Prices
Initial 12 week course : £4,950 including all materials for test pieces
Second & third 12 week courses : £3,150 each plus materials for projects
12 week course - Cabinet-Making Skills & Techniques
An intensive cabinet-making course enabling the student to acquire all the skills they need to confidently embark on their own projects or start a new career. The course will cover:
Buying Timber
- Visit timber yard
- Timber selection & defects
Seasoning Timber
- Storage
- Home drying / kilning
Machinery
- Health & Safety
- Blade changing
- Setting up & safe use
Tools
- Tuning & Sharpening
- Traditional tools including moulding planes
- Making jigs & wooden tools
Drawings
- Designing & scale drawings
- Drawing up full-size rods/templates
- Preparing cutting lists from rods
Adhesives
- Traditional animal glues
- Modern UF; PVA; Polyurethane; Epoxy
Cabinet Making Techniques
- Dovetail joints Pitches; Fine & Carcass; Lapped; Through; Secret Mitre, sliding
- Mortice & Tenon joints setting out and cutting various types; Decorative through m&t with wedges; Frames with moulded edges & mitred corners
- Veneering Buying veneers; Preparing; Traditional hammer veneering / sand bags - halving, quartering, cross bandings ; Making a Layon pressing using vacuum bag
- Inlaying Line inlay; Making inlays and geometric bandings
- Laminating Making formers to create curved shapes; laminating in solid timber; laminating/ veneering panels in flexi-ply
- Cross Grain Mouldings Making traditional cross grain mouldings
- Finishing Colouring using chemicals / stains; Blending repairs; Hand polishing using oils / shellac / wax / modern finishes
Projects
During the first 12 weeks the main focus is on improving hand skills, learning how to use machinery safely and effectively and making small test pieces to practice techniques. Depending on progress, there may also be time to move on to project work.
24 & 36 week courses
The second and third 12 week blocks focus on designing and making various pieces of furniture under expert supervision.
Designing & making own work, ideas:
- Small Cabinet with drawers & door, possibly on a stand dovetailed carcass and drawers; m&t door; hinges & lock
- Chair setting out the seat plan/dealing with compound angles
- Chest of Drawers
- Desk/Table
