Build a Morris Chair – Hands-on Class
2026-06-24 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-06-25 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-06-26 09:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | Acanthus Workshop, 62 Indian Trail Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229, United States
In the Morris Chair class, you’ll make a version of Gustav Stickley’s most significant contribution to the Mission Furniture style.

Morris Chair
The five-day Morris Chair class begins with full-scale shop drawings. You’ll dive immediately into the joinery.

Build a Cantilevered Chair
2026-07-12 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-13 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-14 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-15 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-16 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-17 09:00 - 17:00 | Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, 249 Spencer St, Manchester, CT, 06040, United States
Build a Cantilevered Chair

July 10 – 15, 2026

09:00 AM – 05:00 PM

Manchester

Session information

Description

George Nakashima was one of the most influential studio woodworkers of the twentieth century. In this class, we take inspiration from several cantilevered chair designs to make a chair of our own that makes a visual statement.
Chairs can be some of the trickiest projects to build because of the angular joinery. While the construction of this chair is fairly straightforward, there is plenty to test the skills of woodworkers of any skill level. Whether you’re still perfecting woodworking skills or you’re a seasoned veteran, this project is a great gateway into chairmaking. Unlike Queen Anne and Chippendale chairs, where compound-angle joinery abounds, cantilevered chairs are single-angle and easily created using modern power equipment. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any handwork for those hand-tool enthusiasts. The seats and spindles are shaped and finished by hand.
The first two days (October 28 & 29) of this class are spent working on the design of the chair, understanding chair mechanics, and creating the structural joints. The second two-day session (November 18 & 19) focuses on saddling the seat and attaching the spindles and crest rails.
The spindles for the back will be turned by a local woodturner but you will have the opportunity to learn how this is done. The class is broken up into two weekends so you will have plenty of time between sessions for any handwork and practicing that you will want to do. This class is 4 full days.
You can make your chair in walnut or cherry.
Please select appropriate material fee when checking out
Sign up today—space is limited!

Make a Philadelphia Footstool – Hands-on Class
2026-07-27 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-07-28 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-07-29 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-07-30 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-07-31 09:00 - 16:30 | Acanthus Workshop, 62 Indian Trail Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229, United States
In the Philadelphia Footstool class, you’ll make a version of an 18th-century rarity. John Elliot is credited with making the original footstool on which you’ll base the project.

Philadelphia Footstool
The five-day Philadelphia Footstool class begins with full-scale shop drawings. You’ll dive immediately into the joinery and carving the cabriole legs.

Build a Thomas Affleck Card Table – Hands-on Class
2026-08-03 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-08-04 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-08-05 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-08-06 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-08-07 09:00 - 16:30 | Acanthus Workshop, 62 Indian Trail Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229, United States
In the Affleck Card Table class, you’ll make an 18th-century Chippendale masterpiece. With its shaped sides and serpentine front, this card table epitomizes elegance. You’ll add pierced, carved corner brackets and gadrooning to kick this project up to the next level.

Affleck Card Table
The five-day Affleck Card Table class begins with full-scale shop drawings. You’ll jump into the joinery, forming the sides and front, and creating the carved elements throughout the remainder of the week.

Build a Federal Style Hepplewhite Side Table with Bob Van Dyke – Hands-on Class
2026-08-23 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-24 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-25 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-26 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-27 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-28 08:00 - 17:00 | Acanthus Workshop, 62 Indian Trail Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229, United States
This exciting new class features a small walnut Federal Style Hepplewhite side table with a whole lot of challenges and a boatload of new skills to be learned. The focus of this class will be efficiency in joinery, ornamentation, and design. Efficiency in joinery means completing as much joinery as possible in as few operations as practical, along with cutting joints that fit right off the machines. The ornamentation is simple, classic Federal style. String inlay on the legs, a patterned waist banding setting off the aprons, and a veneered & cockbeaded dovetailed drawer. This project also features techniques that may be new to some of you. Planing a spring joint when making the top, book-matching the crotch walnut or walnut burl veneer for the drawer front, making dovetails efficiently and accurately, and learning to cut twin tenons on the drawer blade are all skills that make what is basically a simple table into an heirloom piece you can be proud of. This traditional Federal table will fit with just about any home décor and is small enough at 22” wide X 17” inches deep to fit just about anywhere. These are skills you will use over and over.

Wharton Esherick Inspired Library Steps – Hands-on Class
2026-08-31 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-09-01 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-09-02 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-09-03 09:00 - 16:30, 2026-09-04 09:00 - 16:30 | Acanthus Workshop, 62 Indian Trail Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229, United States
Wharton Esherick is called the Dean of American Woodworkers. He was making contemporary, or studio furniture long before those terms existed. These Wharton Esherick-inspired library steps exemplify his eye for balance and design.

Wharton Esherick Library Steps
In this 5-day class, you’ll build an interpretation of the iconic Wharton Esherick library steps. From its carved, asymmetrical twisted column with through mortise-and-tenon joinery, to the curved dovetail connection between the risers and treads, this piece will challenge even the most experienced woodworker.
