Description
Build a Beautiful Drop Leaf Table in 5 Days
Learn to Design, Build, and Finish a Classic Piece of American Furniture
Join us for this 5-day immersive class and learn to build a drop leaf table at the North Carolina Furniture School. This course blends traditional woodworking techniques with modern shop practices, giving you the knowledge and confidence to make fine furniture with precision and purpose.
What You Will Learn When You Build a Drop Leaf Table
Day 1 – Design, Planning & Material Prep
We’ll begin by reverse-engineering a Shaker-style table to understand proportions, joinery, and structure. You’ll create working shop drawings, detailed cut lists, and set up machine stations with proper tooling for each operation. Learn how to select and match grain, rough-cut your lumber to dimension, sticker and stack materials for stability, and plan adhesives, hardware, and finishes.
Day 2 – Tabletop, Aprons & Legs
You’ll final-cut and glue up the tabletops in the morning, then move on to aprons and legs in the afternoon—focusing on accuracy, glue technique, and wood movement principles that ensure long-lasting results.
Day 3 – Leg Tapers, Joinery & Turning
Students will cut leg tapers and execute precise mortise-and-tenon joinery for the leg-to-apron assemblies. Once joinery is test-fit and refined, you’ll turn the leg tapers on the lathe—or for those interested in digital fabrication, you can turn your legs on our CNC Rotary Indexer.
Day 4 – Drop Leaves & Rule Joints
We’ll cut the drop leaves, rout rule joints, set hinge gains, and bore screw holes for precision alignment. In the afternoon, you’ll build and install the drop-leaf supports into the apron structure, learning how traditional craftsmanship meets modern efficiency.
Day 5 – Assembly & Finishing
On the final day, you’ll sand, refine, and assemble your complete table. The class concludes with a demonstration on applying a traditional oil and wax finish, leaving you with a beautiful handmade Shaker-style drop leaf hall table and a complete understanding of the process from design to finish.
Why Take This Class to Build a Drop Leaf Table
5 full days of hands-on instruction
Small class size for personal guidance
All tools, equipment, and materials provided
Learn both traditional and CNC woodworking techniques
Leave with a finished heirloom-quality table
Perfect For
Woodworkers who want to deepen their furniture-making skills, improve precision joinery, and understand how design, process, and craftsmanship come together in fine furniture.
📍 Location: North Carolina Furniture School – Farmville, NC
🗓️ Duration: 5 days
🔗 Learn more or register: https://ncfurnitureschool.com/classes/
