Reviews for Teds Woodworking/ instrument making Courses

This course was hands down one of the best days I have had this year. Ted is so knowledgeable and such a fantastic chap! You will no doubt learn loads on this course and you will end up with a fantastic and fun instrument at the end of it.

The workshop is very comfortable and well equipped, also very pleasant and interesting conversation was to be had in the periods of waiting for glue to set up and breaks.

I strongly recommend anyone interested to take this course you will not regret it.

Thank you Ted for such a fantastic day, you have inspired me to look into setting up my own workshop and I'm sure I'll be joining you again in the future for another course

Mike

Finally (lockdown permitting) I got my Bandsaw Box Making day. Ted was very flexible with the re-booking due to 3rd wave lockdown restrictions.
I did ensure that I had a good look at Google Maps first, but my SATNAV route did come off the A500 a junction too soon, the one-way system and locals are not very forgiving.
My past woodwork experiences were 40+ years ago at school and so it was good to be back in a proper workshop. Ted is a salt-of-the-earth, easy-going person and so it was nice to chat as the day progressed. The Bandsaw is by far the workhorse here, I'd recommend a few practice runs on marked-up scrap pieces to develop the feel for moving the wooden block through your stenciled outline. Outside and inside curves provide their own challenges when adjusting the piece and time spent here helps to produce cleaner lines later. With the parts cut out, it was time to use the belt and oscillating sanders being mindful to maintain those consistent lines and edges for a smooth fit. Ted is always on hand to advise and help with your progress, but it is very much your own creation. Once the box is glued, which is no mean feat (I think we had 12 clamps to keep the box and drawer secured), we can use the sanders to get rid of any remaining overlaps - ready for the Danish oil finish.
I was very happy with the day and what I'd achieved. A big thank you to Ted for showing me the way and providing this opportunity.

I got this course as a gift. This was because I'm looking to study instrument making at university.
This was the first time I've picked up tools in about 5 years but Tim's guidance and willingness to answer any questions really helped me get comfortable and confident in the techniques
Ted's a great person to be around is all round interesting, funny while managing to stay informative.
I had an amazing day and left with a great sounding instrument. I can wholeheartedly recommend this course.

What a fantastic course! Tim is a really friendly, patient tutor, who is as hands on or off as you need throughout. The workshop is well kitted out with all the equipment you need without being an intimidating space.
We started the day understanding the timber and marking out the first couple of cuts and then straight into it on the bandsaw. Tim gave a good explanation on the use of each machine and was always on hand to advise. There was time to make practice cuts before commiting them to the final instrument and always a way to work around things that you might find tricky.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day and have learned a lot of techniques about something that I've never tried before.
The end result was a strum stick that I'm really proud of and plays amazingly well.
I would not hesitate to recommend Tim's courses to anyone of any experience level who wants to try something new. You wont be disappointed!

Got to say this was one of the most enjoyable days I have had, I saw the course online and dropped hints to my wife who got me the course as a present.

Ted proved to be not only a great teacher but wonderful company and easy to get on with chatting about our mutual love of music and he doesn't make a bad cuppa either.

I learnt so much during the day and ended up with a Strumstick from wood I could not believe would turn into a stringed instrument, not only was I impressed so was my wife and friends who have seen it. Ted is also a very talented musician so at least I got to hear how the Strumstick could sound before I got my hands on it.
Due to the amount of fun I had more hints were dropped to my wife and I have since been down to Ted's for a day on the Bandsaw course.

What a great way to spend a day!
Tim is great company and can talk about anything which is really important when you're spending 8 hours together in a small space.
He was very knowledgeable about the task in hand and helped me as a novice safely through every step of the process while still leaving me with a sense of achievement.
The finished product was also impressive and I happily show it off to anyone who'll listen.

Thanks very much Tim, I'd recommend the course to anyone with an interest in getting to know equipment and techniques.
All the best

How can you make an amazing 3 String Strumstick from a stick and a few other pieces of wood, on Teds woodworking course, well YOU can. Having little knowledge of woodworking, tools or anything musical doesn't matter as Ted guides you helpfully and funnily through, from start to finish.
What a great day I had, unfortunately it went far too quickly, but I ended up with a great looking and sounding Strumstick and feeling proud of my self and my achievement.
A very satisfying day.
Thank you for an excellent adventure.

Teds day course was fantastic ! He is a very helpful man with a sense of humour too!

My wife paid for a Gift voucher which was valid for 1 year, so in Feb 2020 I decided to use it.
The Strumstick 3 stringed instrument was built in just 7 hours and sounded great at the end of the day.

I learned about Acoustic instruments building including :- Fret boards, Fret levelling, Tonewoods, neck shaping, band saw use, sanding, finishing, and wood selection. I would recommend this craft course for anyone with or without experience in woodwork. I had 30 mins for lunch and tea breaks at any time we wanted. I chose a weekend day but I could of easily had any evening or daytime. I now have my instrument to play at home for many years to come.