Tuition
A young woman who bought her father a day’s tuition as a birthday present wrote to say:
“Thanks for providing Dad with a fantastic day, he really enjoyed himself...Mum said he was like a dog with two tails when he got home.”
and another lady, who was given a day’s tuition as a birthday present from her husband, sent a card to say:
”I just wanted to let you know what a lovely time I had yesterday. The time absolutely flew by, and I am so thrilled with my products. The troops here were only just prepared to believe that I had actually made the apple and bowl myself - they accused me of cheating!”
After a day’s tuition, I received the following delightful email:
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for sending my beloved, self-reliant, silent, old goat of a man home chattering and chuffed. Brian grinned most of the night and could hardly wait to show off what he made with you. And I couldn't stop holding the apple and touching the bowl.”
and after a week’s tuition a more experienced turner wrote:
“I would like to thank you for the excellent course you provided for me. I appreciated your clear and easy to follow instructions and learnt a great deal from you. The importance of safety in the workshop made a lot of sense and I have provided myself with some of the safety equipment I used on the course. I appreciated the warm welcome you gave me and the cuisine provided. I have put my newly acquired skills to good use since I came home. Many thanks.”
More recently an American, all the way from Iowa (though not just to see me, I must admit) came for a lesson. Afterwards he sent me a ‘thank you’ note, and when I asked if I might quote it here, this is what he said:
“Absolutely, you can put whatever words of mine you like on the site. If I were writing something, I'd probably say this: Bob's lesson really delivers the goods. You come away with two projects and video clips of the work, but more than than that, he teaches good design, attention to detail, and how to handle tools in a craftsmanlike way. It's a great session.”
A lady who had booked a lesson for her husband and had also bought him a copy of my DVD wrote to say:
“I can't thank you enough for making my Christmas gift to Ken so special. He loved every minute of the day and can't stop talking about it and showing off his pear and bowl.
The DVD went down a wow in fact whilst everyone else spent Christmas watching the usual TV entertainment, I became so accustomed to seeing Bob's face on the screen I started saying hello to him and he became part of our family! Seriously though I think it is an ideal part of the training package as Ken got so much information from watching it, and it gave him a good idea of what to expect on his training day.
The only down side to this present that I can see is that I have inadvertently placed myself in the position of becoming a wood turner's widow!
Thank you once again for your kind hospitality and providing training in a relaxed yet professional way which I know definitely put Ken at ease and helped him get the most from his day with you.”
Although demonstrations are popular with clubs, many beginners to woodturning may prefer a one-to-one session where they can learn the basics of turning at their own pace. With this in mind I have designed a number of courses which cover a range of woodturning skills.
Vouchers are available if you would like to present a day’s
turning to someone else as a gift.
A typical one day course currently costs £125 and will last at least six hours in the workshop, starting at 9.00am and finishing about 4.00pm. Lunch is provided and will be a light meal taken around midday. You don't need to b
ring anything to the course as everything you need will be provided and you will take away the things that you make. During the day I will take brief video clips which will serve as reminders when you look at them afterwards. Click here for purchasing details
What follows is a brief general outline of a day's course but, naturally, how much actually gets covered will depend on individual progress.
Whichever course you choose, the first part of the course will be concerned with workshop safety, and safety precautions will be an ongoing aspect of the course. If you attend for more than one day, the second and subsequent days will continue to emphasize safe working practices without undue repetition.
Whilst in my workshop it is assumed that you will co-operate by wearing eye protection when turning , and lung protection whenever necessary.
If you are a beginner, or would simply like to start from scratch, then I would expect to make something small to begin with to give practice with different tools and how they are used.
As you get better, and grow in confidence, I’d suggest moving on to a more detailed or complex project. You might have your own ideas about what you would like to spend the day on, and I’m happy to do that if you prefer. It's my belief that people learn best what they most want to know. I'm very flexible and more than happy to follow your interests with you.
Alongside this, you will learn some of the techniques for holding work on the lathe and 
different methods of sanding and finishing work. All of these are tackled at appropriate points during the courses.
As we work together, during the day, we can talk about lathes and tools and other things you would need if you decide to take up turning. I don't sell tools or machinery so you will get my unbiased opinion of what you need to get started, and where to look for the best bargains.
There are five different courses available. Clicking on a course title will take you to a more detailed specification of that course. The courses are:
Course 1: Bowl turning
Course 2: Making boxes
Course 3: Hollow forms
Course 4: Wooden fruit
Course 5: Simple spindles
Tuition will be on a Vicmarc VL175SH lathe. Please contact me if you are interested so that we can discuss which course might suit you best.
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www.bobchapman.co.uk