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Duration: 1 day
Price: £80
Book with:
Maurice Clother
at
Touch Wood
Course Start Dates
Friday 12th June 2020About the Course
The day starts with a brief introduction over a cuppa, and demonstration of the tools and lathes. Learners are then able to begin turning a first item on the lathe using a ready mounted blank of fresh ash wood. Using simple traditional tools, the cleft green wood can be transformed into a range of useful and decorative items. Most people get 2 or more items made during the day from a wide range of possible projects such as a rolling pin, rounders bat, spinning top or maybe a mallet. If you have other ideas please discuss them with with the tutor.
Maurice Clother, who is educated to degree level in forestry, is the touch-wood tutor, he is often assisted by other touch-wood workers. Maurice has been a bodger (pole lathe turner) for 20+ years and has taught green woodwork since 2001.
The venue is the woodturning area in the courtyard of the National Trust’s idyllic Lower Brockhampton House. The Wood Turning workshop is equipped with plenty of chopping blocks, shave horses and pole lathes to enable learners to explore the craft of turning the traditional way.
The source of the materials is all around – Lower Brockhampton Estate has 700 acres of woodland, and is an ancient woodland site, managed in a sensitive and sustainable way. Native hardwoods are harvested on within the estate, to be crafted into a range of items, using traditional methods and simple hand tools.
The National Trust café provides a delicious lunch for those learning the turning.
Enjoy this ancient and absorbing craft, coached by an experienced artisan tutor, and take the fruits of your labour home with you at the end of the day!
If booking with a CraftCourses voucher for part or all of the course fee, please fill in the contact form above. Your voucher code must be provided at the point of booking.
What's included in the price?
All materials, tuition and use of tools are included, as are refreshments and a delicious lunch.
The pole-lathe turning taster day at Lower Brockhampton Estate, Herefordshire, was a very interesting day. The pole-lathes are situated under cover in one of the old buildings in the courtyard of Lower Brockhampton House.
Our tutor, Maurice, demonstrated splitting logs, roughly rounding off and finally explained the operation of the pole-lathe before demonstrating the turning process.
Maurice makes it look so easy, as you would expect. I had a great time trying to get the rhythm of cutting on the forward turn and laying off on the reverse. When I did get it right and the angle of the tool correct it was very rewarding to see the shaving curl off and hear the tool cutting sweetly. I had no intention of making something useful but I returned home with a fairly intricately turned practice piece, thanks to Maurice’s help, which will make a handy sash window hook.
If you have any affinity to working with wood, you will find this course a real pleasure.
Maurice is a lovely chap and explains everything very well with plenty of demonstrations, cups of tea and biscuits.
Richard Wainwright - - #24039
A good course in a lovely National Trust parkland setting. Its only a taster course so just one day to see if you like it and want to take it further. I loved it so I will be making my own lathe and learning the craft.
Rhodri Jenkins - - #14512
Had a fantastic day at Lower Brockhampton Estate on the Pole Lathe Turning. Maurice was very knowledgeable and excellent at teaching us the basics of wood turning (also very patient with my poor attempts at times!). We were taught what to do and which tools were used for what and were then free to explore and get a feel for using the lathe, but help was readily available from Maurice if we needed it. We were free to make whatever objects we chose. Would thoroughly recommend the course and will definitely be doing this again in the near future!
Laura Ghent - - #14505
The day was great, with an instructor who obviously thoroughly enjoyed woodworking, and sharing his enjoyment with others. I am very happy with the items I created. Thank you, Maurice
Sean Radtke - - #8966
I recently went on the pole lathe turning workshop at Brockhampton and found the entire day totally absorbing. We created 2 tools from the raw cleaved wood, and Maurice skillfully guided us throughout the process. It was a great day and thoroughly enjoyable. I have impressed many friends already with the implements created on the day!
Phil Argyle - - #8936
Very enjoyable day, well run by the instructor, very pleased with the end results
Ken Davies - - #7495
I went on this course recently and found it absolutely amazing, the instructor was brilliant and the finished product is more than i could ever have hoped for and everyone ive shown has been amazed!
Daniel Cracknell - - #7481
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