Wow, we’re done! No it didn’t take 5 weeks, it’s just that I have finally recovered enough to write about it! It really was a great 2 weeks with 5 enthusiastic students. Each one completed a dresser with over 75 hand cut dovetails! The drawers were done with half blind dovetails in the front with through dovetails in the back and then solid drawer bottoms that were hand planed to a beveled edge to fit in a groove in the drawer side.

We used soft maple for all the internal drawer parts. Larry did a super job on his dovetails. He decided to make his dresser out of walnut, which contrasted very nicely with the maple. Larry chose to do needle point dovetails, which are quite challenging. This was his first attempt at that style dovetail but the results were top notch.

Carl had to leave early on Saturday, so here he is with his finished cherry dresser.

Here is the rest of the group with their finished dressers late on Saturday afternoon.

I have mixed emotions at the end of a 2-week class. It’s sad to see all my friends leave after having spent so much time together. It is rewarding to see them leave with such an accomplishment after much hard work.

Some of you know that most of the wood is pre-milled before and sometimes during the class. This is just in the interest of time; if we had to mill all the wood during class, we would have people standing around waiting and it would add a lot more time to the class. Plus we want to focus more on the hand skills such as the joinery and surface preparation during class. Having said that, the wood milling for this class is a HUGE job. So on behalf of the class I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Jonathan for doing such a great job, for tirelessly milling all the wood for the class so perfectly.

We are well into our annual dresser course with 5 students, each making a beautiful 4-drawer dresser that they will take home at the end of this 2 week class. The week started by hand planing and scraping the insides of the chest sides, then each person hand cut 8 dado joints and then 12 mortise-and-tenons that hold the middle frames together. By the fourth day, all the carcasses were assembled. Then each student, with deep focus, turned to carefully cutting and paring the front dovetail pieces that will hold the front frame together.

Here is Larry assembling the back frame complete with raised panels and mortise-and-tenon joints.

You must understand some of these are business executives, some retired and some not. One student told us his friends think he is crazy for not using his 2 week vacation to go to France or something like that. But he has chosen to spend his 2 week vacation building an heirloom piece of furniture, one that will be around for hundreds of years. Long after that trip to France would have been forgotten, the memories of the man who built this dresser will live on, as will his own memories of having built this piece! So in my opinion this is the best vacation that one could take!

Even now, this evening, as I sit and write, I hear the soft tap of a mallet as it carefully strikes the chisel and the swoosh of the chisel as it pares through black cherry, then the blow of the craftsman as he blows the wispy shavings out of the way. These are the few students who have chosen to stay late into the evening, working with their hands creating timeless furniture of beauty and simplicity, with joinery that will stand the test of time.

Stay tuned, and I will try to keep you posted with the progress!