About
the types of Courses
All courses are informal, hands on, one-to-one and aimed at your
particular interests for you, the student. The pace of the course
is to suit you, nobody else. The lathe you will be using for "Testing
the Water"and "Beginners face plate" will be a
Jet 1220 and could also be used for other types of custom courses
and some intermediate courses. For the Specialist-Large Diameter
course you will be using the VB36 lathe. On all of the courses,
the process will be explained briefly and then learnt by experience.
The courses mentioned below are all for faceplate / chuck turning
only, sorry, but there are no spindle turning
courses. All materials are included in the course except for the
Specialist Large Diameter due the physical size of wood used and
will be negotiable but still an extra.
There are two
beginners courses
Testing
the water- Come and make a bowl
“Testing the water” is designed for those who want
to satisfy their curiosity and take their first step into wood
turning with creating a bowl on the lathe to take away at the
end of the session. Just fun ! During the session you will learn
how to mount the bowl blank on the lathe using a faceplate and/or
a chuck. Learn how to shape the wood using gouges, scrapers, how
to prepare a finish using abrasives and finally finish with a
wax or oil finish. Course is available as
a half day 70€ - morning or afternoon - approximately 3 to
3.5 hours or more if needs be.
Beginners Course for face plate turning
- at a pace to suit you
This course deals with safety, tool selection and sharpening,
I also try to ensure that form and design are considered at all
stages of the turning. We will cover fixing the wood blank onto
a faceplate and various types of chucks. A variety of sanding
techniques such as power sanding as well as hand sanding will
be discussed and shown to prepare for finishing using oils and
waxes. You will use tools such as the bowl gouge with conventional
and swept back grinds, and how to control the desired shape and
give a clean cut straight from the tool and thereby eliminating
or minimizing the use of scrapers which can lead to torn grain
resulting in excessive sanding giving heat checks in the wood.
On this course you can expect to make items such as a bowl, platter
or a hollow form or all if time permits. Unbiased advice is given
to those wishing to purchase equipment, tools and timber from
established suppliers, but above all the course is tailored to
suit you and at the speed you wish to learn. The
course is available as 2 half days 80€ per half day, with
additional half days 70€ OR a full day 150€
additional full days 140€. All options to suit you the student.
Intermediate
and Beyond
As with all other courses, this course is structured to individual
needs and aimed at those that have a sound understanding of basic
practices and principles but wish to aspire to projects that require
a greater level of skill. Natural edge bowls, green/wet turning,
hollow forms, bowls, platters, natural edge vases are some of
the things that can be built into the course.
You are encouraged to bring your own tools, especially ones that
you might be having trouble with. Specialist tools provided include,
Hamlet 's hollowing tools,Big Brother and Goliath and BCT hollowing
tools. The course is available as 2 half
days 80€ per half day, with additional half days 70€
OR a full day 150€ additional full days 140€.
All options to suit you the student.
Specialist
- Large Diameter and wall sculptures
This course is for the experienced
turner wanting to make a large turning
and most probably has not got the facilities in their own atelier.
Turnings such as a floor bowl, wall platter, hollow form or wall
sculpture are available
from 220€ for one day but be prepared to allow for additional
day(s) to complete the work if you do not have the facilities
in your own atelier.
Due to the size of woods supplied for this type of course, which
is usualy locally grown Oak, London Plane or Walnut needs to be
negotiated or if you want to supply your own wood then there is
at no extra charge.
If none of the courses outlined
above are quite what you are looking for, please feel free to
contact me via email box at the bottom of this page to discuss
your particular requirements. I consider that a whole days course
is generally more than enough for most students to absorb at one
time especially if you are on holiday but, you are the pace setter.
About
the courses
Language
At the moment the courses are
spoken in English only but I hope
to include French in the not too distant future.
Start
and finishing time
For whole
day courses, arriving about 9:30 for an initial discussion
, usualy with a cup of tea or coffee and also using this time
to familiarise yourself with the lathe, atelier and facilities.
We start before 10:00am, with coffee/tea breaks morning and afternoon
and with a light traditional lunch, finishing around 4:30 to 5:00pm
or later if necessary. This allows time for clearing up and any
queries to be resolved from the day. Whole
day courses can be split into 2 Half days either mornings or afternoons.
Standard course notes will be provided and materials, refreshments
are included in the fees and lunch (for whole day courses). When
booking a whole day course please state if you have any eating
requirements such as vegetarian. Half day
courses differ in times, mornings start at 9:00 finish
12:00 to 12:30 p.m, afternoons start 2:00 p.m and finish about
5:00 to 5:30 p.m. with coffee/tea breaks morning and afternoon.
Deposit
For whole day
courses there is a 50€ non-refundable deposit required to
secure the course and agreed date. For half day courses there
is a 25€ non-refundable deposit required to secure the course
for a morning or afternoon session on an agreed date.
Health
and safety
This will be covered in our intial
discussion. A bye product of woodturning is an accumulation of
dust and shavings, which apart from being a potential fire hazard;
can cause severe skin and respiratory problems. Advice will be
given on how to control and minimize this problem and you will
receive a free safety pack containing items such as goggles and
dust mask. Safe working practices will be observed and will be
commented on as and when they occur during the course.
Materials
All
materials are included in course fees. However, should you wish
to use woods such as burrs (subject to availability), these will
incur an additional charge.
Sharpening and Grinding
I
will demonstrate how to achieve an idyllic bevel angle, and a
sharp cutting edge, directly from the grinder so as to enable
a swift return to the work in hand. Honing on a diamond wet stone
will be shown which gives a more desirable cutting edge for finishing
the grinding process and certainly saves precious steel. Students
are encouraged to bring along a selection of tools, especially
any that are giving problems. A change to the bevel angle may
be all that is required.
The Location
We
live and work in the Dordogne, South West France. Set midway between
Angoulême, capital of the Charente and Périgueux
the capital of the Dordogne, and, in our humble opinion, one of
the most beautiful parts of France.
The setting of my atelier “l’ame du bois” is
spectacular with uninterrupted panoramic views and an abundance
of wild life. We are in the flight path of the Grue(cranes) and,
you can see these massive flocks of migrating birds in early Spring
going North to the Baltic and late autumn going South to Spain
for the Winter. We are also with buzzards, kites and other birds
of prey. Red squirrels, deer and sanglier (wild boar) occasionally
make their presence known.
Closest Towns and Village
Brantome,
known as the "Venice of Périgord"
is a picture postcard medieval town actually on an island. There
is nothing to detract from the magic of the place. It is first
of all a natural site, a crescent-shaped wooded cliff, at the
base of which sits the abbey and where the river Dronne curls
around and surrounds the town. There is a good choice of accommodation
and restaurants.
Riberac,
is famous for its Friday market, bringing
in producers and wholesalers from the region.
Bourdeilles,
16km
down the river Dronne from Brantôme is famous for its fortified
chateaux. There are also several very good restaurants and hotels,
Chambre d’hotes.
Accomodation
All courses
are non-residential, but accommodation can be found near by, B&B,
Chamber d’hote, hotel or campsite. I can email a detailed
list if required.
Below
I have included a link to help you find accomodation and a very
interesting site on events, current affairs and generally living
in France.
This
French Life .com This is a very interesting, self explanatory
site on everything and anything to help living in France and should
be a help with finding accomodation nearby.
If
you are interested in completing any of the above courses
or If
you would like to discuss your requirements or a particular turning
interest we will see if we can customise a course to suit you.
Please use the box below for your course/requirements, a selection
of dates that you would like to attend and if possible include
other contact i.e. day or night phone numbers and home addrress.
Note: These later requirements would only be used for any unforeseen
circumstances to contact you prior to the course.
Please
ensure you have completed the email address box
below before hitting the Send button Thank you.