Owain Harris & Tim Rousseau
July 18-29
Students deepen their understanding and refine their skills for building casework of the highest quality. From underlying principles such as accommodating wood movement, to meticulous craftsmanship for piston-fit drawers, Owain and Tim focus on tried-and-true techniques that are too often bypassed in the hustle of the present. Topics they cover through lecture and demonstration include, among others,
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- Appropriate joinery for flush-corner and overhung carcasses, and for interior dividers such as web frames and muntins;
- Accurate and efficient cutting of dovetails (through, half-blind, mitered, sliding, and drop-in) and all forms of mortise and tenon, with both hand and power tools;
- Designing, making, mounting, and fitting inset drawers, and frame-and-panel doors with solid-wood and veneered panels;
- Re-sawing and working with shop-made veneer; and
- Installing knife and butt hinges, door stops, and drawer stops.
Each student designs and builds a small, solid-wood, free-standing casepiece with close attention to attractive proportion and detail. Doors and drawers are optional. Designs are kept within reasonable parameters for size and complexity to maximize students’ time for hands-on exploration of new skills and techniques.
Owain Harris is a self-taught woodworker who designs and builds custom residential furnishings in Gonic, NH. He began his career in wood as a framing carpenter, in 1997, and worked as both a finish carpenter and remodeler before moving into the shop full-time, in 2008. Owain is a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen and the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association. His work has received multiple awards, including a Pinnacle Award from the International Society of Furniture Designers and a Veneertech Craftsman Challenge Award. Owain has been featured in numerous publications, including Fine Woodworking and NH Home Magazine. His work may be seen at owainharris.com.
Tim Rousseau divides his time between building furniture on commission in Camden, ME, and teaching at the Center, where he is Lead Instructor for the Nine-month Comprehensive. Tim also produces how-to and project videos for finewoodworking.com, and TauntonWorkshops.com, including the series “Making a Small Cabinet” and “Build an Asian-Inspired Hall Table.” After completing our Furniture Intensive in 1998, Tim worked in a multifaceted group shop in Hoboken, NJ, before returning to Maine in 2003 to set up his own business. For the next 15 years, he served as a Lead Instructor for our Furniture Intensive, taught summer Workshops, and co-taught the chair project of the Comprehensive. His website is timothyrousseau.com.
Open to solid intermediate and more advanced woodworkers.
