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A great day of turning with Ralf...
Seeing the bowl slowly evolve out of the bit of wood we initially installed felt great....Turning is definitely not as easy as he makes it look, but easy enough for complete novices to create something you can eat from and that – at least in the creators' eyes – actually looks very nice. Both of us woke up the next day very much wishing we could go back to turn another bowl.
I have recently had the pleasure of attending a 1-2-1 woodturning course with Ralf. Under his expert guidance and gentle teaching, I created a stunning wooden bowl that far exceeded my expectations for a first attempt! Ralf is a brilliant teacher and a wonderful host. His passion and skills for his craft are both addictive and inspirational, and he is a lovely guy! If you're looking for a wood turning course, I cannot recommend him enough.
My day turning with Ralf was exceptional. Ralf's intricate knowledge of bowl turning really helped to equip me with the skills and techniques to progress myself. I was able to get past some big hurdles that have been holding me back. Ralf is clearly passionate about his craft and is a very good teacher. As an experience I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone else learning how to turn. It was time and money really spent well.
This was a surprise gift from my partner and she couldn't have done any better! this was my second time on the bowl lathe and was the best yet, because of the excellent tuition I was able to produce a bowl that I am proud of and use every single day.
Ralf is a very likeable fellow and we seem to hit it off straight away, he also tailored the course to take into account my disability which was no problem for him at all.
He first introduced us to the wood and with each piece there was a story attached, he knew when and where it came from and excitingly my Elm was from the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens! He then went through every step of the process to making a blank ready for the lathe, and that's where the real fun began! he was very patient and knowledgeable about the whole process from wood choice to cutting tools (impressively making his own).
I will definitely be back for a follow up (advanced) course when I have turned a few more at home.
I can thoroughly recommend spending time with Ralf in the wonderfully isolated Kielder Forest.
I've used Ralf's bowls and plates for a few years and hate to eat off anything else now, so it was fantastic to take my boyfriend for a birthday course learning how to make them. We've both turned in the past but not for a long time and the skills were long forgotten. Ralf was incredibly patient, explained very clearly and adapted to our needs, so much so that he allowed us to split the experience into 2 days to accommodate chronic fatigue. The workshop set-up is very inspiring and the fruit pie from Ralf's local shop was delicious!
I would highly recommend spending a day turning with Ralf.