Six Month Furniture Making Course
This full time furniture making course is aimed at those interested in beginning their journey towards a career in furniture making.
Through a carefully structured series of projects and practical training, you will initially learn fine woodworking techniques and methods, with an emphasis on outstanding hand skills, material preparation, joinery, hand tool selection and preparation.
You will further refine your skills and knowledge with more complex projects of organic design. These include shaping solid wood by hand, steam bending, laminating and veneering, with a high attention to detail being paramount.
Additionally, you will begin working with woodworking machinery in our fully equipped machine shop. Machine based projects will develop your project planning abilities, whilst transferring the ethos of fine hand skills to the machine.
At the end of the 6 Month Course you will be able to create and read CAD drawings, plan, select materials and undertake furniture making projects of a more complex nature – at the bench as well as in the machine shop.
To ensure individual attention, there are never more than five students in our woodworking class.
I am very happy to discuss your specific situation and aims to find the best course fit and available intake dates.
Additional evening classes are also offered (subject to availability), for example:
- Drawing and sketching
- Watercolouring in Furniture Design
- Sketchup for Furniture Makers
- Chair Seat Weaving (Cane, Rope, Splint)
- Photography for Furniture Makers
Course Details
Hand Tool preparation and selection: Hand tool fettling, second hand tool assessing and restauration, new tool selection, maintenance, storage.
Wood preparation by hand: principal fundamentals (flat, square and straight)
Sharpening: blade sharpening, sharpening geometry analysis, saw blades.
Hand Cut Joinery: joint selection and application, weaknesses and strength analysis, marking and laying out, jointing techniques and methods.
Abrasives: selection and correct application.
Wood finishing: choosing a wood finish, oils, waxes, lacquers, hand application and spray applications. Creating own wood finish.
Adhesives: selection and correct application.
Solid Wood Material Science: timber identification, moisture content and wood movement, timber drying (kiln drying processes, etc.), timber selection and timber defects.
Personal timber library
Glue up: preparation and clean-up.
Project management introduction: cutting lists, ironmongery selection, time management.
Workshop Health & Safety
Workshop drafting: technical drawing by hand, rod layout.
Social Media
Visits: timber yards, designer makers and furniture workshops.
Veneering: selection, matching, jointing techniques, inlaying, flattening, veneering of curved panels.
Parquetry
Marquetry
Laminating: wood laminates, curved panel laminating, mould and form making, man-made board laminating.
Curved work and organic shapes: steam bending, advanced hand shaping techniques.
Ironmongery: selection, preparation and fitting.
Power Tools: router, router table, domino jointer, sander, drills and pillar drill, sander, plunge saw, grinders.
Machine Shop Health & Safety
Woodwork Machinery: methods, procedures and techniques, machine shop workflows, maintenance, jigs, batch production techniques.
Machine Joints
CAD: 2D CAD and 3D modelling.
Project management: CAD-generated cutting lists, project costing sheets.
Course fee: £10,455
Next intakes:
Due to the duration, this course may be suited for students who require a Visa. You can find further information here
For on-site accommodation, please contact us directly.
