Timothy Coleman & Frank Strazza
June 15-26
In this two-week workshop, students design and build a finely crafted wall-hung cabinet or a free-standing casepiece. The emphasis of the course is on developing design sensitivity, practicing traditional joinery, and building the technical foundation necessary for high-quality casework. To keep the design process focused and manageable, each student begins with a common set of dimensions and a basic cabinet concept. From there, students can make guided refinements–adjusting proportions, selecting joinery details, and choosing whether to incorporate doors or drawers. This allows students to personalize their work without the complexity of a full design exercise.
Instruction will cover:
- Rough milling techniques, including jointing, planing, and bringing stock accurately to dimension
- Hand-cut dovetails for case joinery and drawer boxes
- Laying out and cutting dados and rabbets for structural integrity
- Mortise-and-tenon joints for internal dividers, frames, or door components
- Frame-and-panel doors, including the option to work with shop-sawn veneer
- Designing and constructing solid-wood drawers
- Fitting drawers for a precise, friction-free “piston-fit”
Students will leave with a completed (or nearly completed) custom cabinet, deepened confidence in hand-tool and machine-tool joinery, practical experience in dovetails, dados, mortise-and-tenons, veneering, door and drawer construction, and a stronger understanding of proportion, detail, and design decision-making in furniture work.
Timothy Coleman has been creating custom furniture in his rural Massachusetts workshop since 1989 following a year-long apprenticeship in Seattle and two years of study with James Krenov at the College of the Redwoods. Tim’s exquisitely detailed, sculptural furniture is exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the US. He is renowned for his patterned and textured surfaces that are embellished with a range of innovative methods including low relief carving, marquetry, embossing with steel stamps and parquetry. In addition to creating his award-winning furniture, Tim teaches and writes about woodworking and has been featured in print and video in Fine Woodworking and other magazines. His most recent project with Fine Woodworking is a sixteen-part video series featuring the creation of one of his signature marquetry cabinets. His work may be seen at timothycoleman.com.
Frank Strazza is a traditional fine furniture maker with over 30 years’ experience, based in central TX. He began woodworking at age 11. After completing high school, Frank served a traditional apprenticeship and journeymanship, including studying with Paul Sellers for several years.
Frank’s work has been featured in both local and national publications. He also participated in building furniture for the permanent collection at the White House, in Washington, D.C. His work has won top awards in nationally recognized furniture shows across the country including, Best of Show, 1st and 2nd place, People’s Choice, Best Traditional Furniture, and more. His website is strazzafurniture.com.
Open to solid intermediate and more advanced woodworkers.
