Hi All,
I've done another one
A weekend course in Box Making at Williams & Cleal Furniture School. They are only a few miles up the road from me in Lydeard St Lawrence, in Somerset. For those who aren’t that keen to read all the text, here are a few pictures of my part-done/finished three wood box, with the Osmo oil drying on it:
Three quarters done:
That was with the maple veneer keys inserted and drying, the main box and liner made, and the top started. Then the final product:
Three wood box done : designed by Jane Cleal, made by me
Something odd about the picture, maybe it is the walnut grain, but the top keys are inserted at the same, but opposite angle to those at the bottom. Oh well...
In the previous course the emphasis was on very accurate marking out and cutting, and then making perfect tenon joints. In this course the main learning aspect was the preparation and cutting of perfect (or near perfect ) mitred joints. Again, all the work was done with hand tools, and many tips and tricks were passed on in the use of the various tools, and the following of drawings. Accuracy and square-ness was key! Speaking of keys, I was introduced to the use of veneer keys, an item of woodwork I had not seen before. They are added to mitred joints to improve the strength of the joint, and to give some decoration. I chose to use pale maple veneer keys on the exterior of my English walnut box. My box was walnut, with a cherry lining, and the base and top of rippled maple.
As before, we were supplied with all the materials, in my case English Walnut, English Cherry, and imported rippled maple, sandpaper, Osmo oil etc. Oh, and a little piece of leather to act as a lid handle. All of the chisels and planes were perfectly sharpened for us in advance. We were taught how to set them up and use them all to their best effect.
We were taught by Sophie Moraveg, who was assisted by Jane Cleal herself. There was a seemingly bottomless supply of tea or coffee throughout both days, for which we students (6 of us) were very glad.
So, the course was two days in length, all materials, tools, ear defenders, masks and tea/coffee were supplied, and the necessary Covid precautions were observed. All done in a lovely workshop in the Somerset countryside. You have to bring your own lunch and wear sensible shoes. Cost? £310 including VAT. Worth it? In my case, definitely, yes. I also now have a lovely handmade Christmas present for that important someone (the wife)
I am now awaiting my third weekend course, the ‘Total Precision Handtool Techniques’ course. It takes place next month, and I'm looking forward to it. It will hopefully fill in some further gaps in my woodworking knowledge - there are plenty more to go I'm sure.
I suppose I should add that I have no connection with Williams & Cleal, other than as a satisfied customer.
Cheers, Bob
I've done another one
A weekend course in Box Making at Williams & Cleal Furniture School. They are only a few miles up the road from me in Lydeard St Lawrence, in Somerset. For those who aren’t that keen to read all the text, here are a few pictures of my part-done/finished three wood box, with the Osmo oil drying on it:Three quarters done:
That was with the maple veneer keys inserted and drying, the main box and liner made, and the top started. Then the final product:
Three wood box done : designed by Jane Cleal, made by me
Something odd about the picture, maybe it is the walnut grain, but the top keys are inserted at the same, but opposite angle to those at the bottom. Oh well...
In the previous course the emphasis was on very accurate marking out and cutting, and then making perfect tenon joints. In this course the main learning aspect was the preparation and cutting of perfect (or near perfect
) mitred joints. Again, all the work was done with hand tools, and many tips and tricks were passed on in the use of the various tools, and the following of drawings. Accuracy and square-ness was key! Speaking of keys, I was introduced to the use of veneer keys, an item of woodwork I had not seen before. They are added to mitred joints to improve the strength of the joint, and to give some decoration. I chose to use pale maple veneer keys on the exterior of my English walnut box. My box was walnut, with a cherry lining, and the base and top of rippled maple.As before, we were supplied with all the materials, in my case English Walnut, English Cherry, and imported rippled maple, sandpaper, Osmo oil etc. Oh, and a little piece of leather to act as a lid handle. All of the chisels and planes were perfectly sharpened for us in advance. We were taught how to set them up and use them all to their best effect.
We were taught by Sophie Moraveg, who was assisted by Jane Cleal herself. There was a seemingly bottomless supply of tea or coffee throughout both days, for which we students (6 of us) were very glad.
So, the course was two days in length, all materials, tools, ear defenders, masks and tea/coffee were supplied, and the necessary Covid precautions were observed. All done in a lovely workshop in the Somerset countryside. You have to bring your own lunch and wear sensible shoes. Cost? £310 including VAT. Worth it? In my case, definitely, yes. I also now have a lovely handmade Christmas present for that important someone (the wife)
I am now awaiting my third weekend course, the ‘Total Precision Handtool Techniques’ course. It takes place next month, and I'm looking forward to it. It will hopefully fill in some further gaps in my woodworking knowledge - there are plenty more to go I'm sure.
I suppose I should add that I have no connection with Williams & Cleal, other than as a satisfied customer.
Cheers, Bob
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