The Butterfly Joint

This place is incredible. I took my daughter to the peg game class, and she loved it. Danny went through the process step-​by-​step and made her feel confident to try it herself. He’s such an awesome teacher! The shop itself is super clean, bright, and hip. I want to come back for an adult class! Truly one of a kind.

Wow! Just went to a kids’ bday party here and I am beyond impressed by how Danny kept the kids (and parents!) focused and on task in a 2-​hour span. Whereas most adults might shy away from teaching a kids’ class, Danny was in his element, from start to end — professional, engaging, and attentive the entire time. Despite the snack/​bathroom breaks, all the kids still managed to finish a pair of wooden dice that they made themselves. How awesome is that!
And I write this review as someone who’s always said woodworking on any level wasn’t for me!

We had a birthday party here and it was just AWESOME!!! Danny is a wonderful teacher who had no problems managing kids of various ages. The kids listened attentively and he encouraged them to have good manners! The environment was very nurturing, fun, and positive! Many parents think woodworking is a dangerous thing for kids. On the contrary, with good instruction, kids are very capable of creating awesome things and when they do, they are super proud!
The youngest student was 2 and she worked diligently on the dice project (with her parents of course). Danny explained each step and the kids were able to work on those steps at their stations. Parents had a great time helping their own children finish the project. I’m not sure who had more fun, the parents or the kids but definitely both :). The classroom is clean and nicely laid out. That is the most important for a safe shop!
My kid loved the class and can’t wait to go for more classes! I love how in this day and age, a school like this exists because kids really need to work more with their hands and use their brains to think creatively.
You won’t be disappointed coming to this school!

We just got back from a birthday party at the Butterfly Joint. The kids got to make their own party favor — a pair of dice. Danny Montoya led the class and he was fantastic with the children. He explained the step by step process on how to drill holes in the dice and to sand and oil the finished product. The kids responded well to his instruction and they had a good time. This is almost like the Lowe’s workshop only you learned how to drill holes with a hand drill and to use a Japanese saw (with parental instruction).
Workshop is clean and bright. Overall it is a cheerful place to introduce children to wood shop — something that public schools eliminated for a long time.
Street parking only so that may be problematic during peak hours.
Like my kid said, «This was the best party ever!»

We just had my daughter’s 11^th bday party at The Butterfly Joint and it was a huge success. Danny was an excellent teacher. He really knows how to keep kids engaged and motivated. He kept the girls’ attention for 3 whole hours and each one created a unique and beautiful wooden gemstone necklace. They were so proud of their creations and each one looked like something you could buy on Valencia at one of the hip boutiques for much more than we paid for the class.
The Butterfly Joint space itself was light, spacious and welcoming. I was so impressed with Danny’s kind and patient demeanor and he is clearly a talented woodworker. I look forward to taking my toddler here as well for classes and also enrolling my 7 & 11 year old in after school classes this fall. And hey, maybe I can even sneak in a class!
Love this place!!!

We had great fun at a Friday Toddler class. My two year old loved it and I was surprised at how skilled and focused she was!

I almost don’t want to write a great review because it will become too hard to get into, but Danny & The Butterfly Joint just can’t be beat. My son loved the camp, made an impressive floating shelf, and drumroll… picked up new manners and started eating vegetables.
I am not kidding.
Danny runs a super fun but tight ship, so my son brought back «the bathroom rules» and made our house even better! And now asks for vegetables at dinner because «Danny says they make you strong.» And here I thought I was just paying for woodworking camp!

My 6 year old son loved the keepsake box camp. He wraps up his box every morning and brings it to me as a gift. He’s so proud of it and it’s beautiful. The woodworking skills the kids learn are wonderful but what is most impressive is Danny’s incredible passion for teaching kids. He truly gets them and provides the structure and encouragement that kids (especially boys) need. It’s part woodworking, part social skills, and a huge dose of fun. I’ve been telling everyone I know about Butterfly Joint. We’ll definitely be back!

My 6 year old son begged me not to sign him up for any camps this summer. You see, he’s not usually eager to try new things. When I heard about The Butterfly Joint, I knew it would be something my son would be into since he likes to make things. I showed him Danny’s video (on The Butterfly Joint website), which describes a woodworking studio that any kid would jump at the chance to work in. Sure enough, it peaked his interest. After watching the video repeatedly, he was actually excited to start building when the first day of camp came around. Camp went great. My son learned about various wood species and the differences between them, how to use a Japanese pull saw using the «finger curl» technique, about the miter joint and miter keys… The boy, who begged not do any summer camps, begged to do another week! Now his most prized possessions are his wood wall art from his first camp and his keepsake box from his second one. The Butterfly Joint is a special place for woodworkers of any age. But what really makes it special are the people who run it — Danny and his wonderful staff (former students of his!). Thanks to them for encouraging the desire to build in my little woodworker.

The butterfly joint is a magical place. My 5– and 7-​year-​olds spent a week at camp and came out if it not just having had a good time, or making new friends, which they did, but also having picked up some impressive and very practical skills. They were introduced to woodworking, and to the process of learning to make something with their own hands and take ownership of that process. I was simply blown away. Danny is amazing; he really understands how to speak to kids so they will listen and has figured out how to teach these techniques and process in a way that respects the kids and doesn’t make them feel like they’re just executing an arts and crafts project. Can’t say enough good things!

the butterfly joint is an incredible program for kids — Danny and his staff are amazing and my 5 year old son absolutely loved it and was so proud of the keepsake box he made (it really is a thing of beauty — made of oiled ash with dovetail joints — hard to believe it was made by a 5 year old!). He was quite clear that he was not going to camp but to the shop which was hilarious. Every day when I pulled up out front he would impatiently criticize the speed of my parking job, he was so eager to in there! Can’t recommend this program highly enough — we will definitely be back! What cool skills to learn!

This place is incredible! It’s a woodworking studio for kids – a much-​needed thing, since most schools have gotten rid of their wood shop programs over the last 20 years. Run by Danny Montoya, a teacher with 15 years experience in SF schools and a professional woodworker, The Butterfly Joint has classes for kids as young as 18 months, and even offers adult classes, too. The space is really cool and well organized, and is filled with miniature gloves, protective glasses and custom kid-​sized work aprons (and be sure to check out the amazing mural on the front of the building). The focus is on traditional joinery techniques, so instead of using power tools and heavy machinery, the students learn to use chisels, hand drills and wood oils, and how to create dovetails, fingerjoints, butterfly joints and other classic woodworking techniques. Students clock in on a vintage time clock and pull a real steam whistle to signal the start of class. The projects they make are gorgeous and very high quality – no crooked birdhouses here. Right now they are offering summer camps, as well as some one-​time classes. Classes fill up fast, but if you sign up for their newsletter (on the website) or follow them on social media, you will be the first to hear about new classes. So happy to have this in the neighborhood!