The Florida School of Woodwork is a new school for me, in a vibrant area of Tampa. Of course being in Florida in February should be lots of fun.

As your woodworking skills develop, so does a natural interest in designing beyond the straight and square. Curved shapes can add elegance, allure, and even strength to your furniture designs. We will explore and make several different curved parts: by laminating for curved drawers and chair parts, by shaping out of the solid with hand tools, by coopering (think barrel) for curved panels or case sides, and finally by steam bending.

We will talk about how to generate pleasing curves, draw them full scale (for the joinery later), make quick patterns, bending forms, and laminates. How do you decide the best technique for producing those curved parts, and then proceed in an efficient and successful way? We'll go through as many processes as we can, including some interesting hybrids. Your challenge will be to produce some accurate parts and join them together with strong joinery. 

Arrive at the class with some ideas of what curved construction you would like to experiment with —  a curved drawer face, curved table rail, curved parts for a chair, or a coopered curved surface (case or door panel).