Bench basics
First-timers
- —Reading a frame before you touch it
- —Stripping without destroying the piece
- —Tack, staple and tool handling
- —What is worth saving and what gets replaced
Workshops
Learn at the bench
Small hands-on classes have been running in the Springdale shop alongside customer work. You strip a piece, tie springs, cut foam, and lay out fabric with the same tools we use on the bench — no slideshows.
- Class size
- Four to six people
- Length
- One session, about three hours
- Who it’s for
- Beginners and returning students
How a class runs
01
Bring a piece or work on ours
You can bring a chair of your own or use one of the shop pieces. Either way you leave having done the work with your own hands, not watched a demo.
02
Work at a real bench
Classes run in the shop with shop tools — pneumatic staplers, cutting tables, spring tools, the same fabric library we quote from.
03
Leave knowing what is next
You go home with the finished work, a materials list for whatever you tackle next, and an honest read on which projects belong in a professional shop.
What we teach
Seats and cushions
Anyone with a tired dining set
- —Foam grades and where each one belongs
- —Wrapping, dacron and edge shaping
- —Cutting a clean cushion cover
- —Corners, welt and zipper basics
Springs and structure
Repeat students
- —Eight-way hand tying
- —Sinuous spring repair and replacement
- —Webbing and burlap decking
- —Frame glue-ups and joint repair
What you leave with
- —The piece you worked on, finished by your own hands
- —A materials and tool list for the next project
- —Working knowledge of foam grades, webbing and spring repair
- —An honest read on which jobs belong in a professional shop
Get on the list
Classes keep running as bench space opens up. Dates are announced by email as they’re scheduled — leave your details and you’ll hear about the next one.
Bringing a project instead?
Plenty of pieces are better off in the hands of the shop — deep frame damage, marine work, anything with a pattern to match. Send photos and we will tell you straight whether it is a class project or a shop job.