Joinery
A two-day deep dive into the fundamentals of timber joinery. Mortise and tenon, dovetail, housing and their variants with hand and machine techniques.
A joint is where two pieces of timber meet and hold. There are so many ways to approach this, but only some of them will provide appropriate strength and longevity.
This two-day workshop is for people who want to understand joinery properly. Not just how to cut a particular joint, but why it works and when to use it. Call it joinery nerdism. We make no apology for going deep.
What you will cover
We will think about joinery in two broad ways: how does the joint increase the long grain to long grain glue surface, and how does the joinery provide mechanical locking that does not rely on adhesives.
These two families of thinking cut across all joints, and understanding them changes how you approach every structural decision in furniture making.
Within that framework we will work through the core joints and beyond. Mortise and tenon in its many forms, haunched, wedged, draw-bored, angled. Dovetail, hand cut and routed, through and lapped. Housing joints, stopped and through. Bridle joints. Comb joints. Tongue and groove. And more exotic and specialist joints that open up structural and design possibilities most makers never explore.
We will work by hand and by machine, understanding where each approach is appropriate and what each reveals about the joint itself.
The emphasis throughout is on understanding, not just execution. A maker who understands why a joint works can adapt it. One who has only been shown how to cut it is limited to that one version.
Workshop details
Duration: 2 days
Location: Mount Egerton VIC 3352
Group size: Maximum 4 participants
Experience: Some woodworking experience helpful. Open to confident beginners with good hand tool skills.
Price: $750 per person (materials included)
Dates: Dates announced to the EOI list first, register your interest below
Mount Egerton is located on Wadawurrung Country in Central Victoria, approximately 90 minutes from Melbourne and 30 minutes from Ballarat. The studio is easily reached from Melbourne's west and from Geelong, Daylesford and regional Victoria.
Who this workshop suits
This workshop is for makers who want to go deeper into joinery than most courses allow. It suits woodworkers and furniture makers at any level who are serious about understanding how timber goes together, and why.
It is also a good companion to Hand Tools Fundamentals and Machine Tools Fundamentals, extending the joinery work covered in those courses into more demanding territory.
About the teaching
Ross Annels has been making furniture for over 25 years. Joinery is at the centre of that practice. He has taught at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, Sturt School for Wood, the JamFactory and the Queensland College of Art.
The workshop is precise, technical and unhurried. There is time to understand what you are doing, to fit joints carefully, and to talk about the decisions behind them.
Express your interest
Dates for this workshop are announced to the interest list first. If you would like to be notified when bookings open, contact Ross directly.
Where this leads
Joinery sits within the making program at Moonlite Studios. Participants who complete this workshop are well placed to move into:
Make a Chair, a 5-day workshop in contemporary chair construction
Chair Design, a 5-day guided process of designing and prototyping a chair of your own
Design Process for Makers, a 3-day workshop in how to get ideas and how to develop them
Moonlite Studios is a working furniture making and creative practice based in Mount Egerton, on Wadawurrung Country in Central Victoria. Courses and mentoring are offered year-round in small groups within a studio environment.
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