Greenwood Oak Ladderback Chair

Friday, Saturday, Sunday 9/4-6 and Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11-13, 9am-5pm

Learn the foundational principles of greenwoodworking while building a ladderback chair. We will learn to use hand tools like drawknives, axes, and spokeshaves as we shape the posts, rungs and slats that make up our chairs. We will cover all the steps of chairmaking, from splitting parts out of a log, to steambending and drying parts, and finally assembling the chair frame with mortise and tenon joinery. Students will become familiar with using shop-made jigs and shave horses to make their chair parts by hand. Once our frames are assembled, students will be guided through options for weaving a seat and putting a finish on their chair at home.

This is a 6-day class, scheduled over two consecutive Fri/Sat/Sundays.

This multi-session class walks students through the construction of a traditional oak ladderback chair. Combining green woodworking, steam bending, and joinery, this course demands attention and rewards patience.

Students will leave with a completed chair and a deep understanding of chair structure.

Who it’s for: Committed intermediate woodworkers ready for a demanding project.

Gabe Strand of Green Cove Craft designs furniture, woodworking plans, and tools intended to support makers in the exploration of handcraft. Gabe writes about craft, teaches woodworking classes, and publishes zines in an effort to engage people in making and thinking about handmade objects, how they shape us, and our communities.