlled environment. Please bring warm outdoor clothing! We will have warming stations and bonfires during outdoor activities to keep everyone safe, warm and happy.
Topics covered:
Design philosophy and layout of a Japanese inspired structure
Building language, terms and understanding layout markings
Selection and preparation of timbers and building material
Use of Japanese hand tools, western hand tools and power tools to cut joinery.
Hand plane finishing of show timber surfaces (kanna finish)
Completion and team raising of structure
Selecting, felling and preparing site trees for use in a structure
Dealing with problems and making adjustments on the fly
Texturing and hand hewing preparation of materials
Required Tools
All woodworkers are big fans of their tools (and we are not the exception) - however a well thought out toolkit is often far more useful and practical than a large hasty one. The following tools should be thought of as the minimum to fully engage and participate in the course.
We will be covering a broad range of hand and machine woodworking skills and these tools will ensure your enjoyment and fulfillment in the course. More tools are great, however if you are just starting out, please take care in selecting only the most useful tools first.
If you do not possess the required tools, we are happy to help you source tools for this course from our trusted dealers. Japanese tools require a very engaged and active dealer to find and suggest the best tools for your situation/ budget and as such we are extremely picky with our tool sellers.**
We will expect all your tools to be in good working order and sharp and ready to go on day one. Time spent preparing tools during the workshop takes away from your experience using them. If you need help setting up your tools before class, we can make accommodations to assist.
Loaner tools during the course are not guaranteed, but we will make effort to ensure everyone’s enjoyment and participation.
Western equivalent tools may be used for this workshop, however we encourage class participants to learn and enjoy Eastern tools as it will enhance their experience. A combination of Western and Eastern tools is fine as well.
**If you have no tools, we have put together a starter toolset, with a focus on a lower number of higher quality tools. This will get you going quickly and provide a lifetime of enjoyment (If you need tools for the class, please reach out to us so that we can order them for you. All tools must be purchased in advance).
Sharpening supplies: 1000/800 Grit Water Stone, 6000/8000 Grit Water Stone, Diamond Flattening Plate (optional 3-5k stone, 2-600 aggressive stone)
15mm, 18mm, and/or 24mm Japanese Chisel (Chu Tataki or Tataki prefered)
Ryoba Saw 270mm or 300mm (rip and cross cut)
Japanese Mallet for striking chisels (known as a Genno) 350-500g
Sashigane 150/300mm (or equivalent)
Pens/Pencils
A can-do attitude and the will to succeed!
Optional Tools
More chisels (variety of sizes)
Rabbeting planes (kiwaganna)
Japanese Hand Plane (Kanna)
Drill / impact driver
Circular Saw
Chain Mortiser
Wood Owl auger bits
Large mallet
Tool belts
String Line
Marking Gauge
Handplanes
Electronic timber planer
Western framing square
Timber slicks / tsuki-nomi
Required Experience
An intermediate level of woodworking competency will greatly improve both your experience and the overall outcome of this class. If you are uncertain or uncomfortable with your experience, please reach out! We will guide you in the right direction, and get you up to speed before the course begins.
We want everyone who is interested to be able to participate and to enjoy this class! Please don’t let your experience level or any other insecurities (real or perceived) stop you from joining in if this project sounds fun, we will make accommodations!
Join us January 3-10, 2026 for an intensive Timber Framing Workshop in New York’s Hudson Valley!
To sign up for this class, we require a $75 (fully refundable) deposit.
Clicking “Register” below will add the deposit to your cart. Afterwards you must Check Out in order to complete your registration!
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