Sound Foundation Woodworking Academy

Sound Foundation Woodworking Academy Sound Foundation Woodworking Academy located in the Quad Cities. Here we offer classes for anyone wa
(1)

Long post warning.One of my favorite things to hear is “Hey Mark, can you help me build this? I have plans but need some...
03/28/2026

Long post warning.

One of my favorite things to hear is “Hey Mark, can you help me build this? I have plans but need some assistance.” It’s one of my favorite things to hear because it’s one of my favorite things to do. So much so that I always hear I under charge for it from nearly everyone that has worked with me. It all started with this project in the pictures. My friend Bill’s brother and sister in law Bob and Vern, got a butcher block table for their wedding 48 years ago. They used it here and there but not with anything significant. After purchasing a new retirement home they decided it needed a kitchen center island and wanted to build one, using the top for it. Although the top has some serious cupping problems we hand planed the butcher block flat and then made the base with drawers and doors. Something they ultimately saw and used every day. This is the project, that ultimately became private lessons, that started so many custom builds to follow. I realized that today as I’m preparing to go to Bob’s celebration of life.

Bob and Vern have invited me into their home multiple times since to see it and just spend time together, breaking bread and sharing stories. I can’t count how many times people who’ve built projects here have done the same. From inviting me into their homes to enjoy our shared hard work, phone calls thanking me, texts thanking us for inspiration, and just general enthusiasm for just being here to help. Individuals, groups, kids clubs all getting their hands on projects they built themselves giving them fun, confidence, and inspiration to do things themselves. This is all hitting me now thinking about Bob and Vern and how working with such nice people inspired so much. It’s also at a time where I’ve got decisions to make about the future of the school for myself and for others.
It’s a joy to see what talented hard working people with a passion can build on their own every day. Though some of those projects keep me up at night, drain my brain thinking of ways to do what people want the right way, and take time from my life at times, it’s still what I enjoy doing the most. I have Bob to thank for that.

03/26/2026

I very much agree with this so thought I’d share. It’s commonly missing on our customers saws.

With classes on hold for a bit, we’re still doing private lessons. A frequent customer decided he didn’t care for the qu...
03/26/2026

With classes on hold for a bit, we’re still doing private lessons. A frequent customer decided he didn’t care for the quality of cabinets he was offered for his new kitchen. So I suggested we do it ourselves and why not just book match each panel door…. Which proved to take a good amount of time but very much worth it. Soon to be installed.

coming to Amana Iowa Sept 4-5. This is a great woodworking event for literally all woodworkers. See the best hand tools...
03/20/2026

coming to Amana Iowa Sept 4-5. This is a great woodworking event for literally all woodworkers. See the best hand tools on the market, meet the makers, spend time with fellow woodworkers and enjoy peaceful Amana! For us it’s literally in our backyard so our intent is to be there. We’re very excited for the show!

An example of a private lesson at the school. Adam and Leslie came to us with a vision of their kitchen table. We procur...
02/19/2026

An example of a private lesson at the school. Adam and Leslie came to us with a vision of their kitchen table. We procured the lumber focusing on unique pieces, and helped them make an heirloom quality table. We love the unique grains of this walnut table and know they’ll enjoy it for decades to come.

A board we made from walnut and epoxy for the auction at the Greg Hipskind memorial jam last night. It was a great night...
02/16/2026

A board we made from walnut and epoxy for the auction at the Greg Hipskind memorial jam last night. It was a great night and the fine folks at the did an amazing job! I hope someone enjoys their board!

02/01/2026

Well here’s the unfortunate news. Our liability insurance decided to cancel us. Regardless of my efforts to find a new company all efforts have been wasted. So all classes are canceled until we get our LLC changed to a 501-c3. Hoping classes will start back up at the end of summer.

R.i.p Greg. Thank you for all the help and inspiration over the years. That endless enthusiasm and encouragement helped ...
01/10/2026

R.i.p Greg. Thank you for all the help and inspiration over the years. That endless enthusiasm and encouragement helped thousands of kids and beyond in our community. We likely wouldn’t be here without Greg’s presence. Please follow and keep his legacy going.

01/10/2026

Last week Greg Hipskind passed away. He was way too young but lived a full life filled with people, doing what he loved. He started the QC Rock Academy in 2011 and helped thousands of people, mostly kids get started in music, even to the level of playing in a band! Tonight I should be prepping for tomorrow's class but wanted to pay a little tribute to him after just getting back from his visitation. After spending a lot of time thinking about Greg and all he did for the community, I also thought about how he touched my life personally. I started playing guitar, taking lessons at the QC rock academy from my friend Scot. I don't think I would have started if not for Greg's enthusiasm and genuine interest, I was pretty old. That turned into me getting decent on the guitar and wanting one specific guitar of my own. I paid many high end luthiers, but none could finish building it, because it was too hard. So I decided to take classes to learn to build it myself. That turned into my love of woodworking classes. We started a foundation called Sound Foundation where we built and gave guitars to kids who couldn't afford them and worked with QC rock academy on that to get them lessons as well. Because of legal issues we had to ultimately drop that (for now) but then used the Sound Foundation as the starting of the name of the school. Academy came from QC Rock Academy. Again Greg was there in ways he didn't realize. Greg touched thousands of lives helping others in ways even he didn't intend. I don't know if my path to building the school to get people involved in building when many didn't think they could if it hadn't been for Greg. Now you know how we got our name and a little about a big inspiration for us and on me personally.
R.I.P Greg.

01/08/2026

A friend and colleague from near Knoxville Illinois has this planer for sale. If you’re in the market, check it out! While you’re there talk milling and kiln drying with Ty. You’ll hear a lot of the same things you hear at the school.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DPLafTQ86/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Address

1130 15th Avenue Ct West
Milan, IL
61264

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 2:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 2:30pm
Thursday 9am - 2:30pm
Friday 9am - 2:30pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+13093513213

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sound Foundation Woodworking Academy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category