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Phox Elements
BRINDLECOTE ADULT COLLEGE · SPRING TERM 2027

Twelve Tuesdays to a finished chair.

Bring a tired dining chair. Over twelve evenings you take it apart, mend it and French polish it, with one tutor to every five students.
When
Tuesdays, 18:30 to 21:00
Starts
12 January 2027
Where
Bench room 3, Mill Lane
Places
Ten a term
Book a place
THE TERM AT A GLANCE
Strip and repair
Joints and veneer
Finishing
WEEK
01
WEEK
02
WEEK
03
WEEK
04
WEEK
05
WEEK
06
WEEK
07
WEEK
08
WEEK
09
WEEK
10
WEEK
11
WEEK
12
WEEKS 01–04

Strip, clean and repair

Time at the bench
70%
01
Assessing your chair
What is original, what has been botched and what is worth saving.
02
Knocking it apart
Warm water, a steam iron and a rubber mallet. Every joint gets a label.
03
Stripping old finish
Scraper and stripper, and knowing when to stop before the patina goes.
04
Mending breaks
Scarf joints, dowels and filling old worm holes with matched wax.
WEEKS 05–08

Joints and veneer

Time at the bench
80%
05
Gluing up square
Hide glue against PVA, and cramping a frame so it stands flat.
06
Loose tenons and wedges
Remaking a worn joint rather than packing it with glue.
07
Lifting and relaying veneer
Heat, a veneer hammer and a lot of patience.
08
Colour matching
Staining new timber to sit beside a hundred years of daylight.
WEEKS 09–12

Finishing

Time at the bench
85%
09
Grain filling and sanding
Getting open-grained oak glass-smooth before any finish goes on.
10
Shellac by hand
The first bodying coats of French polish, with a rubber you make yourself.
11
Waxing and cutting back
Burnishing, wire wool and a final coat of beeswax.
12
Show and tell
Bring someone to see it. Then take your chair home.
£285 for the term, including tools, glue, shellac and wax. No class on 16 February (half term).
Download the full syllabus