12 Week Foundation Course – Furniture Making Skills & Techniques
Skill Level – All levels from complete beginner
Cost – £6,900**
Duration – 12 Weeks
Other – We highly recommend anyone considering this course visit the workshops to discuss the syllabus with John and have a chat with our current students. Students are welcome to commence their course on any term start date to suit their circumstances. **Guide price for students starting in 2016/17 please check with our office.
Dates
2016
4 Jan – 25 Mar
11 Apr – 1 Jul
19 Sep – 9 Dec
2017
3 Jan – 24 Mar
24 Apr – 14 Jul
About the course
Additional Costs £0.00 – All materials are covered in the cost of the course.
This intensive cabinet-making course actually starts with several days of metalwork, tuning a basic set of tools so that they work to their full potential and learning the vital skill of honing blades to ‘razor-sharp’; only when the metalwork has been mastered do we move on to woodwork, focusing particularly on developing the crucial, basic hand-skills and making small test pieces to practice techniques.
This course establishes the skills that are necessary to confidently embark upon the more advanced techniques that are required for the project work that forms the basis of the second and third terms and also allows the most complex of restoration work to be tackled with confidence.
This first 12 week block follows a set syllabus to ensure that all students attain the necessary basic skills, with each student working at their own pace to take into account their individual skill level.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE:
Tool Preparation
Tuning the planes that are the basis of a cabinet-making tool kit
Sharpening
Using grinders and bench stones to achieve razor-sharp edges to all blades
Making Tools & Jigs
Hand making several vital wooden tools and useful jigs
Cabinet Making Skills & Techniques
Preparing and jointing timber by hand using traditional methods; Exercises to develop and perfect vital hand skills; Laying out and cutting joints e.g. Dovetails; Mortice & Tenon
Project Work
Several test pieces will be made to showcase the joints that have been learnt e.g. Box; Mirror Frame
Veneering & Laminating
Veneering by hand and with a press; Creating curved, laminated panels.
Finishing Skills
Hand applied traditional and modern finishes, including French Polishing; Colouring with chemicals and stains; Strategies for dealing with areas of damage
Machinery
Towards the end of the 12 weeks the essential items of woodworking machinery will be introduced.
Visits
During the course we will visit veneer and timber merchants, and also look at some furniture making workshops and perhaps specialist subcontractors.
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