This is a fun activity in Harlesden, London
Join us on this two-day furniture making workshop in London and create a solid ash stool built to endure for generations. This isn't a kit and there are no screws involved; instead, you'll master the traditional techniques of wedged joinery, working from raw timber blanks to a finished piece. Under the expert guidance of furniture designer Brandon Harrison, you'll gain hands-on experience with hand planes and spokeshaves as you shape each component of your stool.
You'll work with English ash, a resilient timber with a rich heritage in British craft. Throughout the two days, you'll learn how to read grain direction, drill compound-angle mortises, and secure your joints permanently using wedged tenons. This process focuses on the deeply rewarding joy of creating something with your own hands, ensuring you leave with a piece of furniture where the construction itself is a beautiful part of the design.
Across the two days, you'll learn to:
- Read and mark out timber – Understand grain direction, mark mortise positions and splay angles, and transfer seat profiles from a template.
- Drill compound-angle mortises – Use a drill press jig to bore the angled holes that ensure your stool stands perfectly true.
- Shape octagonal legs – Mark eight faces on a square blank before planing each one flat and tapering them with a spokeshave.
- Refine the seat profile – Use a jigsaw and spokeshave to create a comfortable D-profile seat ready for finishing.
- Cut round tenons – Fit each tenon to its specific mortise and saw the kerfs required for the locking wedges.
- Assemble and wedge – Master the sequence of gluing and driving wedges home to lock your joints forever.
- Customise your finish – Choose between a chamfered, rounded, or square seat edge using hand tools.
- Apply hard wax oil – Protect the wood with a finish that highlights the natural ash grain and makes it ready for daily use.
By the time you've sliced your tenons flush and applied the final coat of oil, you'll have gained a fresh challenge to inspire your future projects. You'll head home with a functional masterpiece and the enduring skills to kickstart your next creative obsession.
