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WOODCRAFT COURSES FOR 2008 Our next series of woodcraft courses are scheduled below. 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 will also provide one-to-one tuition on request.
Houghall College NCFE Greenwood Certificate Course This years course started in January 2008 with 9 students. Organised by Houghall College, Durham, a more committing course for those who want to learn, more intensively, a broader range of woodcraft subjects. Approx. 30 taught days at 2 days per week, includes chainsaw training and assessment and business start up modules. This course will start again early January 2009 and will finish early May. (visit www.arbteam.co.uk then click 'Courses' then click 'Green Woodworking') Upon successfully completing the course students are awarded the nationally recognised NCFE Certificate in Green Woodcraft Contact Joe Shipley at Houghall 0191 375 4736 /Joe.SHIPLEY@edhcc.ac.uk for more information.
WOODSMITH WOODCRAFT TRAINING 2008 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, other possibilities are; stools, tool handles, baby rattles and rolling pins. 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.
If you have ever thought of making a pole lathe but put off by the prospect of sourcing the materials and questioned if your wood working skills were up to the task 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
Our first time with a course in this format. 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. 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.
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, other possibilities are; stools, tool handles, baby rattles and rolling pins. 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. Click on this link to view pictures by Dave Fletcher from last years course.http://www.davefletcher.co.uk/html/greenwoodworking.html This course will give you the experience and basic skills to work with native hardwoods recently cut from local woodlands.
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
Venue:: Harehope Quarry:: click here to find out more about this fantastic venue, Frosterly, Weardale. 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 £65 you have ever spent! Maximum number of students 8
Date to be confirmed We want to run a Coracle Course this year, as we have many times in thr past. We have several people interested. Let us know if you might also be interested
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.
Northumberland Wildlife Trust Houghall College, Durham Outdoor Education Centres Swedish Master comes to Beamish 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.
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