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About the Course

Master Fine Furniture Making with a Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chair

Elevate your woodworking skills with our intermediate-level Maker Series in fine furniture making, where you’ll embark on the exciting journey of crafting your own MCM-style lounge chair. This comprehensive course focuses on building essential skills for any fine furniture maker, such as precise wood milling, template and profile cutting on the router table, and mastering mortise and tenon joinery using the Festool Domino system. You’ll also gain practical upholstery skills and learn best practices for achieving flawless wipe-on wood finishes. Whether you’re venturing into a more ambitious project for the first time or expanding your existing woodworking repertoire, this class is designed to empower you with the skills and confidence to create functional art that reflects your craftsmanship and style. Please note, some woodworking experience is necessary, and a prerequisite of Wood Shop Orientation or a Wood Shop certification check is necessary. 

This series includes:

  • July 13th, 11:30 am -2:30 pm: Table Saw I and Wood Milling I: Wood milling and bandsaw rough cuts
  • July 20th, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm: Router Table I: Template cutting and profiling on the router table
  • August 3rd, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm: Festool Domino (Part I)
  • August 10th, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm: Festool Domino (Part II) and Fine Sanding
  • August 24th, 11:30 am – 2:30 pm: Upholstery I:  Upholstery and wood finishing
  • August 31st, 11:30 am-2:30 pm: Finishing Touches

This series is ideal for intermediate-level woodworkers wanting to master furniture-making techniques like template cutting, mortise-and-tenon joinery, and upholstery.

NextFab’s Maker Series is a two-month program that gives you up to 5 classes, unlimited shop access, and a cohort to learn alongside.  Registration for this Maker Series opens May 19th at 9:00 am. To enroll, fill out the membership form here

Q. What is included in the Maker Series package?

A. Registration in a Maker Series grants you:

  • The scheduled classes and training to complete the selected project (over $600 of class instruction)
  • 2 months of active NextFab Membership, starting on the first class date (over $298 value)
  • Special member pricing to continue membership beyond the 2 months: $129/month (over 10% discount from standard membership)
  • A cohort of peers, new skills and confidence gained, and a sense of community within the Philadelphia creative ecosystem (priceless value!)

Q: Is the Maker Series right for me? I have ZERO experience!

A: While the Maker Series itself is designed to elevate makers, this specific furniture-building series is geared toward intermediate woodworkers. This means you should already be comfortable using woodworking equipment.

If you have absolutely no woodworking experience, you’ll likely find this class challenging. However, if you’re a highly motivated beginner and willing to put in extra practice time, it’s possible to catch up. We highly recommend getting some woodworking practice before the class starts.

Q: If I am a previous member of NextFab, can I join the Maker Series?

A: Absolutely! If you are a previous member and looking to complete the class project or get a major refresh of skills you haven’t used for a while, the Maker Series is a perfect way to get your feet wet again. To receive the discounted pricing for members, please register through our Q-Reserve system available on our Member Portal.

Q: I have a schedule conflict with one of the class dates. Can I make it up?

A: While we understand things can occasionally come up, please do your best to stick to the scheduled dates. Participants in the Maker Series will be charged a rate of $60 per hour for any required make-up sessions. Your instructor will work with you to arrange a make-up session based on their availability. To ensure you remain on track with the program’s objectives, please provide as much advance notice as possible if a make-up session is needed.

Q: Should I join the Maker Series or join as a regular member and take classes?

A: This depends on your goals. If you are feeling inspired and want to learn new skills but don’t have a particular project in mind, the Maker Series is perfectly suited to get your feet wet and help you find your way in the craft.

If you have a particular project in mind and want to learn all the skills needed and complete your specific project, our membership plus a credit package ($249/mo) is your golden ticket. Our regular membership ($149/month) plus our education credit package ($100/month) comes with $200 worth of class credits monthly, so you can get started taking the classes you need on your schedule. You can even book Private Training sessions with those credits if you need hands-on help completing your project.

What’s Next: Design and make your own chair, or some accompanying furniture to this chair that we’ve made together!

Request a Class

Let us know your prefered dates and times, and we’ll work with you to put something on the calendar. Please note we need at least 48 hours notice to schedule classes.