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Beginner Courses
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Floating shelf course
£150
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This one-day course in David’s peaceful, rural workshop in Cheshire is designed as an introduction to fine furniture making. It is aimed at both complete beginners and those woodworkers wishing to brush up on some basics. At the end of the day you will take home a finished floating shelf with recesses for tea light holders (the shelf can be left plain if preferred). The focus is on how to achieve professional standard work by following a series of straight forward steps. The skills learned will form a firm foundation to build on and you will leave the workshop with greater confidence in your own ability.
The course explains the issues of working with a natural material by understanding its characteristics and how to turn the raw timber into a beautifully polished product. You will learn how to sharpen a plane blade and hand plane a board to size, making sure it is completely flat. Any minor imperfections will be removed with the simple but remarkably useful cabinet scraper. Finally you will sand, detail and apply a finish to the piece. You will get plenty of one to one time as the spacious workshop is equipped to train up to a maximum of three students at a time.
The course costs £150 which includes a timber of your choice, concealed shelf supports and tea light holders.
A minimum of two people are required for courses to run, so please contact David with your availability and he will coordinate with other students to find a suitable date.
To book a place on a course contact David on
0161 928 5647 (workshop), 07969115946 or by email .
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Tool sharpening and maintenance course
£150
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“A poor workman blames his tools”, but after this one day course, you’ll have a greater confidence in your tools which will in turn make you a better maker. You will learn how to get the best out of your chisels, planes and cabinet scrapers with an in depth look at sharpening and fettling your tools. You will flatten (lap) the back of your chisels, then hone them so that they are razor sharp. You will gain an understanding of when a tool is blunt and you’ll feel you can re-sharpen them in next to no time.
After over 20 years of furniture making I never tire of hand-planing and this has a lot to do with having a plane that is a pleasure to use. We will look at how to get the most out of your hand plane with a few simple steps; flattening the sole then fettling the mouth, chip breaker and frog so that you can optimise its performance.
Finally if you are struggling with problematic grain or ”tear out” when using your plane you will learn how to prepare a cabinet scraper for those tricky areas. A remarkably simple, cheap yet underrated tool which will solve those problems.
Either bring your own tools or use the ones provided. The course costs £150 which includes all materials.
A minimum of two people are required for courses to run, so please get in touch with your availability and David will coordinate with other students to find a suitable date.
To book a place on a course contact David on
0161 928 5647 (workshop), 07969115946 or by email .
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