Veneer & Cabinetwork Course Overview

Successful completion of the Practical Woodworking Course is a strict prerequisite for enrollment in this course. We will have a very short and quick review of safety, milling, stock preparation and squaring principles, but this course is geared towards picking up where we left off on the last day of your experience in your first course.

Frame and Panel Construction

Frame and panel joinery is at the heart of this project and we will delve deeply into it.  Frame and panel work is an exercise in composition with grain and line weight and we'll teach you our rules of thumb for turning out beautiful pieces consistently. 

Carcase Construction

The techniques you'll learn in the construction of this piece can be used in many ways.  If you ever considered building your own kitchen cabinets, the essential elements will be here.  The carcase is made up of several elements.  The frame and panel side assemblies, the veneer plywood shelves, and the face frame.  This construction approach is different than anything you've seen in your previous time with us, and will open up vast new terrain in your skill set.

Working With Veneer

I'll just say right off the bat...  You will be floored with the amazing material we'll be working with in this class.  Veneer offers us the capability of working with the world's most beautiful specimens of nature. We’ll have an amazing selection of multiple species with different character and figure.  Veneer offers us the opportunity to play with the material and merge our own creativity with nature's majesty.  The possibilities are endless.  We'll show you how to deal with defects, how to press veneer with a manual press and a vacuum press, how to join veneer, and so much more.

Making and Fitting Doors and Drawers

Making and fitting doors and drawers perfectly is truly the mark of the finest craftsmanship.  There is a fundamental way this is done to get perfect results every time.  In hinging your door, you'll be making your own jig that you'll take home with you at the end of the week.  In making this jig, you'll see exactly how we go about getting consistently perfect results in our work.  We'll also be making drawers, but in a much different way than your previous class.  The drawers will be made with an elegant pinned rabbet and hung from side runners for beautifully smooth and delicate operation.  The faces of the drawers will also be veneered to match the door panels.

Please note:  

If you are at all uncomfortable with remembering what was covered in the first Practical Woodworking course or if you have not practiced and applied the basic principles you learned, you are strongly and respectfully encouraged to consider spending some time making a project or two of your own before attending this advanced course. Often students repeat the Practical Woodworking course to bring them back up to speed before embarking on this more demanding course.  It should be pointed out that it is not at all unusual for Practical Woodworking students to repeat the first course as a refresher. If you wish to repeat the Practical Woodworking Course, just view the current course schedule and request a bench in any course that is listed as open!