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A chair that is still a work in progress and one that is completed. PHOTO: YEN MING JIIN
For us first-world folk, the most intuitive thing we would do if we needed a new chair would be to head to our favourite furniture showroom for a browse. But to change things up a bit, how about spending 48 hours of hard work making one from scratch?
Make no mistake. There are actually a growing number of city folk doing the latter. Kung Guangjun and his team of woodworking instructors would know, because they spent the last three years teaching some 100 budding craftsmen to do just that.
Part of the chairmaking process involves smoothing and sanding down the wood. PHOTO: YEN MING JIIN
Mr Kung founded Tombalek, a woodworking studio in Mandai, and teaches people how to make chairs, electric guitars, longboards and chopsticks.
His popular chairmaking classes sell out quickly. Students pay S$1,380 for eight weekly sessions that last three hours each, but Mr Kung says students need to spend time outside the class curriculum to complete their chairs. "It is a lot of effort, but the result is a chair that you cannot buy in any shop," he adds. "You have a closer connection with the chair, after spending time making it."
Students learn to make a stylish-looking armchair, with double rabbet joinery sculpted to appear seamless and flowing. No nails or screws are used as the pieces are held together with glue. Nyatoh, pine and walnut woods are used. The chairs are made from square timber stock so students learn the use of the bandsaw and routers to shape and construct the joinery required to hold the pieces together. The rest of the work is hand rasping and carving, and a lot of sanding.
Tombalek's founder Kung Guangjun uses a bandsaw to cut wood. PHOTO: YEN MING JIIN
Mr Kung, who learnt chair-making from YouTube videos, says participants fall into three broad categories. There are the retirees looking for an engaging activity; working adults who want an escape from work, and millennials who want something fun to do. "Most students are totally new to woodworking," he points out. "You don't need natural talent, you need hard work and time."
Retiree Rubin Aw has spent about 90 hours building his chair from scratch. "I'm building this chair for my wife," he says, while taking a break from sanding. "It is a piece that she can keep forever."
A version of this story was first published on The Business TImes. Click here to read the original story.