Welcome to Maurice Pyle Woodsmith

To book on any of these courses, e-mail click here to check availablity of places, and I will send you a booking form.

I also provide one-to-one tuition or woodcraft instruction to groups, young people or adults

This popular course will start again early January 2010 and will finish early May 2010. More information on the East Durham College's website, follow the link:-

website of East Durham College

Organised by Houghall College, Durham, a more committing course for those who want to learn, more intensively, a broader range of woodland craft subjects. Approx. 30 taught days at 2 days per week, includes chainsaw training and assessment and business start up modules.

Upon successfully completing the course students are awarded the nationally recognised NCFE Certificate in Green Woodcraft

Contact Joe Shipley at Houghall 0191 375 4736 / joseph.shipley@eastdurham.ac.uk for more information, or myself Maurice Pyle maurice pyle

Mainly based at the Flintmill Workshop at Beamish Museum, Co Durham. We will be using clean, straight grained timber put to one side from the previous winter. All courses are tutored by Maurice Pyle unless otherwise stated

The essential course for aspiring green woodworkers. The bodging skills of cleaving, trimming, shaving and turning will be taught using a few simple hand tools such as axes, drawknives, gouges and chisels. You will learn how to use a shavehorse and a pole lathe. On this course people often make their own shavehorse to take away. This could be your opportunity to get fired up and inspired to learn a new and highly satisfying creative skill. Maximum number of students 6.

Starting with a green unseasoned log you will work through a variety of stages firstly with the splitting of a short section of hardwood, then, using axe and gouges to shape a bowl of your own design. Variations include dough troughs, wooden scoops, plates and bowls with handles. Your finished bowl will be quite sculptural and probably unique, and definitely very satisfying to create. Maximum number of students 6

Having sharp tools won't improve you green woodworking skill but will make the work easier and safer, produce a better finish and make the process of using hand tools considerably more satisfying. This one day course will provide information about sharpening most of the tools used in green woodworking, such as axes, billhooks, drawknives and turning chisles and gouges. Powered and manual techniques will be shown. This may be the best £60 you have ever spent!

Essentially two courses in one, a total of twelve students will be split into two groups of six, each group will spend one day learning to carve spoons and one day learning to turn a small bowl on a pole lathe.

Carving a spoon, ladle or scoop from a piece of green roundwood is an immensely satisfying, creative purpose and creates a practical item that can be personalized to make a wonderful gift, if you bare to give it away! By working with the grain, freshly cut wood reveals itself as a flexible material, easily worked with sharp tools. During the course of the day we will consider the unique properties of wood, especially in the green, work safely on a simple spoon design using axe, sloyd and curved knife and consider the philosophy of crafting the everyday objects around us from sustainable, renewable materials. Tutor David Knight, a skilled and patient tutor, finds green wood carving an immensely satisfying way of relaxing in his spare time and is fascinated by Scandinavian design in spoons, bowls and tools.

Turning a bowl on a pole lathe is incredibly satisfying. We will be using axes to shape the rough blank then turning tools, including hooked tools to shape the bowl on our treadle operated pole lathes. We will use reasonably freshly felled native species such as alder or birch. Tutor Maurice Pyle has been a professional green wood tutor for more than 15 years.

Combine a holiday in the breath taking Holoydal Valley, eastern Norway with a relaxing woodcraft course to help build the equipment and devices for an outdoor woodland workshop. Learn to make items such as shavehorses, low work benches, pole lathes, and cleaving breaks. We will be working with slow grown pine and birch, cut from the surrounding woodland. Cost includes tuition, most meals and comfortable tent accomodation with 2 people in tents designed for eight, each complete with 2 campbeds and 2 chairs. Although accomodation will be in tents, the course will be based at a small fomer farmhouse from which inspired wholesome food will be prepared and served, also there will be access to a newly refurbished shower room.

Enjoy the special norwegian mountain environment without roughing it too much! You need to make your own travel arrangements, obtain your own travel and medical insurance and supply your own sleeping bag/bed linen etc. Suitable for any level of experience. Travel is normally via car or plane and train. Email for more information. May be suitable for non-participating partners

This years course is now fully booked but we will be running another during August 2010. If you would like to try green woodcraft for the first time or improve on basic skills in a unimaginably beautiful and tranquill mountain environment, let us know by email and we will let you know when next years course details are released

If you have ever thought of making a pole lathe but put off by the prospect of sourcing the materials and finding the time then this is the course for you. For the first one and a half days, using seasoned dimensioned hardwood and softwoods assembled as kits, you will be carefuly guided through the build up stage by stage. Once your lathe has passed its maided 'turning' test, we will embark on learning the basics of green woodworking and pole lathe turning. The empahsis will be on using hand tools safely and accuratly to produce small turned items. All materials, tools and devices will be provided. You will leave with a fully working Pole Lathe. No previous knowlege or experience required. Maximum number of students 6

To book on any of these courses, e-mail click here to check availablity of places, and I will send you a booking form

A variety of subjects are taught at our country workshop within the grounds of Beamish Museum. Whilst we are willing to take our woodcraft training services to other venues our preference is to run courses at our workshop. Here we have the shelter of the Flint Mill to work undercover, traditional wooden holding devices, our pole lathes and of course the raw materials. The Flint Mill workshop is located in the beautiful, well wooded Beamish valley. Seemingly a million miles from anywhere but in fact 5 minutes off a main road. There is almost a medieval feel about the place.

Over the years we have run a wide range of woodcraft courses for groups and individuals, tutored by Maurice and other craft specialists. The training offered is from very from knowledgeable and experienced craftspeople, the emphasis is on informality in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. All tools and materials are supplied.

These courses are open to all; no experience at all is required.

Previous Clients
Quite often an organisation or group will ask for a course to be specially organised for them, this is great because the training can be specifically tailored to needs and working together outdoors on a craft project is excellent for team morale

Northumberland Wildlife Trust
Durham Wildlife Trust
National Trust
English Nature

Houghall College, Durham
Voluntary Environmental Groups
Schools

Outdoor Education Centres
Individuals who want one-to-one tuition
Re-enactors

In October 2002, Maurice invited master woodcarver Wille Sundqvist from Northern Sweden to instruct two courses at the Flint Mill workshop. Willie is an internationally renowned figure especially for his spoon and bowl carving. He instructed spoon carving for three days and bowl carving for three days. Students came from all over the UK to learn from the 75 year old master. His spoons were just a delight, highly crafted yet extremely functional.