Few folding chairs today are made of wood. Metal and composite materials have become the norm. This class offers students the opportunity to build a wooden folding chair that fits beautifully into a residential setting and is actually comfortable, a quality often overlooked in commercially available folding chairs. With this in mind, Michael has designed a chair that requires almost no metal hardware beyond a simple pin. The chair features mortise-and-tenon joinery that can be completed by machine or by hand. Its curved legs are laminated for strength and durability, and students may choose to make the curved seat from wood or upholster it. Michael has long been fascinated by folding chairs, both old and new, and by the wide variety of mechanisms that allow them to fold. Churches, community centers, funeral parlors, and card-playing parties seem to breed them. After extensively researching this style of chair, he developed a comfortable, lightweight version that is easy to build and unmistakably “Fortunovian” in style. Students will also have the opportunity to duplicate the jigs for use in their own shops after the class.