Get your thermoses, hot apple cider recipes, and secret bourbon flasks ready because holiday vacay is soon! There will still be classes going on, but the Tool Library and Community Workshop will be closed from 12/24/22 - 1/1/23.
Pro Tip: If you’re a maniac and are trying to get projects done during the break, it would behoove you to check out your tools during the week before we close because all late fees will be waived.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Knowing Your Home is back! This class is designed to give you a foundational understanding of how the many systems of a house works, and this time it’s being taught by our hilarious resident tiling/plumbing teacher Dave Cooke and his home quality assurance pal Tim Lubbert. Between these guys they have two lifetimes of knowledge about home renovation, home inspection, and home repair so you’ll be hard pressed to come up with a question about your home that they can’t answer (yup - there’s a Q&A after class).
To go deeper into a house’s many parts, check out the rest of our classes in the Knowing Your Home Series.
Knowing Your Home Home Renovation Class // 1.23.23
Dave Cooke and Tim Lubbert will give brief explanations of a house’s various systems from the shingles on the roof to the sump pump in the basement and everything in between. They will discuss how all of these systems interact with each other to keep your lights on, water running, and climate controlled. You will leave class with a basic understanding of how your house works, what tools to carry so you can perform simple fixes, and when to call a contractor (and how to find the right one!) This discussion style class will be interactive, so come with lots of questions.
This class will discuss…
Electrical Systems: service entrance panel, 110v/220v, single phase/three phase circuit breakers, amps vs volts, GFI breakers, lighting, and ceiling fans.
HVAC Systems: heating, cooling, air humidification, filtration.
Plumbing Systems: water supply, faucets, toilets, water heaters, garbage disposals, drains.
Kitchens: countertops, cabinets, tile.
Roofs: repellant, leaks, ventilation.
Walls: structural frame, windows, doors, what walls are made of, and why paint matters.
Foundations: structure, moisture issues, drains, sump pump.
Structures: decks/porches.
Bonus!: how to find the right contractor, basic tools that won’t break the budget.
About Dave & Tim…
David Cooke taught home repair classes for twelve years. He wrote articles on home repair and improvement for a local magazine and appeared weekly on a television program in Boston as the "Resident Home Repair Guy" for two years. David ran his own home repair and improvement business for most of the last 30 years.
Tim Lubbert’s career for the last 2 decades has centered on quality assurance of single-family to large multi-family construction and development projects. Tim’s job on behalf of owners, builders, and/or insurers is to guarantee that the building “envelope” has been constructed according to plans and specifications and that in particular, every roof, wall, door, window, foundation will be resistant to moisture, whether driven by weather or sub-soil conditions. Tim is the homebuyer’s guardian angel.
What People Say about Dave’s Classes….
"David was hilarious. Also I feel much more confident."
"Incredible amount of information and practice for 3 hours without feeling overwhelming."
"Instructor was fantastic, kept the jokes coming and made the time fly by!"
"Instructor was very knowledgeable and engaging"
Book a Private Class at the Denver Tool Library!
Looking for a unique gift for your partner or family? Perhaps your group is taking on a building project and needs to learn some tool basics? Or maybe you’re just looking to have some fun with your company? Well forget a trust fall - give your coworker a circular saw in one of our private classes!
Why Book Your Event With Us?
We might be bias, but our classes are definitely the best group activities in Denver! Not only are they a lot of fun, they also encourage creativity, collaboration, and will pass on practical skills to your group that will last a lifetime. With dozens of different types of workshops to choose from we are sure to offer something your party would like. By choosing us you’ll also be supporting local craftspeople, artists, and a non-profit that strives to put tools in the hands of all folks and organizations regardless of income.
"You can take away anything from a man - his wealth and health and suchlike - but you can't take away his craftsman skills." -Happy People, Werner Herzog
Here's an easy way to help your community get affordable tools: When you renew or buy a tool library membership, ask to go gold! The bit of extra money it costs goes toward discounted/free memberships for people and orgs who need them. As a sweet perk you’ll get a photo of yourself put on our gold member wall so everyone knows how outstanding you are. You even get to meet and pose with Werner Herzog if you’d like.
"Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness." -Werner Herzog
We’ve got some special holiday versions of some familiar classes this season. They’re one time only so grab them before they’re gone!
Sunday, November 20th // 3:30pm-8:30pm
Prerequisites: None
Class Capacity: 8
Materials Provided?: Yes
Age Limit: 13+ (guardian required if under 18)
Partner Ticket Available?: Yes (info)
Available for a Private Class?: Yes (info)
Clothing/Equipment Requirements?: Be prepared to get a little dirty.
Join Denver based printmaker Lucy Holtsnider for a workshop to block print holiday cards!
Over the five hours class we’ll practice drawing, carving, and printing a two-color reductive linoleum print by hand. No experience is required, and we’ll use non-toxic materials and a set of simple tools to make prints that are easy to recreate at home without a press. Drawings can be done freehand, or traced directly from a book or photograph. Participants should bring a sack lunch, close toed shoes, and 4 x 6” or smaller photo to make a drawing from.
Lucy Holtsnider is a printmaker and book designer based in Lakewood. In her fine art practice, she prints on a Vandercook SP-15 letterpress out of Zarapes Studios in Denver. As a designer, she designs book covers for self-published authors. Lucy currently teaches at Colorado College, and has taught courses at Yeshiva University, Marist College, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. LucyHoltsnider.com Instagram: @lholtsnider
Sunday, December 4th // 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Prerequisites: None
Class Capacity: 10
Materials Provided?: Yes
Age Limit: 16+ (guardian required if under 18)
Partner Ticket Available?: No (info)
Available for a Private Class?: Yes (info)
Clothing/Equipment Requirements?: Closed toed shoes, an apron, and tie your long hair back if needed.
Just in time for the holiday festivities and perfect for the winter season, this holiday star garland will add sparkle to your home. You’ll create in either copper or brass, fun and festive 5 point stars using beginner metalsmithing techniques. These beautiful decorations are perfect for your home or to give as a gift. This class is brand new to Denver Tool Library and only being offered December 4th!
Liz honed her skills while earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in small metals and sculpture. Inspired by the world around her, she continued her education with a Masters in Cultural Studies. Liz’s extensive experience in metal work includes welding, blacksmithing, and a career in sculpture conservation, including working at the Smithsonian. Her teaching background ranges from first grade art classes to private jewelry lessons and has spanned over a decade.
Liz is the owner and creator behind Covert Metals, a one-woman metalworking studio located in Denver, Colorado that has roots reaching from New York to Texas. Covert Metals emphasizes unique one-of-a-kind design that melds contemporary styling with hand-forged detailing. You can find her work at CovertMetals.com or on Instagram and Facebook @covertmetals.
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*If this class is sold out and there is an open class at a later date, sign up for the later class and we will offer you a free transfer if this class becomes available. If you want to know when new dates are announced or would like to know about newly available open spots for sold out classes, join our Classes Newsletter.
Sunday, December 11th // 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Prerequisites: None
Class Capacity: 10
Materials Provided?: Yes
Age Limit: 16+ (guardian required if under 18)
Partner Ticket Available?: No (info)
Available for a Private Class?: Yes (info)
Clothing/Equipment Requirements?: Closed toed shoes, an apron, and tie your long hair back if needed.
Make the perfect holiday decoration to give as a gift or keep for yourself! We’ll saw, drill, and file a beautiful Colorado Pine Tree from copper and string it up so you can show it off. You’ll be able to personalize it even further with initials or a special date. Bring friends or family and make memories too. This class is brand new to Denver Tool Library and only being offered December 11th.
Liz honed her skills while earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in small metals and sculpture. Inspired by the world around her, she continued her education with a Masters in Cultural Studies. Liz’s extensive experience in metal work includes welding, blacksmithing, and a career in sculpture conservation, including working at the Smithsonian. Her teaching background ranges from first grade art classes to private jewelry lessons and has spanned over a decade.
Liz is the owner and creator behind Covert Metals, a one-woman metalworking studio located in Denver, Colorado that has roots reaching from New York to Texas. Covert Metals emphasizes unique one-of-a-kind design that melds contemporary styling with hand-forged detailing. You can find her work at CovertMetals.com or on Instagram and Facebook @covertmetals.
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*If this class is sold out and there is an open class at a later date, sign up for the later class and we will offer you a free transfer if this class becomes available. If you want to know when new dates are announced or would like to know about newly available open spots for sold out classes, join our Classes Newsletter.
Want to teach Knowing Your Garden and/or a Intro to Permaculture classes for 2023? Know someone who might? Pass the word along and apply at denvertoollibrary.org/teach THANKS!
Did y’all know there’s this thing called Colorado Gives Day going on now through December 6th, 2022 where you can donate to all of your fav Colorado based non-profits? Did you know that your donations go further through this program because they’re backed by a 1.4 million dollar fund? And can you guess who’s on the list of non-profits you can give to once again this year?… Oh yes, it’s us!
If you or someone you know has the means, consider giving the gift of tools this season. Your donation will go to…
Local orgs who use our tools to make a difference in the community.
Our sliding scale membership fund so everyone has access to tools.
If you’re a member - YOU! More $$$ = more tools.
All you need to do is go to coloradogives.org/organization/DenverToolLibrary and hit that donate button. We’ll turn whatever you give into tools for everyone. THANKS!
Our fantastic volunteer Celi @aracelialto gave the classes chalkboard a makeover! It looks SO good. If you ever want to hang with Celi and the rest of the totally cool DTL staff/volunteers, sign up at denvertoollibrary.org/volunteer There's like a million different things you can do like check people in/out, fix broken tools, inventory new tools, zone out and organize the shop, whatever! Don’t know anything about tools? It doesn’t matter - we’ll teach yah. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.
Look Cool, Impress your Friends, and Support a Cool Org while you’re at It.
Checkout our new version of a really old shirt. It’s a three quarter sleeve not-illuminati baseball t-shirt now in black. If you’re looking for a holiday gift for someone who likes us and also wants to be adored by all of their friends because they look so cool, look no further. Come by and pick one up from the shop before yours & their size is gone!
We’re Always Accepting Donations of Power Tools! No More Hand Tools or Rubber Duckies at the Moment.
Latest Tool Donation: A few pounds of cut in half foam filled & glittered rubber duckies. Please stop donating these sorts of thing, they are too cute/weird and we literally can't say no. However, if you have power tools (especially sewing machines) in decent working condition you can drop them off during open hours. Please no hand tools at the moment - just like rubber ducks we have too many of those as well (you can donate your hand tools to @habitatdenverrestores). THANKS!
