The wood shop at Casper College's Werner Tech building was a bustling scene during Jim Sears' cabinetmaking classes this spring. Most Monday and Thursday nights students could be found hustling from one machine to the next, working hard on finishing their woodworking creations.

Saws screamed through sheets and boards. Planers and routers noisily did what planers and routers do -- transform wood into useful and pleasing shapes.

But if a visitor looked closer -- through safety glasses, of course -- they might notice the students looked a bit different. A few fit the typical demographic -- 20-something with the occasional tattoo and/or a piercing.

But most were far removed from generations X, Y or Z. Instead they were mainly Baby Boomers on a mission to build something beautiful and useful for their homes.

Sears' cabinetmaking class is part of the Construction Technology offerings at Casper College. And while most construction courses are designed to help start students on the path to careers in the building trades, some have also been discovered by do-it-yourselfers.

Sears, who once built hardwood furniture commercially in Casper, said his cabinetmaking, woodworking and furniture-refinishing courses are particularly popular.

"Some classes are geared towards do-it-yourselfers, especially the evening classes," Sears said. "The want to do it is all that's really required. If you have the machines and you know how to use them correctly, you can make about anything."

Chuck Lauderdale is one student with a want to do it. He and his son-in-law, David Lake, built a cabinet this spring out of alder and melamine -- a composite wood product often used in cabinets.

Lauderdale said the cabinet will fill a space in his home that badly needs filling, while the work provides much enjoyment.

"I've always been interested in working with wood. I just don't have the place or the room or the money to buy all the tools I'd like to have," he said. "Plus, about 15 years ago the wife decided to do away with a stove top and oven, so she tore that and the cupboards out and we haven't had anything since. So I decided to build them."

Lauderdale said he plans on taking more classes, which Sears said is common.

"Most of the time what happens is they'll come in wanting to do that and then end up coming back over and over because they really enjoy the class," he said, "or they have something else they want to build. ... I have a lot of repeats."

Casper College isn't the only Wyoming community college with construction programs. Laramie Community College also offers classes some have found handy for home improvement.

Gloria Smith, a program assistant for Life Enrichment, said a course on drywall applications sometimes attracts do-it-yourselfers.

Sheri Johnson, LCCC's administrative assistant for Business and Technology, said some have also found an automotive upholstering class can be useful for home applications.

"I know that one of our instructors last summer took this class and she worked on a chair in her house to learn the techniques for this," Johnson said. "That one is certainly adaptable."

Community college courses are limited by size and space, so they certainly won't qualify a student to host a home improvement show on The Learning Channel or HGTV.

But they are one more tool in the box for home improvers, and the knowledge is there for the taking.

"You really don't have to be handy, and you move at the pace you want to move," Sears said. "And the nontraditional students are really a lot of fun. More people should try it."

Assistant features editor Willy Zimmer is a former grounds manager and certified arborist. He can be reached at (307) 266-0524 or via email at William.Zimmer@casperstartribune.net.