Catalog

The focus of this class is on safety and on using tools that don’t cost a fortune and are readily available just about anywhere.

The focus of this class is on safety and on using tools that don’t cost a fortune and are readily available just about anywhere.

An eight-session (or two weekend) class that is a continuation of the Furniture making I class.

Tim Spratlin is a professional cabinet maker and is able to show you loads of time saving techniques to help you on your way to building your own kitchen cabinets.

A hands-on course that covers the basic concepts of woodworking and furniture making.

get a handle on this misunderstood tool! get over your fear of it!!

This six evening class is designed for the beginning (or frustrated) woodturner and features extensive hands-on practice each night.

This one day class will get you hooked on turning– Guaranteed!

Now that you have made a few bowls on a glue block, join us to learn the next level of cross-grain bowl turning techniques.

This is a great beginning woodturning class- in a weekend format

Turning "green" wood offers turners opportunities that don't exist when using kiln-dried lumber.

Many students have asked for a class that offers the opportunity to turn bowls and only bowls. This class is for students with some turning experience. The night time woodturning or the weekend Basic Woodturning are required.

Learn to turn these popular lidded containers and let your imagination take over. NOTE- this class was originally January 24 & 25, 2026. It is now May 9 & 10, 2026

How do the masters make duplicate spindle pieces for furniture—and do it in a profitable manner? The answer? Practice, some special techniques and utilizing a template system which allows easy, quickly and accurate marking of turning blanks.

Lets face it- You are dead in the water if you are trying to do any woodturning with dull tools. Not only does the surface of the work come out better with sharp tools, but you have way more control and you can use a much lighter touch.

Wooden plates & platters are great projects to expand your bowl making skills and are a great way to use up off cuts from other projects that are not using thick stock.

Learn to Turn Natural-Edge (Bark-Rim) Bowls with Rick Angus

Wooden plates & platters are great projects to expand your bowl making skills and are a great way to use up off cuts from other projects that are not using thick stock.

Many students have asked for a class that offers the opportunity to turn bowls and only bowls. This class is for students with some turning experience. The night time woodturning or the weekend Basic Woodturning are required.

This three night class will get you hooked on turning– Guaranteed!

Solid wood goblets are an elegant project and a great way to advance your skills.

In a two-day class, John will cover some of the basic qualities of shellac and alcohol— how to buy it, how to mix it, and most importantly, how to apply it! Students will learn the many ways in which furniture can be finished with shellac. They will learn brushing, padding, and a primer on French polishing.

This two day class is tailored especially for woodworkers who are uneasy about the finishing process and wish to master the basic knowledge and techniques that will enable professional finishing results using easily available materials.

Stop making compromises with your router. Stop getting “close enough”. Learn how to use some of the most abundant molding planes of the past to get the exact profile you are after.

Learn the Basics of Windsor chair making- build a Windsor Style Live Edge bench or a Perch Stool- either project has all the skills needed for other Windsor projects!

This is a great course that will broaden your work possibilities. In this class, we will look at several traditional forms of joinery that take more than a look or two to sort but, nonetheless, should be a part or your arsenal.

Professional Furniture maker and educator, Andrew Hunter will spend the day discussing the history of furniture making in China with an emphasis on what made Ming style or Classical Chinese furniture so special.

In this two-day class Frank will guide you through the process to create his signature houndstooth dovetails.

Join professional woodcarver, Mary May, in learning to carve the traditional "Greenman".

In this 3 day introductory class, Frank will teach you some of his favorite techniques and methods, including packet cutting and double-bevel sawing, as you discover that you, too, can create this timeless art.

Did you ever look at a piece of wood and wonder what wood it is? And why it looks the way it does? Were you ever confused about which wood it is: mahogany or walnut, cherry or poplar, especially if you are looking at an antique that has an aged finish on it?

This new weekend class with well known Furniture maker Tim Coleman encourages students to jump into the exciting world of making dynamic patterns using shop-sawn veneers.

This class will be a combination lecture, demonstration and hands-on session which will provide an overview of the history, tools, techniques and materials of upholstery.

What seems like a simple tool, a blade and a block of wood, the Japanese plane (Kanna) is actually a very complex instrument with many subtle qualities. At the end of this three day course, each student will take home a fully operational Japanese hand plane and have the know how to keep is working right.

This class is an introduction for woodworkers interested in learning how to sharpen their own handsaws and backsaws.

Greene & Greene furniture represents some of the best work ever done in the Arts & Crafts Style and west coast furniture maker, Darrell Peart indulges his passion by working and teaching primarily in the style of these two California designers who so successfully blended some of the best features of the Arts & Crafts movement with some of the subtleties of Asian furniture.

In this two day class, students will make a Darrell Peart designed 14” X 22” Tahoma mahogany frame. Learn about pattern Routing and the Shaper Origin

This class has been specially created for students who want to learn the basics of upholstery while taking home a rewarding and challenging project. If you are new to upholstery or have taken some of Mike's classes before- you will get more out of this class than you thought possible,

Handplanes can be one of the most useful and rewarding tools in the workshop – or they can be one of the most frustrating! Learn how to effectively use handplanes in your work with Ct. Valley School of Woodworking director, Bob Van Dyke

Join nationally known furniture maker, Tim Coleman for this fascinating look into various techniques to create visually exciting textures and patterns to furniture surfaces. In this class with Tim students will explore two primary techniques to embellish surfaces with patterns and texture using a few simple tools and a scroll saw.

Join nationally known furniture maker, Tim Coleman to learn how to saw your own veneer on the bandsaw and use it to create visually exciting patterns and textures.

In this three-day class Andrew will introduce students to Classical Chinese Furniture and the joinery that has made it endure all these years. Being completely fascinated by the furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties in China, Andrew will speak to the sophisticated execution of both the exterior and interior construction. 

In this class we jump into the world of electric guitar construction. Students will each build their own guitar based on the world famous Fender Telecaster (yeah- that’s the one Bruce Springsteen plays!) or the equally famous Fender Stratocaster.

Join us for the latest new class with Fine Woodworking Editor Mike Pekovich. Mike’s design sense really shines in this new project, and it will look great in any home.

Have you ever imagined a figure or seen a design that you wished you could incorporate into a project that you were visualizing?

Learn the basics of a mitered box and try your hand at kumiko while building a really nice little tea box that, not coincidentally, would make a great holiday gift.

The idea of making jigs and fixtures for the tablesaw is always one that creates a lot of debate. Some people insist that they are not worth it and “just do it by hand” while other people love coming up with intricate fixtures that do a specific job really well. This class is Not a beginning tablesaw class. Participants must have some working experience with Tablesaws & routers.

In woodworking- like a lot of things- there is no one “right” way- there are bunches of different ways to accomplish the same thing and that is what this class is all about. I will not be telling you what I think is the "best" way- that is for you to decide- and you will have the opportunity to learn a number of different methods.

The cabriole leg is a graceful and essential form in most Queen Anne style furniture and we are fortunate to have Chuck Bender, an expert in this furniture style, hosting this unique two-day hands-on class.

The use of hide glue and hammer veneering goes back thousands of years. The walls of ancient Egyptian tombs portray craftsmen sawing veneers, mixing glue in a pot and laying those veneers down with the same hammer techniques which are just as effective today as it was back then.

Japan boasts some of the oldest wooden buildings on earth. Their longevity relies on intricate joinery that not only can withstand years of exposure to the elements, but are also reversible for the inevitable repairs.

Sharing a cup of tea with friends is a nice way to spend an afternoon or end a meal. The experience is made even better by serving up tea selections in a handmade chest.

Sharing a cup of tea with friends is a nice way to spend an afternoon or end a meal. The experience is made even better by serving up tea selections in a handmade chest.

Lets take a deeper dive into Japanese hand planes!

If you have ever done any re-sawing then you know how cool a book matched panel can be. When you incorporate veneers into your work the possibilities for creating spectacular patterns are almost endless!

Mike South will introduce students to the basics of cutting and inlaying various types of shell products and other materials into musical instruments and other flat surfaces.

Take a weekend and begin to learn the ancient trade of blacksmithing- and - make a useful and unique marking knife that you can use in your woodworking projects!

Many of you have expressed the desire to accompany CVSW director Bob Van Dyke on one of his frequent visits to the Yale Art Gallery’s Hume American Furniture Study Center in West Haven, CT.

Join furniture maker and educator Andrew Hunter and spend three days learning the Japanese approach to joinery while working exclusively with handtools.

Designed for furniture makers, restorers, collectors, homeowners, and dealers alike, this exciting two day hands on class will focus on the restoration and conservation of gilded surfaces including frames, furniture, and architectural elements.

Expand your horizons- and your skills!! Blacksmithing can be great fun and learning about how hardware is made will give you a whole new appreciation!

Essentials tablesaw Jigs and fixtures in a long weekend format!

Add sand shading to your repertoire - the possibilities are endless!

What a great project and a great family heirloom!

This is a great project with some excellent techniques for you to learn!

This project packs a big punch when it comes to lessons in case, door, and drawer construction.

Carving a ball & claw foot is easier than you might think and with the right instruction anyone can do it!

An important part of the weekend will include examining joinery strategies that will add accuracy, speed and efficiency to your work. It will be a full weekend with lots of valuable information to digest and use in your own shop.

In this second of what we hope will be a recurring “up close” seminar with Patricia Kane, Friends of American Arts Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Art Gallery, we will examine the differing construction & ornamentation of several federal card tables from Yale’s extensive collection.

Have you wanted to try your hand at designing furniture, but were afraid to take the plunge? Learn the fundamentals of furniture design that will get you headed in the right direction.

Bandings make furniture come alive with contrast and subtle elegance. The process of making them is fascinating!

Working with plywood & solid stock- great for projects around the home!

A router table is one of the most versatile tools you can have in your shop, and provides a great way to make a variety of joints.

An accurate simple miter sled for the tablesaw makes all the difference in the world!

If you have not been to the Yale Furniture Study you owe it to yourself! Just do it!!

If you have been thinking about it, or you own one- or you are just curious- this is the class for you!

David takes the mystery out of incorporating Sketch up into your woodworking skills

Traditional or contemporary- woodcarving adds a whole new dimension to your work- and its a lot of fun! With Mary May teaching you will have a great time- she is one of the best in the country!

This is a great transitional William & Mary to Queen Anne piece of furniture that will look great in your house! And- it has a Connecticut history!

This is a great project to learn the fundamentals of case construction while making a great piece that can fit anywhere- It will teach you inlay skills and strengthen your joinery skills.