WOODWORKING TUITION
courses and clubs run by Patrick Baxter since 2010
PROGRAMME OVERVIEW from May 2026:
click on the blue highlighted subjects for more info or scroll down
1. WOODWORKING CLUB
Relaxed atmosphere, low intensity tuition & supervision from Patrick.
Work on your own project or one of our set pieces using hand skills & hand tools.
Thursdays and Saturdays 10.30am – 4.30 pm, 12 spaces, £45/session.
Wednesday evening, 6pm – 9pm, 12 spaces, £25 / session.
Discounts and concession schemes. Membership fee.
2. NEW COURSE, TBC
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3. ELEMENTS
Intensive group course for intermediate level woodworkers or competent beginners.
5 individual essential elements of furniture making – learn the art of sharpening, hand planing, cutting dovetails, surface preparation and polishing.
Over 4 consecutive days or a number of Sundays.
8 spaces, £480.
4. SIMPLE BOX COURSE
Intensive group course for intermediate level woodworkers or competent beginners.
Make a simple hand-cut dovetailed tray / desk tidy / storage box while covering the essential elements of furniture making – sharpening, hand planing, cutting dovetails, surface preparation and simple polishing.
Over 4 consecutive days or a number of Sundays
8 spaces, £480 including materials.
5. BEGINNER’S CHARCUTERIE BOARD
Medium intensity One Day group course suitable for beginners.
Make a simple oiled cutting/serving /charcuterie board whilst gaining an introduction to hand skills – planing, sharpening, scraping, sanding, grain raising & oiling.
8 spaces £120 including materials.
6. ONE TO ONE
Fully tutored essential elements of furniture making OR be guided through your chosen furniture project OR individual short lessons on your chosen subject. May be added to support club or course sessions.
£40 an hour.
TUTOR: Patrick Baxter, self-employed cabinetmaker, furniture designer & antique restorer since 1991. Further info : https://www.thewoodplace.com/about-us/
LOCATION:
The Wood Place, Lanarkshire Hardwoods / Patrick Baxter Furniture – Girdwoodend Farm, Auchengray, Carnwath, LANARK ML11 8LL. Further info : https://www.thewoodplace.com/find-us/
From approx May/June 2026 : Bethany Hall, 29a High Street, BIGGAR, South Lanarkshire, ML12 6DA
FACILITIES:
Girdwoodend:
The courses and various sessions are held in the southern half of the long white furniture workshops building, the oldest part of the building, a former dairy farm byre dating from approx the sixteenth century. There are a number of differing sizes of workbenches with vices offering up to 9 work positions currently and space for other projects that don’t need a vice.
Adjacent rooms have been converted into a simple but clean kitchen with sink, microwave, utensils and fridge; separate sink area for washing glue brushes etc; plus a fully disabled access toilet. There is wheelchair access all along the level from the north end of the building. There is ample parking adjacent to the workshops.
Bethany Hall, Biggar:
Studio space on 2 levels, with disabled facilities on the ground floor. 12 workbench spaces with vices. Kitchen with fridge and microwave, dining area, storeroom for wood and club members’ projects, large collection of hand tools.
Car park behind the building for approx 6 small cars, plus usually plenty of on-street parking on the High Street (A702) to the front.
TOOLS:
There is an extensive collection of hand tools for student use. These tools have mainly come from the following 3 tool suppliers which we can recommend highly if you are purchasing your own:
http://www.workshopheaven.com
http://www.axminstertools.com.
https://www.classichandtools.com
Patrick can offer discount codes to use with some of these suppliers for our regular club members and course attendees.
We also have a considerable collection of very fine antique woodworking tools which have been restored and make affordable and pleasing tools to handle. Students on courses will mainly use our tools but continuing club members are encouraged to slowly collect and maintain their own tools.
COURSES, SESSIONS & BENCH SPACE OPTIONS IN DETAIL:
Relaxed atmosphere, low intensity tuition & supervision from Patrick.
Work on your own project or one of our set pieces using hand skills & hand tools.
Thursdays and Saturdays 10.30am – 4.30 pm, up to 12 spaces, £45/session.
Wednesdays evenings 6pm – 9pm.
Discounts and concession schemes.
Annual membership fee payable after first free trial session, £30
pre-booking essential.
Held in the handshop at The Wood Place premises, Girdwoodend, 11-4 pm, Thursdays and Saturdays, by appointment, tutored by cabinetmaker and antique restorer Patrick Baxter.
From May/June 2026, at Bethany Hall, Biggar.
The club sessions are Thursdays and Saturdays 10.30am to 4.30pm
Wednesday evenings 6pm – 9pm.
or any smaller part of that you like – price is the same however long you attend.
Strictly by advance booking in order that we can manage space and numbers effectively.
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Supervised by Patrick Baxter, who will give on average half an hour’s tuition per person over the course of each session, but this will vary hugely dependent on numbers attending, the project being worked on and the member’s needs. An hour or more may be possible in one session to start you off on a project, if possible, or when there are not too many other students in.
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You will have the use of a workbench and space in the studio plus all the woodworking hand tools there, although you are encouraged to bring or acquire your own.
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Tea & coffee making facilities and a basic kitchen are provided. You can bring your own food to eat or prepare for lunch. Always some stock of biscuits etc available but feel free to bring things to share. Opportunities for those who wish to chat and compare notes with other like-minded folk.
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Designed ideally, but not essentially, for previous course students to pursue their own projects, having had a grounding in hand skills and essential cabinetmaking from Patrick already and who therefore can work partially unassisted. Or those who have picked up fair hand skills elsewhere.
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PLEASE NOTE if you are a beginner and have not been on one of our courses, that it can take between 16 and 24 hours to deliver the essential handskills programme, within a group course environment with everyone doing the same thing instead of up to a dozen different projects for Patrick to individually supervise – so you will need to attend a lot of Woodworking Club sessions to gradually pick up these skills – but it is possible if you are patient and enjoy the process.
Tuition and guidance can be given on:
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TRADITIONAL FURNITURE MAKING / CABINET MAKING
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DESIGN ELEMENTS IN ADDITION TO CONSTRUCTION
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TRADITIONAL ANTIQUE FURNITURE RESTORATION
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GENERAL WOODWORKING PROJECTS
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NB there is a project size limitation so please check with Patrick before assuming you will be able to make any project you want.
If you feel you need a lot more tuition time on your project, 1 to 1 tuition with Patrick may be available, @£40/hr or see if there are any group courses coming up like the Simple Box Course or Elements
Booking and signing up for club membership:
Contact Patrick by email or phone; we encourage booking dates in advance and in blocks, for which there are discounts.
Fortnightly or monthly attendance is the easiest to facilitate for new members as bench space is at a premium but many members come one day a week. Patrick appreciates regularity, whatever pattern you choose, and letting him know well in advance if you cannot attend a booked session so that bench space may be given to another member for that day, as spaces are often fully booked.
An annual membership fee of £30 is charged.
Your first session is free as a trial and the membership fee is only charged when you book your next sessions.
Payment:
Pay by card or cash on the day. Pre-payment blocks by cash or card in the workshop when you arrive or by bank payment in advance.
Students should choose projects of a small or modest size that can be undertaken on a workbench. Some other shared assembly tables will be available. Chairs, coffee tables, chests, boxes, small bookcases etc but not dining tables, kitchen worktops, beds etc.
You may take your project / components home with you after each session although there is some limited storage space if you prefer to leave items at the workshop. You should take home any tools you bring, however. No use of machines can be permitted so your project needs to be carried out mainly employing hand skills but a workspace can be made available for anyone wanting to use electric routers and sanders. Patrick aims to keep the studio, where the bench spaces are, a reasonably quiet and dust free zone.
Facilities – our basic kitchen allows you to heat up food and make tea & coffee etc. The workshop is always warm and dry. We have a fully disabled access toilet. We have disabled access workbench spaces on the ground floor, on the same level as the WCs and kitchen. The main studio is located upstairs.
Tools – Certainly bring your own but you may use a wide variety of our tools as long as you leave any edge tools sharpened and ready for the next user at the end of the session. A wide range of quality handtools are available to borrow but it is expected that as soon as you have decided which tools are most suitable for you, you should start to acquire your own, if you can afford them. You will be given guidance in use and care of all hand tools. There are plenty of sturdy workbenches of different types and assembly / gluing / sanding tables.
Materials – any wood you need will hopefully be able to sourced and purchased in our store, discounts to past students of course! If we cannot supply the wood you need you may be excused to work on wood purchased elsewhere!! Sandpaper – our preferred brand Mirka Abranet lasts for ages – can be purchased along with other potential consumables like dust masks and polish / oil / resin.
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Tutored by cabinetmaker and antique restorer Patrick Baxter. From Summer 2026, held in Biggar at Bethany Hall
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Intensive group course for intermediate level woodworkers or competent beginners.
5 individual essential elements of furniture making – learn the art of sharpening, hand planing, cutting dovetails, surface preparation and polishing.
Over 4 consecutive days or a number of Sundays.
8 spaces, £480 per person
A previous course news post: https://www.thewoodplace.com/dovetails-tuition-next-group-course-june-2024-elements/
The 5 essential elements of furniture making, fully tutored –
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Sharpening
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Hand planing
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Hand cutting dovetails
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Surface preparation (scraping, sanding etc)
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Polishing
Held in Patrick’s own hand workshop at The Wood Place, with the woodburner on for the colder months. At Bethany Hall, Biggar from Summer 2026. Teas, Coffees & Biscuits/baking will be served or help yourself all day long. Lots of local cafe and takeaway options for lunches or bring your own lunch choice if you prefer.
ELEMENTS INTRODUCTION:
Guidance in the varied elements of fine woodworking with a major emphasis on honing hand skills & appreciation & use of fine hand tools. The standard is aimed at those who have been doing some woodwork for a while and would like to raise their abilities and acquire new skills to intermediate level furniture making skills. Contact Patrick for further info if in doubt as to your abilities on the course.
COURSE FORMAT: 4 DAYS OF 9.30AM – 4.30PM
Each day is 9.30am arrival, with a cup of tea or coffee, aiming to start in properly at the benches at 9.45. There will be a further lunch break for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour somewhere between 12 and 1. Bring your own, local options for rolls and sandwiches etc. Tea/coffee and biscuits supplied. We have a clean but very basic kitchen with a microwave for heating things up, sink for washing up and a selection of mugs, glasses, plates and cutlery.
YOUR REQUIREMENTS:
Absolute beginners may struggle unless you feel you are a natural learner and have good general hand & eye co-ordination; it would help if you have used chisels, handsaws & planes and carried out some sharpening, even if without any success – so that the pieces will quickly fall into place when Patrick shows you how it can be done. It is useful to be able to focus on incredibly fine detail, the line left by a scalpel on hardwood, for instance, and be able to place a razor sharp chisel edge into that tiny line, so think of being able to read a book with very small print, at any distance within comfortable arm’s reach. Patrick will demonstrate each process first and explain the theory and then you will work on your own test pieces, with timber and materials supplied, at your own bench space.
TOOLS REQUIRED: NONE!
all tools are supplied and they are mostly fairly high quality examples such as Clifton, Lie-Nielsen & Veritas, with good but medium priced examples such as Quangsheng and Narex too and the odd basic Record or Stanley which has been fettled and enhanced. New tools are constantly being added to the collection. You may bring your own tools if you are confident they are up to the job or would like Patrick to give them a look and see what they might need to get them working properly.
SHARPENING:
Patrick teaches traditional sharpening techniques using waterstones and honing guides, employing primary and secondary bevels. You will be shown how to flatten soles of new planes and backs of new chisels in order to make them ready for sharpening and use.
You will have the basic outline described or briefly demonstrated of how to fettle and bring up to standard any older planes and chisels etc that you might possess or acquire, however this often takes a very long time and cannot be done in practice on this course. You can come along to the Club sessions for that.
You will be shown and then practice sharpening plane irons and chisels until you have them razor sharp.
The differences between different types of steel, and different brands, will be discussed, along with some theory on differing planing angles.
You can try out some of the sharpened planes on test pieces of wood and ask whatever questions you like. Lots of advice and discussion will be provided on different makes and suppliers of sharpening equipment and tools.
HAND PLANING:
You will learn how to correctly use Bench Planes (the traditional looking plane with a chipbreaker and the bevel down) to clean up faces and create a perfectly flat and straight edge, hopefully! After planing boards all round with the appropriate planes the ideal test is finally being able to fit two small boards together edge to edge ready for glue jointing with no gaps or glue lines for that perfect wood to wood join. The use of adjustable mouth Block Planes (hand sized small plane, bevel up) is also taught.
Unless you are sure you have top-notch first class approved tools fettled and properly set up for use it is better to leave them at home for these starter lessons and just use Patrick’s. There are plenty and enough to share and swap about during the sessions with the other students. But feel free to bring them in for advice.
It is always greatly appreciated by students that they quickly acquire an appreciation of good quality tools and which ones in particular they prefer, without having to go out and buy them. Lots of advice and discussion will again be provided on different makes and suppliers of tools.
HAND CUTTING DOVETAILS:
The Dovetails Element is based on our classic hand-cut dovetailed ‘bookend’ original group course. You will be carrying out your most accurate marking and cutting of a set of through dovetails, which will be assembled into a basic L bookend shape and size. We believe the art of producing a set of dovetails gives you the skills required to cut most joints – hence it’s place in the essential 5 elements of furniture making.
You will be working on timber already hand planed square all round previously – by yourself on the accompanying planing element. There will be plenty scrap wood to practice on too and lots of practice cuts are encouraged. We may be content with a dry fit set of dovetails as there may not be time for most students, especially beginners, to also prepare the inside surfaces, glue up, allow to set, clean up etc, though you may do this at another time.
SURFACE PREPARATION
‘Surface Preparation’ is so called because it is absolutely essential to properly and thoroughly prepare the wood before any polishing can be carried out with any degree of success. Typically the least subscribed-to module if offered in isolation of the other elements because few realise the importance of proper surface preparation to achieving a good polished surface.
Good surface preparation will ensure that when you hit the surface with oil, french polish etc you will see all the full colours and attributes of the grain popping out.
Patrick will show you traditional wood preparation techniques which avoid just sanding everything from coarse grit to fine, thereby keeping the grain flat, crisp and open, reducing dust, noise and electricity consumption, rounding over at edges and risk of machine sanding marks showing.
You will learn the following:
The extent to which fine hand planing can first be used to remove machine marks and tears.
Scraping – using cabinet / card scrapers as well as scraper planes to work a planed surface to a smoother finish, especially useful on difficult timbers, with instruction on how to sharpen them.
Sanding – only then finally will you do some fine grit finish sanding with the very best of top quality papers and equipment, demonstrating the advantages of dust extraction during sanding.
Grain raising – how to avoid rough raised grain areas which can appear when certain stains or polishes are used, by pre-wetting; or simply as good practice to acquire that perfect glass-like finish.
POLISHING:
There will be demonstrations of several oil finishes, acrylic / water based lacquer / varnish and various grain fillers/sanding sealers.
Participants in the POLISHING module will be taught a simple to learn french polishing technique on some sample boards; learning at the same time how to make, store and use french polishing rubbers which will be able to take home FREE.
Patrick will cover waxing and discuss different brands of wax. You will also be able to use Hard Wax Oil on some samples to create a smooth oiled finish quickly.
We will be working on the wood previously properly prepared on the planing and surface preparation modules.
All the polishes may be purchased in our store if you wish to take some home.
Booking
Please email patrick@thewoodplace.com with your request for a place. Patrick may reply with some questions to make sure the course is suitable for you before looking to take any payment.
Terms and Conditions
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To secure a place we take full payment of the course fee at point of booking.
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We offer a 7 day cancellation period with full refund from the point of booking no matter how close to the start date you book.
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If you cancel over 60 days before the course start date 90% of the course fee can be refunded.
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If you cancel 31 to 60 days before the course start date 50% of the course fee can be refunded.
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If you cancel 30 days or less from the course start date all course fees become non refundable.
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If we cancel the course at any time, 100% refund is due to you.
Intensive group course for intermediate level woodworkers or competent beginners.
Make a simple hand-cut dovetailed tray / desk tidy / storage box while covering the essential elements of furniture making – sharpening, hand planing, cutting dovetails, surface preparation and simple polishing.
Over 4 consecutive days or a number of Sundays
8 spaces, £480 including materials.
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Held in Patrick’s own hand workshop at The Wood Place, with the woodburner on for the colder months. Teas, Coffees & Biscuits/baking will be served or help yourself. Bring your own lunch, lots of local options for sandwiches and soup takeaway etc.
SIMPLE BOX COURSE INTRODUCTION:
Take home a simple but highly useful item showing off your hand skills. You will be guided through the processes involved in building a hand-cut dovetailed open-topped box with demonstrations and tuition by cabinetmaker Patrick Baxter. Tuition will be given in the varied elements of fine woodworking with a major emphasis on honing hand skills & appreciation & use of fine hand tools. The standard is aimed at those who have been doing some woodwork for a while and would like to raise their abilities and acquire new skills to intermediate level furniture making skills.
The box is approximately 8″ x 5″ x 3″. The one in these pictures is made of Maple, with a Cedar of Lebanon bottom. Exact sizes and wood type may change from course to course and depending on availability. Something not too tricky to hand plane will always be selected. The box has a piece of genuine leather cut and glued to the underside to hide the pin holes left from attaching the quarter-sawn bottom (minimum shrinkage / expansion potential) to the box carcase; it also happens to offer surface protection to your desk etc. The box will be simply oiled or waxed.
COURSE FORMAT: 4 DAYS OF 9.30AM – 4.30PM
Each day is 9.30am arrival, with a cup of tea or coffee, aiming to start in properly at the benches at 9.45. There will be a further lunch break for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour somewhere between 12 and 1. Bring your own lunch, lots of local options for takeaway sandwiches, soup etc. Tea/coffee and biscuits supplied. We have a clean but very basic kitchen with a microwave for heating things up, sink for washing up and a selection of mugs, glasses, plates and cutlery.
DAY ONE:
Sharpening; hand planing ; cross cutting (sawing).
Patrick teaches traditional sharpening techniques using waterstones and honing guides, employing primary and secondary bevels. There will be a demo on how to flatten soles of new planes and backs of new chisels in order to make them ready for sharpening and use.
You will have the basic outline described of how to fettle and bring up to standard any older planes and chisels etc that you might possess or acquire, however this often takes a very long time and cannot be done in practice on this course. You can come along to the Furniture Making Fridays or Saturday Wood Club or One To One sessions for that.
You will be shown how to sharpen plane irons and you will practice yourselves with constant help from Patrick until you have them razor sharp.
You will learn how to properly set up planes ready for use. Most planes are not ready to use straight out of the box, even after sharpening.
We will also be making good use of the smaller Block planes for this project, for both planing faces and trimming end grain (including use of shooting boards) as well as shaping the mould on the box bottom.
When the box section is planed flat and square you will choose from the selection of fine handsaws and, after careful marking, hand cut the components to length, then trim the ends square with the block plane and shooting board.
DAY TWO:
Marking & hand sawing Dovetails; sharpening chisels ; trimming and paring to size with chisels. Assembling dovetailed sides and end components to a dry fit.
You will use a selection of marking gauges including some of the latest wheel types, along with knives, scalpels and sharp pencils to extremely carefully and accurately mark your dovetails for cutting. With demonstrations and active tuition you will go through the process of hand sawing and chiselling the tails, marking for the pins, cutting the pins, more chiselling ( and sharpening) as required, until you have your 4 components brought to a dry fit.
DAY THREE:
Glue up box; make the box bottom; flush off & clean up box exterior; level the base & fit the bottom.
After a final sand of the inside faces you will assemble and glue the box carcase together; while it is drying, you will cut a section of quarter sawn wood to size for the box bottom. Once planed all round you will use block planes and scrapers to run a simple mould all around the edge. Before fitting the dried box needs to be cleaned up all round – more planing, scraping or sanding, and the lower surface planed flat so it has no twists in it.
The bottom will be prepared for nailing to the box by pilot drilling with a very fine bit before gluing and pinning on.
DAY FOUR:
Anybody running behind may be able to catch up here as there is only a half day of work scheduled. To complete the box you will first cut a piece of leather to fit the bottom, glue size it and then stick it on. While glues are drying there is an opportunity to be taught and experiment with a range of different polishes on sample pieces of wood by Patrick. We can study polishes which may not be appropriate for the box so that you are better prepared for making other pieces in the future.
After a quick check of the box for perfect surface preparation and any necessary trimming of the leather, you can move on to applying whatever polish you prefer. Usually a simple coat or two of wax or oil will be sufficient.
HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL ABILITY DO I NEED?
Absolute beginners may struggle unless you feel you are a natural learner and have good general hand & eye co-ordination; it would help if you have used chisels, handsaws & planes and carried out some sharpening, even if without any success – so that the pieces will quickly fall into place when Patrick shows you how it can be done.
It is essential to be able to focus on incredibly fine detail, the line left by a scalpel on hardwood, for instance, and be able to place a razor sharp chisel edge into that tiny line, so think of being able to read a book with very small print, at any distance within comfortable arm’s reach.
Patrick will demonstrate each process first and explain the theory and then you will work on your own piece at your own bench space with continual guidance from Patrick and sometimes his assistants.
Tuition will be given in the varied elements of fine woodworking with a major emphasis on honing hand skills & appreciation & use of fine hand tools.
The standard is aimed at those who have been doing some woodwork for a while and would like to raise their abilities and acquire new skills to intermediate level furniture making skills.
WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED?
The following info from the Elements course is just as appropriate for The Bits & Bobs Box Course :
all tools are supplied and they are mostly fairly high quality examples such as Clifton, Lie-Nielsen & Veritas, with good but medium priced examples such as Quangsheng and Narex too and the odd basic Record or Stanley which has been fettled and enhanced. After becoming at least moderately proficient in sharpening techniques using water and diamond stones you will learn how to properly set up planes and will have the knowledge to fettle and bring up to standard any older or sub-standard new planes and chisels etc that you might possess or acquire.
Unless you are sure you have top-notch first class approved tools fettled and properly set up for use it is better to leave them at home for these starter lessons and just use Patrick’s. There are plenty and enough to share and swap about during the sessions with the other students. It is always greatly appreciated by students that they quickly acquire an appreciation of good quality tools and which ones in particular they prefer, without having to go out and buy them.
You will be given a short board of hardwood pre-cut into a rectangle, faces machine planed, very approximately 30 x 20 x 2.5cms. You will be provided with various hand planes and shown how to use them to plane the board flat on both faces, removing machine and other marks; also planing edges and ends square and straight. You will learn about grain direction and structure and how it influences planing. There will be a brief lesson on sharpening planes and how to set them up. Then you move on to the surface preparation, use of scrapers and sanding techniques and grain raising before polishing – in this case an oiled finish. You will be able to take your cutting board home at the end of the session. There is usually time for general Q & A.
6. ONE TO ONE :
Fully tutored essential elements of furniture making OR be guided through your chosen furniture project OR individual short lessons on your chosen subject. May be added to support club or course sessions.
£40 an hour.
Suitable for all levels, Patrick will adapt the instruction to suit the student. May be able to be undertaken in your own workshop.
Your Tutor
Patrick Baxter, drawn by his daughter Holly in 2023, age 17, as part of her advance higher art portfolio in her last year at school.
Holly is now studying art at Dundee University.
