Furniture Repair Courses
- You can learn to repair furniture in a hands-on environment. Technical schools and community colleges often offer courses in woodworking or furniture repair. Furniture repair organizations offer workshops and courses, generally at their facilities. The American Wood Finishing Institute, for example, offers courses at its facility in New Jersey, as well as on-site training and consulting for clients. Old Chairs in Ireland offers weekend workshop courses at its County Clare location, allowing attendees to practice on their own pieces of furniture. Product manufacturers offer hands-on courses in using their products for furniture repair. These courses are held at a variety of locations and may include a supply of products as part of the course fee. Mohawk Finishing Products, for example, offers a two-day workshop in wood touch-up and repair; the course fee includes a student kit with Mohawk products.
- A variety of DVDs and videos provide instruction on furniture repair. Antique Restoration, for example, sells a DVD course on the repair of antique wood furniture for beginners. Video websites such as YouTube have free videos on a variety of topics including furniture repair; the usefulness and quality of the information provided by free sites varies based on the knowledge and expertise of the video originator. Distance-education providers may offer courses that use DVDs and videos as well as books.
- You can purchase books on furniture repair or check them out from your library. Larger libraries may have magazines that feature articles on furniture repair. You can find a number of articles on furniture repair online; while a single article cannot provide a full course on furniture repair, a group of articles can address a variety of useful topics. An article on time-tested furniture repair techniques by professional furniture repair consultant Peter Schlosser, for example, is available online at the Furniture World website.
- Franchise-based furniture repair businesses offer training for their franchisees. This may be a good choice for people who wish to repair furniture as a career. The Weathersby Guild, a franchise-based furniture repair business, offers training in a hands-on environment, including training courses and on-the-job training.
- Furniture repair may involve potentially hazardous chemicals such as those found in finish removers. Before using any product, read the directions completely and follow instructions carefully to avoid potential hazards. Use appropriate safety precautions such as eye protection when using tools and other equipment.
