My aim is not to simply teach you to make furniture,
but to reveal and inspire the artist inside of you! ~ Tom
AS SEEN HERE
“There is a no more competent instructor who is so genuinely concerned and interested in the progress of others than Tom.” ~ Mike D.
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Live on Thursday Nights
Shop Night Live streams Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET. Episodes offer a variety of project driven demos, and/or shared techniques, tips, and tricks. Can’t watch live? All episodes are viewable at our YouTube channel.
Online Courses and Full-size Plans
Our Courses and Plans are like a Virtual Apprenticeship with Tom. They make you feel like you’re right there working in the shop with him. Together, you make it happen all the way through the finishing process!
A Making Community
Have access to Tom and other like-minded woodworkers via a private Forum, plus a number of other Member benefits. Move into The Neighborwood, it’s a stellar community, hands down — the Best Neighbors… check it out!
Join Us for a Live Online Course!
Live Course Access
Tom regularly hosts Online Courses which are recorded LIVE so you have the option of asking questions as the sessions progresses, step-by-step through the build. Watch live or later, the Course sessions you purchase are available to you watch at your convenience, indefinitely. There’s no limits to your access.
And because all the sessions are archived a viewable anytime, it’s never too late to join in. You can easily catch up. Sessions are 60-90-min each and can be viewed live or later. Click the image at left for details on the current LIVE project build.
But wait… here’s a GREAT DEAL you need to know about: We have a membership community called The Neighborwood which offers you access to ALL our Courses, at any time, as long as you’re a Neighbor, Experience a discount on the Full-size Plans, and several other benefits as well. Click for more details.
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Course Description
In the works for six years, this special project features an accurate reproduction of an actual rocking chair (c. 1830) from the collection at Canterbury Shaker Village. The historic Village, just a mile from our home and workshop, has been an amazing resource over the years and this rocker marks the first piece we are featuring from their collection. Overall this course is chock full of techniques and methods for successfully reproducing this truly classic rocking chair.
The chair will be modified with a slight change to the dimensions of the seat in width and depth as the original is a bit undersized. Two options will also be included for the rocker/runner length, the original style featuring an extremely short “suicide runner” length, or a lengthened rocker version that will be shown during the course. Otherwise, the chair and the full-size drawings will match the original in every way.
While you can choose to build your rocker in one of many types of wood, the original is made in maple or possibly birch.. Either way, Tom will be making the course chair in maple and adding a pleasing “antiqued” warm maple finish to closely approximate the finish on the original chair. Tom will also be including guidance and resources for how to weave the seat using Shaker tape and 1” foam.
Dimensions: 46” H x 22 1/2” W x 23” D (30” D at runner)
Topics include:
- Design overview and details for the Canterbury Shaker Rocker
- Using the Full-size Plans effectively
- Making good patterns from the Plans
- Turning techniques
- Using jigs for holding the round parts effectively
- Methods for creating the mortise and tenon joinery
- Steam bending and using bending forms
- Band-sawing and shaping curved parts
- Hand tool skills to add detail and value
- Finishing approaches and options
- Guidance for weaving a Shaker Tape seat
Can't watch live?
No worries, catch up later at your convenience. Even if you don’t plan to build the piece with Tom, or ever for that matter, there are always worthy tips, tricks and techniques you’ll capture along the way. And if you decide to build it later…as long as you’re in The Neighborwood, you’ll have access to the sessions!
What are my purchasing options?
Purchase the Course and Plans Bundle – or purchase separately by clicking the Bundle Order Page button below. Or you may want to consider the BEST DEAL, which is to move into The Neighborwood, our membership community, for as little as $17/mo, and you’ll get full access, not just to this Course, but ALL Courses — past, present and future, as long as you’re a Neighbor! Click HERE for more information on that.
Can I participate without being in the Neighborwood?
Yes, by purchasing it individually from the Order Page. Purchase the Course and Plans Bundle and save some money, or buy them separately.
“Tom’s generosity in sharing a lifetime of woodworking skills is why I tune in weekly for Shop Night Live. It feels like I am in Tom’s shop and learning directly from him.” ~ Evan M.
“What I like most about fine woodworking is the power to say something beautiful without words. I can’t believe I get to do this every day. I love being in the shop, breathing spicy aromas of freshly sawn wood, absorbed in the process as raw materials are shaped into something useful and beautiful.” ~ TOM McLAUGHLIN
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