Having completed the 16 WEEK Course this 6 week extension is a fabulous opportunity to further your furniture making knowledge and abilities with the unique set of skills and techniques required to design and construct chairs.

Often thought of as the Cabinetmaker’s ultimate challenge, the chair is the piece of furniture that we have the most intimate relationship with; dimensions, angles and the shape of components suddenly take on a whole level of importance when the piece of furniture has to not only support humans of various sizes and weights, without them feeling that their lives are in danger, but also has to be comfortable to sit on while carrying out whatever task it has been designed for, eating, working, reading, falling asleep in front of the telly……….. and, as if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, it should also be able to do all of these things while looking elegant. Quite an achievement.

You will look at the ergonomic considerations involved when designing a chair for a specific task. Working through the whole process of coming up with an initial design for a desk or dining chair, and structural considerations when sizing components and joints; through to the challenges, techniques and devices that can be used to combine and join multiple curved components in an elegant way. Seat Plans will be drawn, templates and formers made and the curved components completed through a variety of laminating, hand and machine shaping, including using the Spindle Moulder to shape some of the larger, curved, solid wood, components.

The construction of the chair will be completed with some gluing strategies for successfully clamping oddly shaped components and a look at upholstery options, including using Danish Cord.