DOVETAILS WOODWORKING TUITION
held at The Wood Place by Patrick Baxter since 2010
2023 programme overview:
1. FURNITURE MAKING SATURDAYS – work on your own project using mainly hand skills & tools at one of our workbenches; tuition, supervision & machining assistance from Patrick, most Saturdays, 10-4 pm, 6 spaces, £20/day.
2. FURNITURE MAKING FRIDAYS – work on your own project using mainly hand skills & tools at one of our workbenches; tuition, supervision & machining assistance from Patrick, most Fridays, 10-4 pm, 6 spaces, £30/day.
3. ELEMENTS – fully tutored, 5 individual essential elements of furniture making – learn the art of sharpening, hand planing, cutting dovetails, surface preparation and polishing – 5 Sundays usually spread over a few months , 7 spaces, £90 for each day or £425 as a block of 5, including some free tools and lunch.
4. THE BITS & BOBS BOX COURSE – 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 days, Fri & Sun for a fortnight or Mon-Thu, 7 spaces, £300 including materials.
5. THE BOX COURSE – make a beautiful dovetailed box while learning the essential elements of furniture making – sharpening, hand planing, dovetails, surface preparation and polishing. Taken at a relaxed pace over 12 days usually over a span of weeks or months, 5 spaces only, £975 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. £30 an hour.
7. BEGINNER’S CUTTING BOARD – one day course making a simple oiled cutting board. Suitable for beginners. Hand planing, sharpening, scraping, sanding, grain raising & oiling. £90pp in a group course or 1 or 2 days @ £30 a day as a participant of Furniture Making Fridays.
TUTOR: Patrick Baxter, cabinetmaker, furniture designer & antique restorer at these premises since 1991. On some occasions he might be joined by one of various assistants. 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/
FACILITIES: 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.
Tools we have for student use and recommend have mainly come from the following 3 tool suppliers which we can recommend highly if you are purchasing your own:
https://www.classichandtools.com/
COURSES, SESSIONS & BENCH SPACE OPTIONS in detail:
1. FURNITURE MAKING SATURDAYS
(Formerly known as Saturday Woodclub )
work on your own project in the company of others using hand tools at one of our workbenches; tuition, supervision & machining assistance from Patrick, run most Saturdays, 10-4 pm 6 spaces, £20/day, pre-booking essential.
**NEW FORMAT** Due to popular demand Patrick has recently prioritised more time to teaching on Saturdays so we are now running much the same programme as a Friday, but still at a lesser cost than on Fridays due to the likelihood that less tuition time will be available if Patrick needs to pop over to the shop from time to time to attend a wood customer between 10 and 2 on a Saturday.
Held in the handshop at The Wood Place premises, 10-4 pm on most Saturdays, by appointment, tutored by cabinetmaker and antique restorer Patrick Baxter.
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Supervised by Patrick Baxter, who will give on average an hour’s tuition, supervision or machining services. A couple of hours 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.
-
You will have the use of a workbench and space in the handshop plus all the woodworking hand tools there, although you are encouraged to bring or acquire your own.
-
Tea & coffee making facilities and a basic kitchen are provided. You can bring your own food to eat or prepare for lunch. Usually some stock of biscuits etc available. 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 and current Dovetails 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. Patrick will be nearby for guidance and to carry out some machining (students are not allowed to use the machinery) for an average of about ONE HOUR per person each session. Therefore PLEASE NOTE if you are a beginner that it can take between 16 and 24 hours to deliver the essential handskills programme for average ability pupils so you will need to attend a lot of Furniture Making Fridays to gradually pick up these skills – but it is possible if you are patient.
Tuition and guidance can be given on:
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Traditional furniture making / cabinet making
-
Design elements in addition to construction
-
Traditional antique furniture restoration
If you feel you need a lot more tuition time on your project, 1 to 1 tuition with Patrick (see section 5 below) may be available, @£30/hr or see if there are any group courses coming up like the Bits & Bobs Box Course or Elements
Booking: Contact Patrick by email or phone; most students / participants let us know each time they are here when they are intending to come back and it goes in the diary. If you have purchased or visited you will have access to Patrick’s mobile number to keep in touch as required.
Payment: Pay by card or cash on the day. If you want to pay for a small number of sessions up front that can be arranged. Equally online pre-payment can be arranged if you let us know and it is suitable. We have removed the public access pre-booking and payment facility from the website to avoid over-booking from well-meaning spouses or friends for beginners and to give precedence to returning regulars.
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. Patrick may be working on his own furniture or restoration projects alongside you if time is available or the course numbers low.
You will be asked to take your project / components home with you after each session. No use of the machines can be permitted so your project needs to be carried out mainly employing hand skills but a workspace in the adjacent machine shop can be made available for anyone wanting to use electric routers and sanders. Patrick aims to keep the handshop, 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. It is adjacent to the toilet facilities. We have a fully disabled access toilet.
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. As with all Dovetails Woodworking Tuition a wide range of tools 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.
2. FURNITURE MAKING FRIDAYS
work on your own project using hand tools at one of our workbenches; tuition, supervision & machining assistance from Patrick, run most Fridays, 10-4 pm 6 spaces, £30/day, pre-booking essential.
Held in the handshop at The Wood Place premises, 10-4 pm on most Fridays, by appointment, tutored by cabinetmaker and antique restorer Patrick Baxter.
-
Supervised by Patrick Baxter, who will give on average an hour’s tuition, supervision or machining services. A couple of hours 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.
-
You will have the use of a workbench and space in the handshop plus all the woodworking hand tools there, although you are encouraged to bring or acquire your own.
-
Tea & coffee making facilities and a basic kitchen are provided. You can bring your own food to eat or prepare for lunch. Usually some stock of biscuits etc available. Opportunities for those who wish to chat and compare notes with other like-minded folk.
-
Designed ideally, but not essentially, for previous and current Dovetails 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. Patrick will be nearby for guidance and to carry out some machining (students are not allowed to use the machinery) for an average of about ONE HOUR per person each session. Therefore PLEASE NOTE if you are a beginner that it can take between 16 and 24 hours to deliver the essential handskills programme for average ability pupils so you will need to attend a lot of Furniture Making Fridays to gradually pick up these skills – but it is possible if you are patient.
Tuition and guidance can be given on
-
Traditional furniture making / cabinet making
-
Design elements in addition to construction
-
Traditional antique furniture restoration
If you feel you need a lot more tuition time on your project, 1 to 1 tuition with Patrick (see section 5 below) may be available, @£30/hr or see if there are any group courses coming up like the Bits & Bobs Box Course or Elements.
Booking:
Contact Patrick by email or phone; most students / participants let us know each time they are here when they are intending to come back and it goes in the diary. If you have purchased or visited you will have access to Patrick’s mobile number to keep in touch as required.
Payment :
Pay by card or cash on the day. If you want to pay for a small number of sessions up front that can be arranged. Equally online pre-payment can be arranged if you let us know and it is suitable. We have removed the public access pre-booking and payment facility from the website to avoid over-booking from well-meaning spouses or friends for beginners and to give precedence to returning regulars.
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. Patrick may be working on his own furniture or restoration projects alongside you if time is available or the course numbers low.
You will be expected to take your project / components home with you after each session. No use of the machines can be permitted so your project needs to be carried out mainly employing hand skills but a workspace in the adjacent machine shop can be made available for anyone wanting to use electric routers and sanders. Patrick aims to keep the handshop, 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. It is adjacent to the toilet facilities. We have a fully disabled access toilet.
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. As with all Dovetails Woodworking Tuition a wide range of tools 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. 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.
3. ELEMENTS
fully tutored, 5 individual essential elements of furniture making – learn the art of sharpening, hand planing, cutting dovetails, surface preparation and polishing – 5 Sundays spread over months, 7 spaces, £90 for each day or £425 as a block of 5, using our extensive collection of hand tools and materials to practise on.
Some FREE TOOLS included to keep and LUNCH provided.
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)
-
Polishing
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 all day long. We will provide lunch in the form of a vegetarian homemade soup with oatcakes / crackers / bread / spreads or maybe sandwiches ; or bring your own lunch choice if you prefer..To see forthcoming course dates and availability please follow this link – : https://www.thewoodplace.com/product-category/woodworking-courses/ NB if nothing appears in your chosen topic then most likely we are fully booked up but please contact Patrick for info on any future availability or cancellations – [email protected]
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. You do not have to do all 5 elements or have been on the previous one – but it helps. Contact Patrick for further info if in doubt as to your abilities on the course.
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..***We will supply you with a FREE Narex 8116 chisel to prepare, sharpen and use which is yours to keep. Worth over £18 ***
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 Friday or Saturday 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.
With whatever time remains 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.
The timber you use will be supplied but retained by us for use in the following Elements of ‘Dovetails’, ‘Surface Preparation’ and ‘Polishing’. If you enrol on these you can mark up your timber with your name and keep the same pieces for those Elements.
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 if you have been on the planing course or supplied by Patrick if not. There will be plenty scrap wood to practice on too and lots of practice cuts art encouraged. We will be content with a dry fit set of dovetails as there will 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. You may take home whatever you make and if you are coming on the Surface Preparation or Polishing Elements you may bring the pieces for further work.
*** Participants will receive a FREE dovetail marking guide to use and take home. ***.
Some very slow beginners can take up to 2 of these 6 hour sessions to complete the processes involved in this Element but unfortunately we can only allow one session as part of this course. You may be able to enrol on the Friday or Saturday Furniture Making days to finish off under Patrick’s supervision if you feel it necessary. However we are confident you will have picked up the basic skills required with one 6 hour session.
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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 because few realise the importance of proper surface preparation to achieving a good polished surface; we devote a whole 6 hour session to the topic.
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.
We 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.
*** You will receive a FREE top quality cabinet scraper to sharpen and use on the course and then take home. ***
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.
We 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.
NB if you skip the preceding Surface Preparation module, do not expect to achieve as good results at home, unless you are confident you can carry out that stage well.
All the polishes may be purchased in our store if you wish to take some home.
4. THE BITS & BOBS BOX COURSE
Make a simple hand-cut dovetailed tray / desk tidy / storage box while covering the essential elements of cabinetmaking – sharpening, hand planing, cutting dovetails, surface preparation and simple polishing.
Held over 4 days, either 2 lots of Fridays and Sundays for a fortnight or a Monday – Thursday block may be available sometimes if there is demand. 7 spaces, £300 including materials. 10 am until 4pm, with 45 minutes of breaks.
Dovetails Bits And Bobs Box
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 sandwiches etc if you want something more at the halfway lunch break..To see forthcoming course dates and availability please follow this link – : https://www.thewoodplace.com/product-category/woodworking-courses/ NB if nothing appears in your chosen topic then most likely we are fully booked up but please contact Patrick for info on any future availability or cancellations – [email protected] .
Bits And Bobs 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 10am – 4pm
Each day is 10am arrival (you will be welcome a little earlier), with a cup of tea or coffee, aiming to start in properly at the benches at 10.15. There will be a further lunch break for 1/2 an hour somewhere between 12 and 1 depending on where a suitable spot to break off occurs. Tea/coffee and biscuits supplied but bring your own lunch / sandwiches / soup to supplement. 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.
Clifton Block Plane – bronze, with walnut cap.
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.
testing for twist on a register plate
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.
Any time left over can be filled with a general Q & A session on any woodworking or tool subjects; and / or a tour of the premises, sawmill & seasoning facilities etc.
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 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.
5. THE BOX COURSE
Make a beautiful dovetailed box while learning the essential elements of cabinetmaking – sharpening, hand planing, dovetails, surface preparation and polishing. Taken at a relaxed pace over 12 days usually over a span of weeks or months, 5 spaces only, £975 including materials.
Course type:
Guidance in the varied elements of fine woodworking with an emphasis on honing hand skills & appreciation & use of fine hand tools. Unlike the Elements course which sees you working on sample pieces of wood, you will very quickly be working on the components of a beautiful dovetail – cornered box with hinged, shaped lid and a solid bottom, one or both of which require some accurate board joining.
Like ‘Elements’, 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. Absolute beginners may struggle; it would help if you have used chisels, handsaws & planes and carried out some sharpening.
Patrick will demonstrate each process first and explain the theory and then you will work on your own box components with constant supervision and assistance from Patrick. It is not essential to have completed the ‘Elements’ course, which covers almost the same subject matter but more quickly, however it is a good follow up to Elements, allowing you to put into practice the basic techniques learnt.
If you have not completed ‘Elements’ there is still enough time in this course to teach you from scratch, but those who have had some previous tuition from Patrick will find it easier. With approximately double the time on offer compared to ‘Elements’, high standards of craftsmanship should be able to be achieved at a relaxed and enjoyable pace. You will take home a beautiful polished hardwood box which can be used for jewellery or similar.
The basic design will be the same for all but there may be opportunities with size, design and wood selection to add your own bespoke details in a small way.
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 sandwiches etc if you want something more at the halfway lunch break.
Space will be limited to only 5 spaces. Please ensure you can commit to the dates – in the event of cancellation by you the potential student, full refunds cannot be made unless it is more than 60 days before the start of the first date. A 50% refund can be made for cancellations made between 30 and 60 days . Under 30 days we cannot guarantee any refund, unless we are able to fill the space.
In the event of cancellation of any part or all of the course by us, of course refunds will be made if alternative dates cannot be arranged.
To see forthcoming course dates and availability please follow this link – : https://www.thewoodplace.com/product-category/woodworking-courses/ NB if nothing appears in your chosen topic then most likely there is no availability but please contact Patrick for info on any future availability or cancellations – [email protected] .
The following info from the Elements course is just as appropriate for The 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 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. Planes of various kinds are used in all 3 modules.
You will learn how to correctly use bench planes, to 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.
Following the Planing Element is our classic hand-cut dovetailed ‘bookend’ module which has now been expanded to cover two days in order to allow more time and care over carrying out your most accurate marking and cutting of a set of through dovetails, which will at the completion of the 2 days be assembled into a basic L bookend shape and size.
The dovetailed bookend has remained a classic teaching module because once all the skills have been mastered to complete one to a reasonable degree of competence you can go on to do almost any furniture making – you will be able to sharpen planes & chisels; accurately square, flatten & prepare components to size; accurately mark up joints; hand saw and chisel to a fine knife line and assemble and glue joints.
If you go on to prepare surface and polish you have the whole range of wood skills required for most furniture and cabinet making projects.
‘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. Furthermore it is not just sanding – you will be shown and will practice fine hand planing of the surface, followed by use of hand scrapers and scraper planes; only then finally will you do some finish sanding with the very best of top quality papers and equipment, demonstrating the advantages of dust extraction during sanding.
In the polishing module you will mainly carry out some simple french polishing and waxing, learning how to make, store and use french polishing rubbers and will be able to take them home along with some polish. Other finishes take longer to dry but there will be demonstrations of oil finishes, acrylic / water based lacquer / varnish and various grain fillers/sanding sealers. All the polishes may be purchased in our store if you wish to take some home.
6. DOVETAILS ONE TO ONE TUITION:
Fully tutored essential elements of furniture making OR be guided through your chosen furniture project OR individual short lessons on your chosen subject. £30 an hour. Limited availability.
One to one £30 an hour; use of quality hand tools and a bench space provided. Tuition tailored to individuals needs. Typically 16 to 24 hours to cover essential hand tool & sharpening modules and making a dovetailed bookend or box plus finishing techniques – following the Dovetails Woodworking Elements modules. Or be guided through your chosen furniture project. Or individual topics as required, covering as little as half an hour – much more likely that time and space will be available at short notice for slots of up to an hour or so.
7. BEGINNER’S CUTTING BOARD:
one day course making a simple oiled cutting board.
Suitable for beginners.
Covers acquiring basic hand skills – Hand Planing, Sharpening, Scraping, Sanding & Oiling.
£90 per person including materials when run as a group course, 7 spaces available.
Bring your own lunch. Teas, coffees & biscuits provided.
£30 / day option: This project is also suitable for beginners who wish to join the Furniture Making Friday sessions at £30 a day, but depending on your speed and how many Furniture Making students are also in on the day, all taking up tutor Patrick’s time, you may well need more than one day to complete the project.
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.
Various other DOVETAIL WOODWORKING TUITION gallery pictures
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TOOLS
typical tools employed:
Block plane (adjustable mouth)
No5 Plane
1000/6000 Waterstone
Glass or other Lapping Plate
Honing Guide
Camelia Oil
Engineer’s Straight Edge, 450mm or longer.
Dovetail Saw
Cutting /marking gauge
Adjustable Bevel
10mm, 14mm, 20mm & 25mm chisels (approx sizes)
Mallet
Coping Saw
Square
Marking Knife
Pencil
12” rule
Recommended Tools :
(see lower down page for recommended suppliers)
Block Plane
No 60 1/2 low angle, adjustable mouth. Preferably with 01 / forged carbon steel.
Veritas no 60 1/2 Low Angle Block Plane, very nice also well made, good quality, good steel, get the 01 blade for it. Well engineered lateral blade adjustment feature.
Lie-Nielsen no 60 1/2, very well made traditional block plane based on the old stanley design, preferably with optional 01 blade.
Quangsheng Low Angle Block Plane. Also based on the stanley, excellent value, good T10 carbon steel.
Other cheaper brands can be improved with an upgraded blade from one of the above 3 but will not have the quality of engineering to prove pleasurable and easy to use.
Jack Plane no 5 or 5 1/4.
5 ¼ if you will typically work on boards of around a metre or less most of the time, the longer 5 if you want to edge plane boards for tables & worktops, but either will cross over. The 5 is the better all rounder.
Clifton No 5 Jack Plane with hand forged high carbon blade as standard.
Lie Nielsen No 5 or No 5 ¼ Jack Plane, preferably with optional 01 blade.
Veritas No 5 ¼ Jack Plane, preferably with the optional 01 blade.
Quangsheng No 5 jack Plane with standard T10 carbon steel blade, excellent value.
Other cheaper brands can be improved with an upgraded blade from one of the above 3 but will not have the quality of engineering to prove pleasurable & easy to use, and may take some work to flatten & square before use. Old / antique planes may have very good steel so worth considering but check for flatness – may take a lot of fettling work before they can be used.
to be continued…
My favourite suppliers :
Your Tutor
Have a look here for some of the many & varied projects undertaken and styles worked in by Patrick Baxter Furniture over the last 20 years.http://www.lanarkshirehardwoods.co.uk/portfolio-item/furniture-examples/
Patrick has trained numerous staff and apprentices as well as giving tuition to customers over the years in traditional cabinetmaking skills from basic joint cutting and french polishing through to hand and press veneering and intarsia.
