Windsor Fine Furniture: Tall Stool, Comb Back Side Chair or Back Door Boot Bench with David Abeel. #1307-0806. 2 days.

Making a Windsor chair, bench or stool might seem a very complicated project, but broken into many smaller steps, can be surprisingly doable. This course is designed for students from beginning to advanced skill levels ready to work with a variety of hand tools to make a family heirloom. Projects will be well-engineered, very comfortable and styled to fit any decor. Pine, poplar, oak and maple will be used for parts. Class will start with this idea: "Today you will be working on the perfect chair! For fleeting moments you will be caught in a timeless place where only the joy of being creative and working with your hands consumes all thought. The rest of the world will fade away. And the more you keep working, the more you will visit this place and come to love its walls." On Day #1, students will explore sighting lines and drilling angles, shape, boil and bend a comb, fit stretcher and legs and start excavating their seat. Students will shape parts using travishers, compass plane, draw knife and hoop shave. On Day #2, students will finish excavating their seat, shape spindles, mark and drill the comb and prepare wedges for final assembly. By the end of class all will be assembled, leveled, glued up and ready for paint or clear finish. All turned parts, tools and other raw materials will be supplied by the instructor. Parent and teen pairs are welcome.

NOTE:  This class will take place at 18 Curran Street in Glens Falls, NY - the building located next to the Shirt Factory Gallery. Age limit for students: Over 18 but younger teens are welcome if accompanied by a parent or grandparent. Please call AFS at the time of registration to declare which piece of furniture you have chosen to make. The materials fee will vary based on your choice of furniture - from $195 for the Tall Stool or the Back Door Boot Bench to $260 for the Comb Back side chair or the Back Door Boot Bench with spindles and comb.