woodworking course for designers – intro

Ideally, furniture and cabinet design should go hand in glove with fabrication. It doesn’t always work that way in the real world. With malice toward none, on one side are designers and on the other are builders.

There’s often a disconnect between design and construction; that is, many who design don’t really know the particulars of how things are made. Similarly, those who build don’t understand the thought process behind the design that they’re building. It seems that neither school has been taught the fundamentals of the other.

In an effort to bridge at least the design/build part of that gap, I’ve put together a course as a basic manual – 4 ‘pages’ – that I hope will de-mystify the ‘how’ behind making furniture. The goal is to provide tools that will make everyone’s time more productive in getting furniture and cabinets made.

here’s what’s covered:

1. understanding wood

wood science for the non-scientist

2. materials

solid wood and plywood

3. methods

frame construction

casegood construction

4. finishes

oil

waterborne lacquer

solvent based lacquer

This course will be in 4 segments or installments. There is no tuition or qualifying exam or quiz at the end. My intention is that you will find some practical knowledge to take away and apply profitably in your world as it touches wood.