Workshop No. 04 · Bridgeport, CT Lead time 16 weeks · Eight pieces a year EST. 2014
Your BusinessHand-cut Workshop
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Workshop · Six classes a year · Saturday & weekend intensive

Hand-tool classes
at the bench.

Six classes a year — Saturday workshops and two weekend intensives. Iyana teaches hand-tool sharpening, dovetail joinery, and the two-day chair build. Theo runs the joinery basics and the seven-day chest build. Four students max; lunch from the deli down the river.

Class size04
Per year06
Refund14d
Schedule · 2026 spring & summer

Six classes, all booked from the bench.

May 092026 · Sat
9am — 4pm

Hand-tool sharpening

One day, four students, four sharpening kits. We start with a chisel, end with a smoothing plane, and you go home with both edges shaving end-grain hair off your forearm.

1 day · 7 hrsBeginnerIyana teachesLunch incl.
$340
Tools provided
Take home: stones
2 of 4 left Enroll →
May 232026 · Sat
9am — 5pm

Joinery basics

One day, three joints. Mortise and tenon, half-blind dovetail, sliding dovetail. You leave with three sample pieces, hand-cut with a marking gauge and a chisel.

1 day · 8 hrsBeginnerTheo teachesLunch incl.
$420
Tools provided
Take home: 3 samples
Waitlist Wait →
Jun 062026 · Sat
9am — 5pm

Dovetail intensive

One day, eight dovetails per student. Through and half-blind. Walnut and oak. We work the saw and chisel until the joints knock together with one-tap fit-up.

1 day · 8 hrsIntermediateIyana teachesLunch incl.
$480
Tools provided
Take home: 4 joints
3 of 4 left Enroll →
Jun 20–212026 · Sat–Sun
9am — 5pm

Two-day chair build

Build a small three-leg stool over a weekend, hand-cut joinery, hardwax oil finish. We supply the kiln-dried walnut billet, you supply the blisters and the saw stamina.

2 days · 16 hrsIntermediateIyana teachesLunch both days
$840
Walnut billet incl.
Take home: 1 stool
1 of 4 left Enroll →
Jul 11–172026 · 7 days
9am — 5pm

Seven-day chest build

One full week, one finished blanket chest. Hand-cut dovetails on every corner. We sand, oil, and crate it together. Lodging not included; we have a list of five places within a 10-min walk.

7 days · 56 hrsAdvancedTheo teachesTools incl.
$3,200
Cherry billet incl.
Take home: 1 chest
2 of 4 left Enroll →
Aug 012026 · Sat
9am — 4pm

Hardwax oil finishing

Bring a piece you've made (any size up to a small table). We sand, prep, and walk through a four-coat hardwax oil cure. You go home with a finished piece and a finishing kit.

1 day · 7 hrsOpen levelIyana teachesLunch incl.
$280
Bring your piece
Take home: oil kit
4 of 4 open Enroll →
What's included
A

Tools

Every Saturday workshop includes the tools — chisels, saws, marking gauges, planes. We sharpen them between students; you don't bring anything.

B

Wood billet

The two-day chair build and seven-day chest build include kiln-dried walnut or cherry billet, milled and stickered the week before class. No upcharge.

C

Lunch

Every full day includes lunch from Bluebird Deli, two blocks down the Pequonnock. Sandwich, soup, drink, dessert. Vegetarian and gluten-free options handled.

D

Refund window

Full refund up to 14 days before class. 50% refund within 14 days. After class day, no refund — but we'll credit you toward a future class within twelve months.

Enroll · pay deposit

Pick a date, pay $100 down.

Enrollment opens with a $100 deposit; the balance is due seven days before class. We confirm your seat by email and send a packing list (closed shoes, sleeves you don't mind splattering, water bottle).

If a class shows fewer than two students enrolled by the seven-day mark we may reschedule — full refund or move to the next class.

"The dovetail intensive was the most useful eight hours I've spent in a workshop in twenty years. I went home and rebuilt every joint in my workbench from memory."— Marisol Vance · Dovetail Intensive · 2025

Enrollment deposit

$100 down · balance 7d before class

Secured by Stripe · balance billed 7d out