April 2024 Newsletter
Cheril Barber
Greetings from the workshop - a nice sunny day here in Nelson with the Autumn colours and cooler mornings giving a real feel that the seasons have changed. Here we are almost at the end of April and after a very busy few months we have been able to take a bit of a breather and work on some serious course planning for the future.
We have some great courses running over the next few months, as well as some brand new offerings which will run later in the year - a David Haig Master Class, two fabulous new courses designed and taught by Lou Fuller - A Coopered Cabinet, a Jewellery Box, a new 4-day intermediate carving course with Hape Kiddle, and the return visit of our friend Stuart Faulkner to teach a variety of short courses. You will be spoilt for choice!
We have some great short courses coming up over the next month or two with space available if you are keen to come and join us :-
Shaker Box (Weekend Workshop)
Intro to Kumiko (Weekend Workshop)
Drawer Making Course (5 days)
Intro to Laminating & Coopering (6 days)
Check out our website for full details of each course by following the links.
As already mentioned we have some brand new short courses taking place mid winter onwards - specifically designed for those of you who have some woodworking experience under your belt and who are ready to extend your skills further.
David Haig Master Class
A Curved Wall Hanging Shelf
A Jewellery / Treasure / Taonga Box
A beautiful new 2-week project taught Lou Fuller
Coopered Cabinet
A classic legacy piece originally designed and taught by Thorkild Hansen and reintroduced into our short course programme
Centre Piece Coffee Table
A course developed with Lloyd Anderson & Stuart Faulkner with funding from our Creative New Zealand funding for our current project of developing a new generation of our teachers.
2025 Furniture Makers' Programme
Applications are open for the 2025 Furniture Makers' Programme and full details are here on our website.
At this early stage we have received strong interest with only four remaining spaces available.If you are considering our flagship 32-week programme next year please do get in touch.
David Haig's Master Class incorporates a project which is an exercise in cutting accurate joinery on curved sections principally using hand tool techniques. The project includes steam bending, forming a simple circle, and inserting it using a router set-up. For those who are interested in this more complex joinery will enjoy reading David's recent article he wrote for the Australian Wood Review where he generously shares in detail his method of how curved components can be joined together almost seemingly.
GOODIES FOR SALE !
We have been spending some time seriously upgrading our storage systems, rearranging the furniture so we can run super efficiently here in the workshop and basically had a decluttering session. As a result this has created a wee pile of items that are now surplus to requirements.
We would love to see these go to a good home so get in touch if you are interested.
TOOLS:
The planes are of mid quality and may need a little tender loving care before you put them to good use.
Prices do not include postage - get in touch if you are interested.
1 x No. 3 Bailey Plane - $30
3 x No. 4 Bailey Plane - $30
1 x No. 4 ½ Bailey Plane - $35
1 x No. 5 Rapier Plane - $40
3 x No. 5 Record Plane - $40
1 x No. 7 Bailey Plane - $50
We also have some wooden planes, router bits and other miscellaneous bits & pieces but realistically it's probably only of interest to those of you who can rock up to the workshop and have a look at them. They aren't priced up as haggling and bartering are encouraged ! We can also be bribed with donations of a big bag of good quality coffee.
MACHINERY
Tanner Thicknesser - GB165
Comes with:-
Manual
4 x new blades 305mm
Belt recently tensioned
Full service & maintenance completed Feb 2024
Improved accuracy on adjustment wheel & scale reader
Newly fitted flange for dust extraction
Must be collected - $1000
Triton Router - TRA 001
Never been used and in its original box
Comes with:
Manual
Collet
extended baseplate & fence
baseplate & mounting screws
spanner
table height winder
Preferably collected - price not including courier/freight $650
Hitachi C12LCH Compound Mitre Saw
Fully serviced January 2024 with spare blade
Must be collected - $850
CARVING COURSES
We have a range of carving courses running over the Winter months and warmly welcome back our two carving tutors Hape Kiddle and Geoff Korver. Two very different styles of carving approaches and techniques are on offer to suit both beginner carvers to those who wish to further extend their skill level.
Beginners Courses:
Carve a Mobius
Seed Pod Inspired Form
Introduction to Spoon Carving
Introduction to Carving
Next Level:
Netsuke - Japanese Miniature Carving
"Contained" - a lidded vessel to hold a precious object
Carve a Bespoke Walking Stick
Hop over to our Carving Course page on our website.
Welcome to Alice our new technician who is a great sidekick to Valentin
They are a bit like Batman & Robin creating small workshop miracles on a daily basis.
Alice graduated from the 2023 Furniture Makers' Programme with an all time record sales at the graduate exhibition with the sale of three of her four pieces.
Alice is currently finishing off a small run of four jewellery boxes. The first time she made the "Curiosity Box" was on term 1 of the full-time course last year.
After a good reception and subsequently her sale of this piece on the opening night at the Parker Gallery, she decided to time the overall process and practice her dovetails - 86 in total!
This hi-fi cabinet is a project I first drafted last year while playing with strips of paper.
In January this year during Michael Fortune's residency I was given the opportunity to develop and start the fabrication of this project and whilst juggling with my role as technician during those six weeks I managed to get the carcass mostly complete.
This project has been full of learning opportunities as well as problems to solve. I tackled kerf bending, steam bending, tapering sheets of MDF veneering of curved parts.
More recently I took on the challenge (and patience) of creating the front doors with Kumiko panels which was very time consuming.
My next process is the making of wooden pivots on which to hinge the doors. If all is successful and the plan works this piece will be showcased and for sale at our exhibition at the end of the year at the Parker Gallery.
Friends of the School
We are deeply grateful to those who kindly responded to our request for support in our last newsletter.
As a not for profit organisation we are no different from other charities aiming for and maintaining excellence we are dependant on donations. We want to ensure the school continues to flourish as an internationally-recognised centre for fine woodworking unique to New Zealand. We believe that you, as a part of our woodworking family, can play a vital role in achieving our vision, so we are asking you to consider if you can supporting the school in a variety of ways:
Enrol in one of the many short courses offered during the year.
Become a member of the ‘Friends of the School’ programme through an annual donation
A larger donation or bequest of your choosing.
A donation or bequest towards a specific piece of woodworking machinery or infrastructure
We are currently working on offering the option for a monthly recurring donation easily accessed on our website - more about this soon.
Would you consider being a commercial sponsor for events such as our annual exhibition or other events?
As a registered charity all donations can be filed with your annual tax return in order to receive a tax credit for your gift. A formal receipt will be issued for all donation as proof for the IRD.
How to support us:
Call Helen at our office
on +64 (03) 545 2674
or email info@cfw.co.nz
Go online to our Friends of the School Programme
Our bank account details are:
ASB 12-3165-0262010-51
We sincerely thank you for considering our request and being a part of the family
of the Centre for Fine Woodworking.